Chapter 33 of Sir Gibbie is here in full — 87 sentences across 18 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XXXIII
Chapter 33 of Sir Gibbie is here in full — 87 sentences across 18 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
THE NORTH CHURCH. It was a cold night in March, cloudy and blowing. Every human body was turned into a fortress for bare defence of life. There was no snow on the ground, but it seemed as if there must be snow everywhere else. There was snow in the clouds overhead, and there was snow in the mind of man beneath.
Chapter 33 of Sir Gibbie is here in full — 87 sentences across 18 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/17 · 5 reading units · Lines 1–5
These definitions explain words found in the current reading and keep every example grounded in its original sentence.
Oxford-style entry order: headword, part of speech, US IPA, concise definition, contextual example, and audio.
completely unclothed
From this reading “Every human body was turned into a fortress for bare defence of life.”
processing that involves blowing a gas
From this reading “It was a cold night in March, cloudy and blowing.”
plural of “cloud” — any collection of particles (e.g., smoke or dust) or gases that is visible
From this reading “There was snow in the clouds overhead, and there was snow in the mind of man beneath.”
lacking definite form or limits
From this reading “It was a cold night in March, cloudy and blowing.”
(psychiatry) an unconscious process that tries to reduce the anxiety associated with instinctive desires
From this reading “Every human body was turned into a fortress for bare defence of life.”
to or in any or all places
From this reading “There was no snow on the ground, but it seemed as if there must be snow everywhere else.”
a fortified defensive structure
From this reading “Every human body was turned into a fortress for bare defence of life.”
above your head; in the sky
From this reading “There was snow in the clouds overhead, and there was snow in the mind of man beneath.”
Every word in these five lines is listed here, and every one of them can be played on its own.
Dictionary details are shown only when verified; these are not licensed Oxford entries.
used before a singular noun to mean one of a group, when it is not a particular one
From this reading It was a cold night in March, cloudy and blowing.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading It was a cold night in March, cloudy and blowing.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading There was no snow on the ground, but it seemed as if there must be snow everywhere else.
completely unclothed
From this reading Every human body was turned into a fortress for bare defence of life.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading There was no snow on the ground, but it seemed as if there must be snow everywhere else.
Directly under; in or to a lower position than.
From this reading There was snow in the clouds overhead, and there was snow in the mind of man beneath.
processing that involves blowing a gas
From this reading It was a cold night in March, cloudy and blowing.
the entire physical structure of an organism (an animal, plant, or human being)
From this reading Every human body was turned into a fortress for bare defence of life.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading There was no snow on the ground, but it seemed as if there must be snow everywhere else.
one of the groups of Christians who have their own beliefs and forms of worship
From this reading THE NORTH CHURCH.
plural of “cloud” — any collection of particles (e.g., smoke or dust) or gases that is visible
From this reading There was snow in the clouds overhead, and there was snow in the mind of man beneath.
lacking definite form or limits
From this reading It was a cold night in March, cloudy and blowing.
having a low or inadequate temperature or feeling a sensation of coldness or having been made cold by e.g. ice or refrigeration
From this reading It was a cold night in March, cloudy and blowing.
(psychiatry) an unconscious process that tries to reduce the anxiety associated with instinctive desires
From this reading Every human body was turned into a fortress for bare defence of life.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading There was no snow on the ground, but it seemed as if there must be snow everywhere else.
all the members of a group, with none left out
From this reading Every human body was turned into a fortress for bare defence of life.
to or in any or all places
From this reading There was no snow on the ground, but it seemed as if there must be snow everywhere else.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading Every human body was turned into a fortress for bare defence of life.
a fortified defensive structure
From this reading Every human body was turned into a fortress for bare defence of life.
the solid part of the earth's surface
From this reading There was no snow on the ground, but it seemed as if there must be snow everywhere else.
characteristic of humanity
From this reading Every human body was turned into a fortress for bare defence of life.
on condition that; in the event that
From this reading There was no snow on the ground, but it seemed as if there must be snow everywhere else.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading It was a cold night in March, cloudy and blowing.
moving to the inside of something
From this reading Every human body was turned into a fortress for bare defence of life.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading It was a cold night in March, cloudy and blowing.
a characteristic state or mode of living
From this reading Every human body was turned into a fortress for bare defence of life.
an adult person who is male (as opposed to a woman)
From this reading There was snow in the clouds overhead, and there was snow in the mind of man beneath.
march in a procession
From this reading It was a cold night in March, cloudy and blowing.
The element of a person that enables awareness and thought.
From this reading There was snow in the clouds overhead, and there was snow in the mind of man beneath.
used to say something is necessary, or almost certainly true
From this reading There was no snow on the ground, but it seemed as if there must be snow everywhere else.
the time after sunset and before sunrise while it is dark outside
From this reading It was a cold night in March, cloudy and blowing.
not any; not one
From this reading There was no snow on the ground, but it seemed as if there must be snow everywhere else.
the region of the United States lying to the north of the Mason-Dixon line
From this reading THE NORTH CHURCH.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Every human body was turned into a fortress for bare defence of life.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading There was no snow on the ground, but it seemed as if there must be snow everywhere else.
above your head; in the sky
From this reading There was snow in the clouds overhead, and there was snow in the mind of man beneath.
past form of “seem” — give a certain impression or have a certain outward aspect
From this reading There was no snow on the ground, but it seemed as if there must be snow everywhere else.
precipitation falling from clouds in the form of ice crystals
From this reading There was no snow on the ground, but it seemed as if there must be snow everywhere else.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading THE NORTH CHURCH.
in or at that place or location
From this reading There was no snow on the ground, but it seemed as if there must be snow everywhere else.
moved around an axis or center
From this reading Every human body was turned into a fortress for bare defence of life.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading It was a cold night in March, cloudy and blowing.
Chapter 33 of Sir Gibbie by George MacDonald holds 87 sentences, grouped into 18 reading sections of at most 5 sentences. The text is the source edition, unabridged, and the chapter records which sentences cover which part of the work so that nothing is dropped. Every word can be tapped for its pronunciation and dictionary entry.
Chapter 33 holds 87 sentences of Sir Gibbie, unabridged, divided into 18 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 33 of Sir Gibbie by George MacDonald exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 87 sentences, grouped into 18 sections of at most 5 sentences so that a reader can take the chapter in steady, finishable pieces. The chapter also stores a coverage record mapping every one of its sentences to a part of the work, which is how the edition demonstrates that no line was dropped.
Work through the 18 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 18 sections in this chapter is short enough to read once, hear once, and then re-read with the vocabulary in view. Tapping a word plays it alone and opens its dictionary entry with IPA, part of speech and meaning, so the reader is never forced to guess a pronunciation from spelling. Working section by section keeps a long chapter from becoming an undifferentiated wall of text, which is the usual reason a reader abandons a work of this period.
Yes — every sentence and every individual word in chapter 33 can be played aloud in United States English.
Audio covers the whole chapter: any sentence can be played, and any single word within it can be played on its own. The voice uses United States English. For a work of this period that matters, because spelling is an unreliable guide to pronunciation for vocabulary that has fallen out of daily use, and a learner who guesses wrong tends to keep the error. Hearing the word in its own sentence, and then alone, settles it.
Common questions about reading Sir Gibbie by George MacDonald on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 7818 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #2370 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #2370, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 1564 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Sir Gibbie section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 40 chapters of Sir Gibbie to begin.
Each section holds 5 sentences; read it once through.
Play the section aloud, then tap any unfamiliar word for its entry.
Words and structures a reader meets early in Sir Gibbie, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
