used before a singular noun to mean one of a group, when it is not a particular one
From this reading He _had_ seen a man waving a signal of distress on the slopes of Mont Blanc above the great buttress.
aboveprepositionUS /əˈbʌv/
higher than, or over, something
From this reading He _had_ seen a man waving a signal of distress on the slopes of Mont Blanc above the great buttress.
the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound
From this reading An hour before Chayne and Sylvia set out from Chamonix to cross the Col du Géant, and while it was yet quite dark, a spark glowed suddenly on an island of rocks set in the great white waste of the Brenva glacier.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading And this is how the signal came to be waved.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading And this is how the signal came to be waved.
earlier than; in front of
From this reading An hour before Chayne and Sylvia set out from Chamonix to cross the Col du Géant, and while it was yet quite dark, a spark glowed suddenly on an island of rocks set in the great white waste of the Brenva glacier.
BlancnounUS /blæŋk/
a white sauce of fat, broth, and vegetables (used especially with braised meat)
From this reading He _had_ seen a man waving a signal of distress on the slopes of Mont Blanc above the great buttress.
BRENVA
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading THE BRENVA RIDGE The peasant was right.
buttressverbUS /ˈbʌtrəs/
reinforce with a buttress
From this reading He _had_ seen a man waving a signal of distress on the slopes of Mont Blanc above the great buttress.
showing who or what does the action
From this reading The spark was a fire lit by Pierre Delouvain.
inflected form of “come” — move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading And this is how the signal came to be waved.
Chamonix
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading An hour before Chayne and Sylvia set out from Chamonix to cross the Col du Géant, and while it was yet quite dark, a spark glowed suddenly on an island of rocks set in the great white waste of the Brenva glacier.
Chayne
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading An hour before Chayne and Sylvia set out from Chamonix to cross the Col du Géant, and while it was yet quite dark, a spark glowed suddenly on an island of rocks set in the great white waste of the Brenva glacier.
Colnoun
a pass between mountain peaks
From this reading An hour before Chayne and Sylvia set out from Chamonix to cross the Col du Géant, and while it was yet quite dark, a spark glowed suddenly on an island of rocks set in the great white waste of the Brenva glacier.
travel across or pass over
From this reading An hour before Chayne and Sylvia set out from Chamonix to cross the Col du Géant, and while it was yet quite dark, a spark glowed suddenly on an island of rocks set in the great white waste of the Brenva glacier.
absence of light or illumination
From this reading An hour before Chayne and Sylvia set out from Chamonix to cross the Col du Géant, and while it was yet quite dark, a spark glowed suddenly on an island of rocks set in the great white waste of the Brenva glacier.
Delouvain
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The spark was a fire lit by Pierre Delouvain.
psychological suffering
From this reading He _had_ seen a man waving a signal of distress on the slopes of Mont Blanc above the great buttress.
du
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading An hour before Chayne and Sylvia set out from Chamonix to cross the Col du Géant, and while it was yet quite dark, a spark glowed suddenly on an island of rocks set in the great white waste of the Brenva glacier.
start firing a weapon
From this reading The spark was a fire lit by Pierre Delouvain.
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading An hour before Chayne and Sylvia set out from Chamonix to cross the Col du Géant, and while it was yet quite dark, a spark glowed suddenly on an island of rocks set in the great white waste of the Brenva glacier.
glaciernounUS /ˈɡleɪʃər/
a slowly moving mass of ice
From this reading An hour before Chayne and Sylvia set out from Chamonix to cross the Col du Géant, and while it was yet quite dark, a spark glowed suddenly on an island of rocks set in the great white waste of the Brenva glacier.
glowedverbUS /ɡloʊd/
past form of “glow” — emit a steady even light without flames
From this reading An hour before Chayne and Sylvia set out from Chamonix to cross the Col du Géant, and while it was yet quite dark, a spark glowed suddenly on an island of rocks set in the great white waste of the Brenva glacier.
relatively large in size or number or extent; larger than others of its kind
From this reading He _had_ seen a man waving a signal of distress on the slopes of Mont Blanc above the great buttress.
Géant
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading An hour before Chayne and Sylvia set out from Chamonix to cross the Col du Géant, and while it was yet quite dark, a spark glowed suddenly on an island of rocks set in the great white waste of the Brenva glacier.
hadauxiliary verbUS /hæd/
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading He _had_ seen a man waving a signal of distress on the slopes of Mont Blanc above the great buttress.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading He _had_ seen a man waving a signal of distress on the slopes of Mont Blanc above the great buttress.
a period of time equal to 1/24th of a day
From this reading An hour before Chayne and Sylvia set out from Chamonix to cross the Col du Géant, and while it was yet quite dark, a spark glowed suddenly on an island of rocks set in the great white waste of the Brenva glacier.
how
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading And this is how the signal came to be waved.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading An hour before Chayne and Sylvia set out from Chamonix to cross the Col du Géant, and while it was yet quite dark, a spark glowed suddenly on an island of rocks set in the great white waste of the Brenva glacier.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading And this is how the signal came to be waved.
a land mass (smaller than a continent) that is surrounded by water
From this reading An hour before Chayne and Sylvia set out from Chamonix to cross the Col du Géant, and while it was yet quite dark, a spark glowed suddenly on an island of rocks set in the great white waste of the Brenva glacier.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading An hour before Chayne and Sylvia set out from Chamonix to cross the Col du Géant, and while it was yet quite dark, a spark glowed suddenly on an island of rocks set in the great white waste of the Brenva glacier.
provided with artificial light
From this reading The spark was a fire lit by Pierre Delouvain.
an adult person who is male (as opposed to a woman)
From this reading He _had_ seen a man waving a signal of distress on the slopes of Mont Blanc above the great buttress.
