Chapter XV

on the subject of; concerning

From this reading He wrote me about my daughter and little Eugène; he said that my Henriette was as fascinating as ever; he had seen her several times.

the state of being absent

From this reading During the first year of my absence, I received letters from Ernest quite frequently, and I wrote to him whenever I sojourned for any length of time in one place.

past form of “abstain” — refrain from voting

From this reading Faithful to the promise he had given me, he had abstained from mentioning her whom I hoped to forget entirely.

used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together

From this reading During the first year of my absence, I received letters from Ernest quite frequently, and I wrote to him whenever I sojourned for any length of time in one place.

one or some or every or all without specification

From this reading During the first year of my absence, I received letters from Ernest quite frequently, and I wrote to him whenever I sojourned for any length of time in one place.

at the same time that; because; in the way that

From this reading He wrote me about my daughter and little Eugène; he said that my Henriette was as fascinating as ever; he had seen her several times.

the past participle of “be”

From this reading Did that mean that he had been to her mother’s house?

a female human offspring

From this reading He wrote me about my daughter and little Eugène; he said that my Henriette was as fascinating as ever; he had seen her several times.

the past form of “do”, used in questions and negatives

From this reading Did that mean that he had been to her mother’s house?

all through a period, or at some point within it

From this reading During the first year of my absence, I received letters from Ernest quite frequently, and I wrote to him whenever I sojourned for any length of time in one place.

to a complete degree or to the full or entire extent (“whole” is often used informally for “wholly”)

From this reading Faithful to the promise he had given me, he had abstained from mentioning her whom I hoped to forget entirely.

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading During the first year of my absence, I received letters from Ernest quite frequently, and I wrote to him whenever I sojourned for any length of time in one place.

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading He wrote me about my daughter and little Eugène; he said that my Henriette was as fascinating as ever; he had seen her several times.

at any time

From this reading He wrote me about my daughter and little Eugène; he said that my Henriette was as fascinating as ever; he had seen her several times.

steadfast in affection or allegiance

From this reading Faithful to the promise he had given me, he had abstained from mentioning her whom I hoped to forget entirely.

capable of arousing and holding the attention

From this reading He wrote me about my daughter and little Eugène; he said that my Henriette was as fascinating as ever; he had seen her several times.

preceding all others in time or space or degree

From this reading During the first year of my absence, I received letters from Ernest quite frequently, and I wrote to him whenever I sojourned for any length of time in one place.

intended to be given to, or used by, somebody

From this reading During the first year of my absence, I received letters from Ernest quite frequently, and I wrote to him whenever I sojourned for any length of time in one place.

dismiss from the mind; stop remembering

From this reading Faithful to the promise he had given me, he had abstained from mentioning her whom I hoped to forget entirely.

many times at short intervals

From this reading During the first year of my absence, I received letters from Ernest quite frequently, and I wrote to him whenever I sojourned for any length of time in one place.

showing where something starts, or who sent it

From this reading During the first year of my absence, I received letters from Ernest quite frequently, and I wrote to him whenever I sojourned for any length of time in one place.

acknowledged as a supposition

From this reading Faithful to the promise he had given me, he had abstained from mentioning her whom I hoped to forget entirely.

the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect

From this reading Faithful to the promise he had given me, he had abstained from mentioning her whom I hoped to forget entirely.

a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject

From this reading Faithful to the promise he had given me, he had abstained from mentioning her whom I hoped to forget entirely.

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading He wrote me about my daughter and little Eugène; he said that my Henriette was as fascinating as ever; he had seen her several times.

belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned

From this reading Faithful to the promise he had given me, he had abstained from mentioning her whom I hoped to forget entirely.

the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition

From this reading During the first year of my absence, I received letters from Ernest quite frequently, and I wrote to him whenever I sojourned for any length of time in one place.

past form of “hope” — expect and wish

From this reading Faithful to the promise he had given me, he had abstained from mentioning her whom I hoped to forget entirely.

a dwelling that serves as living quarters for one or more families

From this reading Did that mean that he had been to her mother’s house?

the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb

From this reading During the first year of my absence, I received letters from Ernest quite frequently, and I wrote to him whenever I sojourned for any length of time in one place.

inside something, or within a place, period, or state

From this reading During the first year of my absence, I received letters from Ernest quite frequently, and I wrote to him whenever I sojourned for any length of time in one place.

be cognizant or aware of a fact or a specific piece of information; possess knowledge or information about

