used before a singular noun to mean one of a group, when it is not a particular one
From this reading A night, and a day, and a night, and a day, and again a night passed during which time George heard nothing more of his ministering angel or her promised comfort.
anew
From this reading A night, and a day, and a night, and a day, and again a night passed during which time George heard nothing more of his ministering angel or her promised comfort.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading A night, and a day, and a night, and a day, and again a night passed during which time George heard nothing more of his ministering angel or her promised comfort.
spiritual being attendant upon God
From this reading A night, and a day, and a night, and a day, and again a night passed during which time George heard nothing more of his ministering angel or her promised comfort.
declared publicly; made widely known
From this reading Then on the second day his door opened, and a lady to see him was announced.
announcementnounUS /əˈnaʊnsmənt/
a formal public statement
From this reading It was not Ella; she would have been in like a sparrow before the announcement was well out of the warder’s mouth.
past form of “appear” — give a certain impression or have a certain outward aspect
From this reading The few instants which elapsed before she appeared were more intensely exciting to him than the pause before the judge pronounces sentence is to the prisoner.
beenauxiliary verbUS /bɪn/
the past participle of “be”
From this reading It was not Ella; she would have been in like a sparrow before the announcement was well out of the warder’s mouth.
earlier than; in front of
From this reading The few instants which elapsed before she appeared were more intensely exciting to him than the pause before the judge pronounces sentence is to the prisoner.
a state of being relaxed and feeling no pain
From this reading A night, and a day, and a night, and a day, and again a night passed during which time George heard nothing more of his ministering angel or her promised comfort.
time for Earth to make a complete rotation on its axis
From this reading A night, and a day, and a night, and a day, and again a night passed during which time George heard nothing more of his ministering angel or her promised comfort.
didauxiliary verbUS /dɪd/
the past form of “do”, used in questions and negatives
From this reading His suspense did not last a half-minute.
a swinging or sliding barrier that will close the entrance to a room or building or vehicle
From this reading Then on the second day his door opened, and a lady to see him was announced.
all through a period, or at some point within it
From this reading A night, and a day, and a night, and a day, and again a night passed during which time George heard nothing more of his ministering angel or her promised comfort.
elapsedadjectiveUS /ɪˈlæpst/
(of time) having passed or slipped by
From this reading The few instants which elapsed before she appeared were more intensely exciting to him than the pause before the judge pronounces sentence is to the prisoner.
Ella
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading It was not Ella; she would have been in like a sparrow before the announcement was well out of the warder’s mouth.
excitingadjectiveUS /ɪkˈsaɪtɪŋ/
creating or arousing excitement
From this reading The few instants which elapsed before she appeared were more intensely exciting to him than the pause before the judge pronounces sentence is to the prisoner.
a quantifier that can be used with count nouns and is often preceded by “a”; a small but indefinite number
From this reading The few instants which elapsed before she appeared were more intensely exciting to him than the pause before the judge pronounces sentence is to the prisoner.
Christian martyr; patron saint of England; hero of the legend of Saint George and the Dragon in which he slew a dragon and saved a princess (?-303)
From this reading A night, and a day, and a night, and a day, and again a night passed during which time George heard nothing more of his ministering angel or her promised comfort.
half-minute
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading His suspense did not last a half-minute.
haveauxiliary verbUS /hæv/
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading It was not Ella; she would have been in like a sparrow before the announcement was well out of the warder’s mouth.
detected or perceived by the sense of hearing
From this reading A night, and a day, and a night, and a day, and again a night passed during which time George heard nothing more of his ministering angel or her promised comfort.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading A night, and a day, and a night, and a day, and again a night passed during which time George heard nothing more of his ministering angel or her promised comfort.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading Then on the second day his door opened, and a lady to see him was announced.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading A night, and a day, and a night, and a day, and again a night passed during which time George heard nothing more of his ministering angel or her promised comfort.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading It was not Ella; she would have been in like a sparrow before the announcement was well out of the warder’s mouth.
instants
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The few instants which elapsed before she appeared were more intensely exciting to him than the pause before the judge pronounces sentence is to the prisoner.
intenselyadverbUS /ˌɪnˈtensli/
to a high degree; extremely; in high concentration or density
From this reading The few instants which elapsed before she appeared were more intensely exciting to him than the pause before the judge pronounces sentence is to the prisoner.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading The few instants which elapsed before she appeared were more intensely exciting to him than the pause before the judge pronounces sentence is to the prisoner.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading It was not Ella; she would have been in like a sparrow before the announcement was well out of the warder’s mouth.
determine the result of (a competition)
From this reading The few instants which elapsed before she appeared were more intensely exciting to him than the pause before the judge pronounces sentence is to the prisoner.
a polite name for any woman
From this reading Then on the second day his door opened, and a lady to see him was announced.
immediately past
From this reading His suspense did not last a half-minute.
prefer or wish to do something
From this reading It was not Ella; she would have been in like a sparrow before the announcement was well out of the warder’s mouth.
ministeringverbUS /ˈmɪnɪstrɪŋ/
-ing form of “minister” — attend to the wants and needs of others
From this reading A night, and a day, and a night, and a day, and again a night passed during which time George heard nothing more of his ministering angel or her promised comfort.
