Chapter XXI · “Not Long for This World.”

used before a singular noun to mean one of a group, when it is not a particular one

From this reading The sick boy whispered the words a great many times to himself, as with his face to the wall, where neither his mother nor Susan could see it, he thought of what Rose had read, and wondered if it were true.

filled with fear or apprehension

From this reading He was not afraid to die.

anew

From this reading It was only the dying from home he had dreaded so much, asking to live till he could see his mother again, and the grass growing by the cottage door, and the violets by the well.

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

From this reading The sick boy whispered the words a great many times to himself, as with his face to the wall, where neither his mother nor Susan could see it, he thought of what Rose had read, and wondered if it were true.

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

From this reading The sick boy whispered the words a great many times to himself, as with his face to the wall, where neither his mother nor Susan could see it, he thought of what Rose had read, and wondered if it were true.

the verbal act of requesting

From this reading It was only the dying from home he had dreaded so much, asking to live till he could see his mother again, and the grass growing by the cottage door, and the violets by the well.

in or near a particular place or position

From this reading And God had taken him at his word.

the past participle of “be”

From this reading He had been very near death once before, and had not shrunk from meeting it _as_ death.

earlier than; in front of

From this reading He had been very near death once before, and had not shrunk from meeting it _as_ death.

a youthful male person

From this reading The sick boy whispered the words a great many times to himself, as with his face to the wall, where neither his mother nor Susan could see it, he thought of what Rose had read, and wondered if it were true.

showing who or what does the action

From this reading It was only the dying from home he had dreaded so much, asking to live till he could see his mother again, and the grass growing by the cottage door, and the violets by the well.

a small house with a single story

From this reading It was only the dying from home he had dreaded so much, asking to live till he could see his mother again, and the grass growing by the cottage door, and the violets by the well.

the past of “can”; used for possibility or polite requests

From this reading The sick boy whispered the words a great many times to himself, as with his face to the wall, where neither his mother nor Susan could see it, he thought of what Rose had read, and wondered if it were true.

the event of dying or departure from life

From this reading He had been very near death once before, and had not shrunk from meeting it _as_ death.

pass from physical life and lose all bodily attributes and functions necessary to sustain life

From this reading He was not afraid to die.

a swinging or sliding barrier that will close the entrance to a room or building or vehicle

From this reading It was only the dying from home he had dreaded so much, asking to live till he could see his mother again, and the grass growing by the cottage door, and the violets by the well.

causing fear or dread or terror

From this reading It was only the dying from home he had dreaded so much, asking to live till he could see his mother again, and the grass growing by the cottage door, and the violets by the well.

in or associated with the process of passing from life or ceasing to be

From this reading It was only the dying from home he had dreaded so much, asking to live till he could see his mother again, and the grass growing by the cottage door, and the violets by the well.

the front of the human head from the forehead to the chin and ear to ear

From this reading The sick boy whispered the words a great many times to himself, as with his face to the wall, where neither his mother nor Susan could see it, he thought of what Rose had read, and wondered if it were true.

showing where something starts, or who sent it

From this reading He had been very near death once before, and had not shrunk from meeting it _as_ death.

the supernatural being conceived as the perfect and omnipotent and omniscient originator and ruler of the universe; the object of worship in monotheistic religions

From this reading And God had taken him at his word.

shoot down, of birds

From this reading It was only the dying from home he had dreaded so much, asking to live till he could see his mother again, and the grass growing by the cottage door, and the violets by the well.

relatively large in size or number or extent; larger than others of its kind

From this reading The sick boy whispered the words a great many times to himself, as with his face to the wall, where neither his mother nor Susan could see it, he thought of what Rose had read, and wondered if it were true.

(biology) the process of an individual organism growing organically; a purely biological unfolding of events involved in an organism changing gradually from a simple to a more complex level

From this reading It was only the dying from home he had dreaded so much, asking to live till he could see his mother again, and the grass growing by the cottage door, and the violets by the well.