From this reading That was something that I did not know.

the linear extent in space from one end to the other; the longest dimension of something that is fixed in place

From this reading During the first year of my absence, I received letters from Ernest quite frequently, and I wrote to him whenever I sojourned for any length of time in one place.

the literary culture

From this reading During the first year of my absence, I received letters from Ernest quite frequently, and I wrote to him whenever I sojourned for any length of time in one place.

limited or below average in number or quantity or magnitude or extent

From this reading He wrote me about my daughter and little Eugène; he said that my Henriette was as fascinating as ever; he had seen her several times.

the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition

From this reading Faithful to the promise he had given me, he had abstained from mentioning her whom I hoped to forget entirely.

mean or intend to express or convey

From this reading Did that mean that he had been to her mother’s house?

-ing form of “mention” — make reference to

From this reading Faithful to the promise he had given me, he had abstained from mentioning her whom I hoped to forget entirely.

possessive form of “mother” — a woman who has given birth to a child (also used as a term of address to your mother)

From this reading Did that mean that he had been to her mother’s house?

belonging to the person speaking

From this reading During the first year of my absence, I received letters from Ernest quite frequently, and I wrote to him whenever I sojourned for any length of time in one place.

used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative

From this reading That was something that I did not know.

belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something

From this reading During the first year of my absence, I received letters from Ernest quite frequently, and I wrote to him whenever I sojourned for any length of time in one place.

used to mean any person in general, including the speaker

From this reading During the first year of my absence, I received letters from Ernest quite frequently, and I wrote to him whenever I sojourned for any length of time in one place.

a point located with respect to surface features of some region

From this reading During the first year of my absence, I received letters from Ernest quite frequently, and I wrote to him whenever I sojourned for any length of time in one place.

make a promise or commitment

From this reading Faithful to the promise he had given me, he had abstained from mentioning her whom I hoped to forget entirely.

to a degree (not used with a negative)

From this reading During the first year of my absence, I received letters from Ernest quite frequently, and I wrote to him whenever I sojourned for any length of time in one place.

conforming to the established language usage of educated native speakers

From this reading During the first year of my absence, I received letters from Ernest quite frequently, and I wrote to him whenever I sojourned for any length of time in one place.

being the one previously mentioned or spoken of

From this reading He wrote me about my daughter and little Eugène; he said that my Henriette was as fascinating as ever; he had seen her several times.

inflected form of “see” — perceive by sight or have the power to perceive by sight

From this reading He wrote me about my daughter and little Eugène; he said that my Henriette was as fascinating as ever; he had seen her several times.

(used with count nouns) of an indefinite number more than 2 or 3 but not many

From this reading He wrote me about my daughter and little Eugène; he said that my Henriette was as fascinating as ever; he had seen her several times.

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading During the first year of my absence, I received letters from Ernest quite frequently, and I wrote to him whenever I sojourned for any length of time in one place.

a thing, without saying which

From this reading That was something that I did not know.

used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt

From this reading He wrote me about my daughter and little Eugène; he said that my Henriette was as fascinating as ever; he had seen her several times.

used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind

From this reading During the first year of my absence, I received letters from Ernest quite frequently, and I wrote to him whenever I sojourned for any length of time in one place.

an instance or single occasion for some event

From this reading During the first year of my absence, I received letters from Ernest quite frequently, and I wrote to him whenever I sojourned for any length of time in one place.

a more or less definite period of time now or previously present

From this reading He wrote me about my daughter and little Eugène; he said that my Henriette was as fascinating as ever; he had seen her several times.

used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive

From this reading During the first year of my absence, I received letters from Ernest quite frequently, and I wrote to him whenever I sojourned for any length of time in one place.

the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun

From this reading He wrote me about my daughter and little Eugène; he said that my Henriette was as fascinating as ever; he had seen her several times.

at any time that; every time that

From this reading During the first year of my absence, I received letters from Ernest quite frequently, and I wrote to him whenever I sojourned for any length of time in one place.

the form of “who” used as the object of a verb or preposition

From this reading Faithful to the promise he had given me, he had abstained from mentioning her whom I hoped to forget entirely.

inflected form of “write” — produce a literary work

From this reading During the first year of my absence, I received letters from Ernest quite frequently, and I wrote to him whenever I sojourned for any length of time in one place.

a period of time containing 365 (or 366) days

From this reading During the first year of my absence, I received letters from Ernest quite frequently, and I wrote to him whenever I sojourned for any length of time in one place.