Chapter 21 of Tales from the Arabic — Complete is here in full — 22 sentences across 5 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XXI
Chapter 21 of Tales from the Arabic — Complete is here in full — 22 sentences across 5 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A Damsel made for love and decked with subtle grace, iii. 192. A fair one, to idolaters if she herself should show, iii. 10. A sun of beauty she appears to all who look on her, iii.
Chapter 21 of Tales from the Arabic — Complete is here in full — 22 sentences across 5 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/4 · 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.
third-person singular of “appear” — give a certain impression or have a certain outward aspect
From this reading “A sun of beauty she appears to all who look on her, iii.”
the qualities that give pleasure to the senses
From this reading “A sun of beauty she appears to all who look on her, iii.”
a young unmarried woman
From this reading “A Damsel made for love and decked with subtle grace, iii.”
past form of “deck” — be beautiful to look at
From this reading “A Damsel made for love and decked with subtle grace, iii.”
free from favoritism or self-interest or bias or deception; conforming with established standards or rules
From this reading “A fair one, to idolaters if she herself should show, iii.”
(Christian theology) a state of sanctification by God; the state of one who is under such divine influence
From this reading “A Damsel made for love and decked with subtle grace, iii.”
difficult to detect or grasp by the mind or analyze
From this reading “A Damsel made for love and decked with subtle grace, iii.”
the star that is the source of light and heat for the planets in the solar system
From this reading “A sun of beauty she appears to all who look on her, iii.”
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.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading 10.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading 192.
used before a singular noun to mean one of a group, when it is not a particular one
From this reading A Damsel made for love and decked with subtle grace, iii.
(quantifier) used with either mass or count nouns to indicate the whole number or amount of or every one of a class
From this reading A sun of beauty she appears to all who look on her, iii.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading A Damsel made for love and decked with subtle grace, iii.
third-person singular of “appear” — give a certain impression or have a certain outward aspect
From this reading A sun of beauty she appears to all who look on her, iii.
the qualities that give pleasure to the senses
From this reading A sun of beauty she appears to all who look on her, iii.
a young unmarried woman
From this reading A Damsel made for love and decked with subtle grace, iii.
past form of “deck” — be beautiful to look at
From this reading A Damsel made for love and decked with subtle grace, iii.
free from favoritism or self-interest or bias or deception; conforming with established standards or rules
From this reading A fair one, to idolaters if she herself should show, iii.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading A Damsel made for love and decked with subtle grace, iii.
(Christian theology) a state of sanctification by God; the state of one who is under such divine influence
From this reading A Damsel made for love and decked with subtle grace, iii.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading A sun of beauty she appears to all who look on her, iii.
used when the woman or girl doing the action is also its object
From this reading A fair one, to idolaters if she herself should show, iii.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading A fair one, to idolaters if she herself should show, iii.
on condition that; in the event that
From this reading A fair one, to idolaters if she herself should show, iii.
the cardinal number that is the sum of one and one and one
From this reading A Damsel made for love and decked with subtle grace, iii.
perceive with attention; direct one's gaze towards
From this reading A sun of beauty she appears to all who look on her, iii.
a strong positive emotion of regard and affection
From this reading A Damsel made for love and decked with subtle grace, iii.
produced by a manufacturing process
From this reading A Damsel made for love and decked with subtle grace, iii.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading A sun of beauty she appears to all who look on her, iii.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading A sun of beauty she appears to all who look on her, iii.
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading A fair one, to idolaters if she herself should show, iii.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading A fair one, to idolaters if she herself should show, iii.
used to say what is right, expected, or advisable
From this reading A fair one, to idolaters if she herself should show, iii.
give an exhibition of to an interested audience
From this reading A fair one, to idolaters if she herself should show, iii.
difficult to detect or grasp by the mind or analyze
From this reading A Damsel made for love and decked with subtle grace, iii.
the star that is the source of light and heat for the planets in the solar system
From this reading A sun of beauty she appears to all who look on her, iii.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading A fair one, to idolaters if she herself should show, iii.
which person or people
From this reading A sun of beauty she appears to all who look on her, iii.
in the company of; together with
From this reading A Damsel made for love and decked with subtle grace, iii.
Chapter 21 of Tales from the Arabic — Complete by John [Translator] Payne holds 22 sentences, grouped into 5 reading sections of at most 5 sentences. The text is the public-domain source, 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 21 holds 22 sentences of Tales from the Arabic — Complete, unabridged, divided into 5 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 21 of Tales from the Arabic — Complete by John [Translator] Payne exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 22 sentences, grouped into 5 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 5 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 5 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 21 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 Tales from the Arabic — Complete by John [Translator] Payne on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 12309 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #5245 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #5245, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 2462 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Tales from the Arabic — Complete section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 25 chapters of Tales from the Arabic — Complete 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 Tales from the Arabic — Complete, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
