A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter VIII
They awoke in the grey of the morning; the birds were not yet in full song, but twittered here and there among the woods; the sun was not yet up, but the eastern sky was barred with solemn colours. Half starved and over-weary as they were, they lay without moving, sunk in a delightful lassitude. And as they thus lay, the clang of a bell fell suddenly upon their ears. "A bell!" said Dick, sitting up. "Can we be, then, so near to Holywood?"
Reading 1/42 · 5 reading units · Lines 1–5
Oxford-style entry order: headword, part of speech, US IPA, concise definition, contextual example, audio, and collocations from this reading.
surrounded by; in the middle of a group
From this reading “They awoke in the grey of the morning; the birds were not yet in full song, but twittered here and there among the woods; the sun was not yet up, but the eastern sky was barred with solemn colours.”
a story-specific word describing an important person, object, action, or idea in this passage
From this reading “They awoke in the grey of the morning; the birds were not yet in full song, but twittered here and there among the woods; the sun was not yet up, but the eastern sky was barred with solemn colours.”
an important story-specific word used in this passage
From this reading “"A bell!" said Dick, sitting up.”
an important story-specific word used in this passage
From this reading “Half starved and over-weary as they were, they lay without moving, sunk in a delightful lassitude.”
an important story-specific word used in this passage
From this reading “They awoke in the grey of the morning; the birds were not yet in full song, but twittered here and there among the woods; the sun was not yet up, but the eastern sky was barred with solemn colours.”
an important story-specific word used in this passage
From this reading “They awoke in the grey of the morning; the birds were not yet in full song, but twittered here and there among the woods; the sun was not yet up, but the eastern sky was barred with solemn colours.”
a story-specific word describing an important person, object, action, or idea in this passage
From this reading “And as they thus lay, the clang of a bell fell suddenly upon their ears.”
a formal word for “on”
From this reading “And as they thus lay, the clang of a bell fell suddenly upon their ears.”
not having, not using, or not accompanied by
From this reading “Half starved and over-weary as they were, they lay without moving, sunk in a delightful lassitude.”
but in spite of that
From this reading “They awoke in the grey of the morning; the birds were not yet in full song, but twittered here and there among the woods; the sun was not yet up, but the eastern sky was barred with solemn colours.”
Every word is available to listen to. 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 Half starved and over-weary as they were, they lay without moving, sunk in a delightful lassitude.
surrounded by; in the middle of a group
From this reading They awoke in the grey of the morning; the birds were not yet in full song, but twittered here and there among the woods; the sun was not yet up, but the eastern sky was barred with solemn colours.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading They awoke in the grey of the morning; the birds were not yet in full song, but twittered here and there among the woods; the sun was not yet up, but the eastern sky was barred with solemn colours.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading Half starved and over-weary as they were, they lay without moving, sunk in a delightful lassitude.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading They awoke in the grey of the morning; the birds were not yet in full song, but twittered here and there among the woods; the sun was not yet up, but the eastern sky was barred with solemn colours.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading They awoke in the grey of the morning; the birds were not yet in full song, but twittered here and there among the woods; the sun was not yet up, but the eastern sky was barred with solemn colours.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading "Can we be, then, so near to Holywood?"
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading And as they thus lay, the clang of a bell fell suddenly upon their ears.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading They awoke in the grey of the morning; the birds were not yet in full song, but twittered here and there among the woods; the sun was not yet up, but the eastern sky was barred with solemn colours.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading They awoke in the grey of the morning; the birds were not yet in full song, but twittered here and there among the woods; the sun was not yet up, but the eastern sky was barred with solemn colours.
to be able to, or to be allowed to
From this reading "Can we be, then, so near to Holywood?"
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading And as they thus lay, the clang of a bell fell suddenly upon their ears.
a story-specific word describing an important person, object, action, or idea in this passage
From this reading They awoke in the grey of the morning; the birds were not yet in full song, but twittered here and there among the woods; the sun was not yet up, but the eastern sky was barred with solemn colours.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Half starved and over-weary as they were, they lay without moving, sunk in a delightful lassitude.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "A bell!" said Dick, sitting up.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading And as they thus lay, the clang of a bell fell suddenly upon their ears.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading They awoke in the grey of the morning; the birds were not yet in full song, but twittered here and there among the woods; the sun was not yet up, but the eastern sky was barred with solemn colours.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading And as they thus lay, the clang of a bell fell suddenly upon their ears.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading They awoke in the grey of the morning; the birds were not yet in full song, but twittered here and there among the woods; the sun was not yet up, but the eastern sky was barred with solemn colours.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading They awoke in the grey of the morning; the birds were not yet in full song, but twittered here and there among the woods; the sun was not yet up, but the eastern sky was barred with solemn colours.
an important story-specific word used in this passage
From this reading Half starved and over-weary as they were, they lay without moving, sunk in a delightful lassitude.
an important story-specific word used in this passage
From this reading They awoke in the grey of the morning; the birds were not yet in full song, but twittered here and there among the woods; the sun was not yet up, but the eastern sky was barred with solemn colours.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Can we be, then, so near to Holywood?"