(comparative of “much” used with mass nouns) a quantifier meaning greater in size or amount or extent or degree
From this reading A night, and a day, and a night, and a day, and again a night passed during which time George heard nothing more of his ministering angel or her promised comfort.
the opening through which food is taken in and vocalizations emerge
From this reading It was not Ella; she would have been in like a sparrow before the announcement was well out of the warder’s mouth.
the time after sunset and before sunrise while it is dark outside
From this reading A night, and a day, and a night, and a day, and again a night passed during which time George heard nothing more of his ministering angel or her promised comfort.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading It was not Ella; she would have been in like a sparrow before the announcement was well out of the warder’s mouth.
not one thing; not anything
From this reading A night, and a day, and a night, and a day, and again a night passed during which time George heard nothing more of his ministering angel or her promised comfort.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading A night, and a day, and a night, and a day, and again a night passed during which time George heard nothing more of his ministering angel or her promised comfort.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading Then on the second day his door opened, and a lady to see him was announced.
used of mouth or eyes
From this reading Then on the second day his door opened, and a lady to see him was announced.
used to join alternatives or possibilities
From this reading A night, and a day, and a night, and a day, and again a night passed during which time George heard nothing more of his ministering angel or her promised comfort.
not allowed to continue to bat or run
From this reading It was not Ella; she would have been in like a sparrow before the announcement was well out of the warder’s mouth.
past form of “pass” — go across or through
From this reading A night, and a day, and a night, and a day, and again a night passed during which time George heard nothing more of his ministering angel or her promised comfort.
a time interval during which there is a temporary cessation of something
From this reading The few instants which elapsed before she appeared were more intensely exciting to him than the pause before the judge pronounces sentence is to the prisoner.
a person who is confined; especially a prisoner of war
From this reading The few instants which elapsed before she appeared were more intensely exciting to him than the pause before the judge pronounces sentence is to the prisoner.
past form of “promise” — make a promise or commitment
From this reading A night, and a day, and a night, and a day, and again a night passed during which time George heard nothing more of his ministering angel or her promised comfort.
pronouncesverbUS /prəˈnaʊnsɪz/
third-person singular of “pronounce” — speak, pronounce, or utter in a certain way
From this reading The few instants which elapsed before she appeared were more intensely exciting to him than the pause before the judge pronounces sentence is to the prisoner.
1/60 of a minute; the basic unit of time adopted under the Systeme International d'Unites
From this reading Then on the second day his door opened, and a lady to see him was announced.
perceive by sight or have the power to perceive by sight
From this reading Then on the second day his door opened, and a lady to see him was announced.
a string of words satisfying the grammatical rules of a language
From this reading The few instants which elapsed before she appeared were more intensely exciting to him than the pause before the judge pronounces sentence is to the prisoner.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading The few instants which elapsed before she appeared were more intensely exciting to him than the pause before the judge pronounces sentence is to the prisoner.
sparrownounUS /ˈsperoʊ/
any of several small dull-colored singing birds feeding on seeds or insects
From this reading It was not Ella; she would have been in like a sparrow before the announcement was well out of the warder’s mouth.
suspensenounUS /səˈspens/
apprehension about what is going to happen
From this reading His suspense did not last a half-minute.
used to introduce the second part of a comparison
From this reading The few instants which elapsed before she appeared were more intensely exciting to him than the pause before the judge pronounces sentence is to the prisoner.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Then on the second day his door opened, and a lady to see him was announced.
subsequently or soon afterward (often used as sentence connectors)
From this reading Then on the second day his door opened, and a lady to see him was announced.
an instance or single occasion for some event
From this reading A night, and a day, and a night, and a day, and again a night passed during which time George heard nothing more of his ministering angel or her promised comfort.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Then on the second day his door opened, and a lady to see him was announced.
warder's
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading It was not Ella; she would have been in like a sparrow before the announcement was well out of the warder’s mouth.
wasauxiliary verbUS /wɑːz/
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Then on the second day his door opened, and a lady to see him was announced.
(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 not Ella; she would have been in like a sparrow before the announcement was well out of the warder’s mouth.
wereauxiliary verbUS /wɜːr/
the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading The few instants which elapsed before she appeared were more intensely exciting to him than the pause before the judge pronounces sentence is to the prisoner.
used to introduce a clause giving more about a thing just mentioned
From this reading A night, and a day, and a night, and a day, and again a night passed during which time George heard nothing more of his ministering angel or her promised comfort.
used for something imagined, polite, or habitual in the past
From this reading It was not Ella; she would have been in like a sparrow before the announcement was well out of the warder’s mouth.