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

From this reading The sick boy whispered the words a great many times to himself, as with his face to the wall, where neither his mother nor Susan could see it, he thought of what Rose had read, and wondered if it were true.

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

From this reading The sick boy whispered the words a great many times to himself, as with his face to the wall, where neither his mother nor Susan could see it, he thought of what Rose had read, and wondered if it were true.

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

From this reading And God had taken him at his word.

used when the man or boy doing the action is also its object

From this reading The sick boy whispered the words a great many times to himself, as with his face to the wall, where neither his mother nor Susan could see it, he thought of what Rose had read, and wondered if it were true.

belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned

From this reading The sick boy whispered the words a great many times to himself, as with his face to the wall, where neither his mother nor Susan could see it, he thought of what Rose had read, and wondered if it were true.

where you live at a particular time

From this reading It was only the dying from home he had dreaded so much, asking to live till he could see his mother again, and the grass growing by the cottage door, and the violets by the well.

on condition that; in the event that

From this reading The sick boy whispered the words a great many times to himself, as with his face to the wall, where neither his mother nor Susan could see it, he thought of what Rose had read, and wondered if it were true.

a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned

From this reading The sick boy whispered the words a great many times to himself, as with his face to the wall, where neither his mother nor Susan could see it, he thought of what Rose had read, and wondered if it were true.

be an inhabitant of or reside in

From this reading It was only the dying from home he had dreaded so much, asking to live till he could see his mother again, and the grass growing by the cottage door, and the violets by the well.

a quantifier that can be used with count nouns and is often preceded by “as” or “too” or “so” or “that”; amounting to a large but indefinite number

From this reading The sick boy whispered the words a great many times to himself, as with his face to the wall, where neither his mother nor Susan could see it, he thought of what Rose had read, and wondered if it were true.

a formally arranged gathering

From this reading He had been very near death once before, and had not shrunk from meeting it _as_ death.

a woman who has given birth to a child (also used as a term of address to your mother)

From this reading The sick boy whispered the words a great many times to himself, as with his face to the wall, where neither his mother nor Susan could see it, he thought of what Rose had read, and wondered if it were true.

to a great degree or extent

From this reading It was only the dying from home he had dreaded so much, asking to live till he could see his mother again, and the grass growing by the cottage door, and the violets by the well.

near in time or place or relationship

From this reading He had been very near death once before, and had not shrunk from meeting it _as_ death.

not one and not the other of two

From this reading The sick boy whispered the words a great many times to himself, as with his face to the wall, where neither his mother nor Susan could see it, he thought of what Rose had read, and wondered if it were true.

and not; used after a negative to add a second negative

From this reading The sick boy whispered the words a great many times to himself, as with his face to the wall, where neither his mother nor Susan could see it, he thought of what Rose had read, and wondered if it were true.

used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative

From this reading He was not afraid to die.

belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something

From this reading The sick boy whispered the words a great many times to himself, as with his face to the wall, where neither his mother nor Susan could see it, he thought of what Rose had read, and wondered if it were true.

on one occasion

From this reading He had been very near death once before, and had not shrunk from meeting it _as_ death.

and nothing more

From this reading It was only the dying from home he had dreaded so much, asking to live till he could see his mother again, and the grass growing by the cottage door, and the violets by the well.

interpret something that is written or printed

From this reading The sick boy whispered the words a great many times to himself, as with his face to the wall, where neither his mother nor Susan could see it, he thought of what Rose had read, and wondered if it were true.

any of many shrubs of the genus Rosa that bear roses

From this reading The sick boy whispered the words a great many times to himself, as with his face to the wall, where neither his mother nor Susan could see it, he thought of what Rose had read, and wondered if it were true.

perceive by sight or have the power to perceive by sight

From this reading The sick boy whispered the words a great many times to himself, as with his face to the wall, where neither his mother nor Susan could see it, he thought of what Rose had read, and wondered if it were true.

inflected form of “shrink” — wither, as with a loss of moisture

From this reading He had been very near death once before, and had not shrunk from meeting it _as_ death.

affected by an impairment of normal physical or mental function

From this reading The sick boy whispered the words a great many times to himself, as with his face to the wall, where neither his mother nor Susan could see it, he thought of what Rose had read, and wondered if it were true.

for that reason; with the result that

From this reading It was only the dying from home he had dreaded so much, asking to live till he could see his mother again, and the grass growing by the cottage door, and the violets by the well.