Mont
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading He _had_ seen a man waving a signal of distress on the slopes of Mont Blanc above the great buttress.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading He _had_ seen a man waving a signal of distress on the slopes of Mont Blanc above the great buttress.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading He _had_ seen a man waving a signal of distress on the slopes of Mont Blanc above the great buttress.
not allowed to continue to bat or run
From this reading An hour before Chayne and Sylvia set out from Chamonix to cross the Col du Géant, and while it was yet quite dark, a spark glowed suddenly on an island of rocks set in the great white waste of the Brenva glacier.
peasantnounUS /ˈpezənt/
a country person
From this reading THE BRENVA RIDGE The peasant was right.
capital of the state of South Dakota; located in central South Dakota on the Missouri river
From this reading The spark was a fire lit by Pierre Delouvain.
to a degree (not used with a negative)
From this reading An hour before Chayne and Sylvia set out from Chamonix to cross the Col du Géant, and while it was yet quite dark, a spark glowed suddenly on an island of rocks set in the great white waste of the Brenva glacier.
RIDGEnounUS /rɪdʒ/
a long narrow natural elevation or striation
From this reading THE BRENVA RIDGE The peasant was right.
precisely, exactly
From this reading THE BRENVA RIDGE The peasant was right.
plural of “rock” — a lump or mass of hard consolidated mineral matter
From this reading An hour before Chayne and Sylvia set out from Chamonix to cross the Col du Géant, and while it was yet quite dark, a spark glowed suddenly on an island of rocks set in the great white waste of the Brenva glacier.
inflected form of “see” — perceive by sight or have the power to perceive by sight
From this reading He _had_ seen a man waving a signal of distress on the slopes of Mont Blanc above the great buttress.
put into a certain place or abstract location
From this reading An hour before Chayne and Sylvia set out from Chamonix to cross the Col du Géant, and while it was yet quite dark, a spark glowed suddenly on an island of rocks set in the great white waste of the Brenva glacier.
any nonverbal action or gesture that encodes a message
From this reading He _had_ seen a man waving a signal of distress on the slopes of Mont Blanc above the great buttress.
slopesnounUS /sloʊps/
plural of “slope” — an elevated geological formation
From this reading He _had_ seen a man waving a signal of distress on the slopes of Mont Blanc above the great buttress.
sparknounUS /spɑːrk/
a momentary flash of light
From this reading An hour before Chayne and Sylvia set out from Chamonix to cross the Col du Géant, and while it was yet quite dark, a spark glowed suddenly on an island of rocks set in the great white waste of the Brenva glacier.
happening unexpectedly
From this reading An hour before Chayne and Sylvia set out from Chamonix to cross the Col du Géant, and while it was yet quite dark, a spark glowed suddenly on an island of rocks set in the great white waste of the Brenva glacier.
Sylvia
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading An hour before Chayne and Sylvia set out from Chamonix to cross the Col du Géant, and while it was yet quite dark, a spark glowed suddenly on an island of rocks set in the great white waste of the Brenva glacier.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading THE BRENVA RIDGE The peasant was right.
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading And this is how the signal came to be waved.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading And this is how the signal came to be waved.
wasauxiliary verbUS /wɑːz/
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading THE BRENVA RIDGE The peasant was right.
any materials unused and rejected as worthless or unwanted
From this reading An hour before Chayne and Sylvia set out from Chamonix to cross the Col du Géant, and while it was yet quite dark, a spark glowed suddenly on an island of rocks set in the great white waste of the Brenva glacier.
past form of “wave” — signal with the hands or nod
From this reading And this is how the signal came to be waved.
wavingnounUS /ˈweɪvɪŋ/
the act of signaling by a movement of the hand
From this reading He _had_ seen a man waving a signal of distress on the slopes of Mont Blanc above the great buttress.
whileconjunctionUS /waɪl/
during the time that
From this reading An hour before Chayne and Sylvia set out from Chamonix to cross the Col du Géant, and while it was yet quite dark, a spark glowed suddenly on an island of rocks set in the great white waste of the Brenva glacier.
a Caucasian
From this reading An hour before Chayne and Sylvia set out from Chamonix to cross the Col du Géant, and while it was yet quite dark, a spark glowed suddenly on an island of rocks set in the great white waste of the Brenva glacier.
but in spite of that
From this reading An hour before Chayne and Sylvia set out from Chamonix to cross the Col du Géant, and while it was yet quite dark, a spark glowed suddenly on an island of rocks set in the great white waste of the Brenva glacier.