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading They awoke in the grey of the morning; the birds were not yet in full song, but twittered here and there among the woods; the sun was not yet up, but the eastern sky was barred with solemn colours.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Half starved and over-weary as they were, they lay without moving, sunk in a delightful lassitude.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Half starved and over-weary as they were, they lay without moving, sunk in a delightful lassitude.
an important story-specific word used in this passage
From this reading They awoke in the grey of the morning; the birds were not yet in full song, but twittered here and there among the woods; the sun was not yet up, but the eastern sky was barred with solemn colours.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Half starved and over-weary as they were, they lay without moving, sunk in a delightful lassitude.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Can we be, then, so near to Holywood?"
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading They awoke in the grey of the morning; the birds were not yet in full song, but twittered here and there among the woods; the sun was not yet up, but the eastern sky was barred with solemn colours.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading They awoke in the grey of the morning; the birds were not yet in full song, but twittered here and there among the woods; the sun was not yet up, but the eastern sky was barred with solemn colours.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Half starved and over-weary as they were, they lay without moving, sunk in a delightful lassitude.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "A bell!" said Dick, sitting up.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "A bell!" said Dick, sitting up.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading They awoke in the grey of the morning; the birds were not yet in full song, but twittered here and there among the woods; the sun was not yet up, but the eastern sky was barred with solemn colours.
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading "Can we be, then, so near to Holywood?"
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading They awoke in the grey of the morning; the birds were not yet in full song, but twittered here and there among the woods; the sun was not yet up, but the eastern sky was barred with solemn colours.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading They awoke in the grey of the morning; the birds were not yet in full song, but twittered here and there among the woods; the sun was not yet up, but the eastern sky was barred with solemn colours.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Half starved and over-weary as they were, they lay without moving, sunk in a delightful lassitude.
a story-specific word describing an important person, object, action, or idea in this passage
From this reading And as they thus lay, the clang of a bell fell suddenly upon their ears.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading They awoke in the grey of the morning; the birds were not yet in full song, but twittered here and there among the woods; the sun was not yet up, but the eastern sky was barred with solemn colours.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Half starved and over-weary as they were, they lay without moving, sunk in a delightful lassitude.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading They awoke in the grey of the morning; the birds were not yet in full song, but twittered here and there among the woods; the sun was not yet up, but the eastern sky was barred with solemn colours.
belonging to the people or things already mentioned
From this reading And as they thus lay, the clang of a bell fell suddenly upon their ears.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Can we be, then, so near to Holywood?"
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading They awoke in the grey of the morning; the birds were not yet in full song, but twittered here and there among the woods; the sun was not yet up, but the eastern sky was barred with solemn colours.
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading They awoke in the grey of the morning; the birds were not yet in full song, but twittered here and there among the woods; the sun was not yet up, but the eastern sky was barred with solemn colours.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading And as they thus lay, the clang of a bell fell suddenly upon their ears.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading "Can we be, then, so near to Holywood?"
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading They awoke in the grey of the morning; the birds were not yet in full song, but twittered here and there among the woods; the sun was not yet up, but the eastern sky was barred with solemn colours.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading They awoke in the grey of the morning; the birds were not yet in full song, but twittered here and there among the woods; the sun was not yet up, but the eastern sky was barred with solemn colours.
a formal word for “on”
From this reading And as they thus lay, the clang of a bell fell suddenly upon their ears.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading They awoke in the grey of the morning; the birds were not yet in full song, but twittered here and there among the woods; the sun was not yet up, but the eastern sky was barred with solemn colours.
the speaker together with one or more other people
From this reading "Can we be, then, so near to Holywood?"
the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading They awoke in the grey of the morning; the birds were not yet in full song, but twittered here and there among the woods; the sun was not yet up, but the eastern sky was barred with solemn colours.
in the company of; together with
From this reading They awoke in the grey of the morning; the birds were not yet in full song, but twittered here and there among the woods; the sun was not yet up, but the eastern sky was barred with solemn colours.
not having, not using, or not accompanied by
From this reading Half starved and over-weary as they were, they lay without moving, sunk in a delightful lassitude.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading They awoke in the grey of the morning; the birds were not yet in full song, but twittered here and there among the woods; the sun was not yet up, but the eastern sky was barred with solemn colours.
but in spite of that
From this reading They awoke in the grey of the morning; the birds were not yet in full song, but twittered here and there among the woods; the sun was not yet up, but the eastern sky was barred with solemn colours.