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

From this reading The sick boy whispered the words a great many times to himself, as with his face to the wall, where neither his mother nor Susan could see it, he thought of what Rose had read, and wondered if it were true.

understood in a certain way; made sense of

From this reading And God had taken him at his word.

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

From this reading The sick boy whispered the words a great many times to himself, as with his face to the wall, where neither his mother nor Susan could see it, he thought of what Rose had read, and wondered if it were true.

the content of cognition; the main thing you are thinking about

From this reading The sick boy whispered the words a great many times to himself, as with his face to the wall, where neither his mother nor Susan could see it, he thought of what Rose had read, and wondered if it were true.

up to a particular time

From this reading It was only the dying from home he had dreaded so much, asking to live till he could see his mother again, and the grass growing by the cottage door, and the violets by the well.

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

From this reading The sick boy whispered the words a great many times to himself, as with his face to the wall, where neither his mother nor Susan could see it, he thought of what Rose had read, and wondered if it were true.

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

From this reading The sick boy whispered the words a great many times to himself, as with his face to the wall, where neither his mother nor Susan could see it, he thought of what Rose had read, and wondered if it were true.

consistent with fact or reality; not false

From this reading The sick boy whispered the words a great many times to himself, as with his face to the wall, where neither his mother nor Susan could see it, he thought of what Rose had read, and wondered if it were true.

precisely as stated

From this reading He had been very near death once before, and had not shrunk from meeting it _as_ death.

plural of “violet” — any of numerous low-growing violas with small flowers

From this reading It was only the dying from home he had dreaded so much, asking to live till he could see his mother again, and the grass growing by the cottage door, and the violets by the well.

an architectural partition with a height and length greater than its thickness; used to divide or enclose an area or to support another structure

From this reading The sick boy whispered the words a great many times to himself, as with his face to the wall, where neither his mother nor Susan could see it, he thought of what Rose had read, and wondered if it were true.

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

From this reading He was not afraid to die.

(often used as a combining form) in a good or proper or satisfactory manner or to a high standard (“good” is a nonstandard dialectal variant for “well”)

From this reading It was only the dying from home he had dreaded so much, asking to live till he could see his mother again, and the grass growing by the cottage door, and the violets by the well.

the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun

From this reading The sick boy whispered the words a great many times to himself, as with his face to the wall, where neither his mother nor Susan could see it, he thought of what Rose had read, and wondered if it were true.

used to ask for information about something

From this reading The sick boy whispered the words a great many times to himself, as with his face to the wall, where neither his mother nor Susan could see it, he thought of what Rose had read, and wondered if it were true.

in or at the place that

From this reading The sick boy whispered the words a great many times to himself, as with his face to the wall, where neither his mother nor Susan could see it, he thought of what Rose had read, and wondered if it were true.

spoken in soft hushed tones without vibrations of the vocal cords

From this reading The sick boy whispered the words a great many times to himself, as with his face to the wall, where neither his mother nor Susan could see it, he thought of what Rose had read, and wondered if it were true.

in the company of; together with

From this reading The sick boy whispered the words a great many times to himself, as with his face to the wall, where neither his mother nor Susan could see it, he thought of what Rose had read, and wondered if it were true.

past form of “wonder” — have a wish or desire to know something

From this reading The sick boy whispered the words a great many times to himself, as with his face to the wall, where neither his mother nor Susan could see it, he thought of what Rose had read, and wondered if it were true.

a unit of language that native speakers can identify

From this reading And God had taken him at his word.

the words that are spoken

From this reading The sick boy whispered the words a great many times to himself, as with his face to the wall, where neither his mother nor Susan could see it, he thought of what Rose had read, and wondered if it were true.