used before a singular noun to mean one of a group, when it is not a particular one
From this reading That night, as Johnny listened to the chant of the negroes as they went about their tasks of breaking camp and loading, he fancied that there was a weird and restless tone to it, foretelling some catastrophe brooding over all.
aboutprepositionUS /əˈbaʊt/
on the subject of; concerning
From this reading That night, as Johnny listened to the chant of the negroes as they went about their tasks of breaking camp and loading, he fancied that there was a weird and restless tone to it, foretelling some catastrophe brooding over all.
from one side of something to the other
From this reading The night was dark, with black, rainless clouds hurrying across the sky.
(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 That night, as Johnny listened to the chant of the negroes as they went about their tasks of breaking camp and loading, he fancied that there was a weird and restless tone to it, foretelling some catastrophe brooding over all.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading That night, as Johnny listened to the chant of the negroes as they went about their tasks of breaking camp and loading, he fancied that there was a weird and restless tone to it, foretelling some catastrophe brooding over all.
a human limb; technically the part of the superior limb between the shoulder and the elbow but commonly used to refer to the whole superior limb
From this reading His hand was on the rail when someone touched his arm.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading That night, as Johnny listened to the chant of the negroes as they went about their tasks of breaking camp and loading, he fancied that there was a weird and restless tone to it, foretelling some catastrophe brooding over all.
being of the achromatic color of maximum darkness; having little or no hue owing to absorption of almost all incident light
From this reading The night was dark, with black, rainless clouds hurrying across the sky.
the act of breaking something
From this reading That night, as Johnny listened to the chant of the negroes as they went about their tasks of breaking camp and loading, he fancied that there was a weird and restless tone to it, foretelling some catastrophe brooding over all.
broodingnounUS /ˈbruːdɪŋ/
sitting on eggs so as to hatch them by the warmth of the body
From this reading That night, as Johnny listened to the chant of the negroes as they went about their tasks of breaking camp and loading, he fancied that there was a weird and restless tone to it, foretelling some catastrophe brooding over all.
temporary living quarters specially built by the army for soldiers
From this reading That night, as Johnny listened to the chant of the negroes as they went about their tasks of breaking camp and loading, he fancied that there was a weird and restless tone to it, foretelling some catastrophe brooding over all.
a motor vehicle with four wheels; usually propelled by an internal combustion engine
From this reading Johnny shivered as he walked toward his sleeping car.
catastrophenounUS /kəˈtæstrəfi/
an event resulting in great loss and misfortune
From this reading That night, as Johnny listened to the chant of the negroes as they went about their tasks of breaking camp and loading, he fancied that there was a weird and restless tone to it, foretelling some catastrophe brooding over all.
chantverbUS /tʃænt/
recite with musical intonation; recite as a chant or a psalm
From this reading That night, as Johnny listened to the chant of the negroes as they went about their tasks of breaking camp and loading, he fancied that there was a weird and restless tone to it, foretelling some catastrophe brooding over all.
plural of “cloud” — any collection of particles (e.g., smoke or dust) or gases that is visible
From this reading The night was dark, with black, rainless clouds hurrying across the sky.
absence of light or illumination
From this reading The night was dark, with black, rainless clouds hurrying across the sky.
formed or conceived by the imagination
From this reading That night, as Johnny listened to the chant of the negroes as they went about their tasks of breaking camp and loading, he fancied that there was a weird and restless tone to it, foretelling some catastrophe brooding over all.
foretellingnounUS /fɔːrˈtelɪŋ/
a statement made about the future
From this reading That night, as Johnny listened to the chant of the negroes as they went about their tasks of breaking camp and loading, he fancied that there was a weird and restless tone to it, foretelling some catastrophe brooding over all.
the (prehensile) extremity of the superior limb
From this reading His hand was on the rail when someone touched his arm.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading That night, as Johnny listened to the chant of the negroes as they went about their tasks of breaking camp and loading, he fancied that there was a weird and restless tone to it, foretelling some catastrophe brooding over all.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading Johnny shivered as he walked toward his sleeping car.
hurryingadjectiveUS /ˈhɜːriɪŋ/
moving with great haste
From this reading The night was dark, with black, rainless clouds hurrying across the sky.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading That night, as Johnny listened to the chant of the negroes as they went about their tasks of breaking camp and loading, he fancied that there was a weird and restless tone to it, foretelling some catastrophe brooding over all.
“Johnny” was applied as a nickname for Confederate soldiers by the Federal soldiers in the American Civil War; “greyback” derived from their grey Confederate uniforms
From this reading That night, as Johnny listened to the chant of the negroes as they went about their tasks of breaking camp and loading, he fancied that there was a weird and restless tone to it, foretelling some catastrophe brooding over all.
past form of “listen” — hear with intention
From this reading That night, as Johnny listened to the chant of the negroes as they went about their tasks of breaking camp and loading, he fancied that there was a weird and restless tone to it, foretelling some catastrophe brooding over all.
loadingnounUS /ˈloʊdɪŋ/
weight to be borne or conveyed
From this reading That night, as Johnny listened to the chant of the negroes as they went about their tasks of breaking camp and loading, he fancied that there was a weird and restless tone to it, foretelling some catastrophe brooding over all.
negroesnounUS /ˈniːɡroʊz/
plural of “negro” — a person with African ancestry, "Negro" and "Negroid" are archaic and pejorative today
From this reading That night, as Johnny listened to the chant of the negroes as they went about their tasks of breaking camp and loading, he fancied that there was a weird and restless tone to it, foretelling some catastrophe brooding over all.
the time after sunset and before sunrise while it is dark outside
From this reading That night, as Johnny listened to the chant of the negroes as they went about their tasks of breaking camp and loading, he fancied that there was a weird and restless tone to it, foretelling some catastrophe brooding over all.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading That night, as Johnny listened to the chant of the negroes as they went about their tasks of breaking camp and loading, he fancied that there was a weird and restless tone to it, foretelling some catastrophe brooding over all.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading His hand was on the rail when someone touched his arm.
overprepositionUS /ˈoʊvər/
above and across; more than
From this reading That night, as Johnny listened to the chant of the negroes as they went about their tasks of breaking camp and loading, he fancied that there was a weird and restless tone to it, foretelling some catastrophe brooding over all.
PantverbUS /pænt/
breathe noisily, as when one is exhausted
From this reading It was Pant.
railnounUS /reɪl/
a barrier consisting of a horizontal bar and supports
From this reading His hand was on the rail when someone touched his arm.
rainlessadjective
lacking rain
From this reading The night was dark, with black, rainless clouds hurrying across the sky.
restlessadjectiveUS /ˈrestləs/
worried and uneasy
From this reading That night, as Johnny listened to the chant of the negroes as they went about their tasks of breaking camp and loading, he fancied that there was a weird and restless tone to it, foretelling some catastrophe brooding over all.
shiveredverbUS /ˈʃɪvərd/
past form of “shiver” — tremble convulsively, as from fear or excitement
From this reading Johnny shivered as he walked toward his sleeping car.
the atmosphere and outer space as viewed from the earth
From this reading The night was dark, with black, rainless clouds hurrying across the sky.
the state of being asleep
From this reading Johnny shivered as he walked toward his sleeping car.
(quantifier) used with either mass nouns or plural count nouns to indicate an unspecified number or quantity
From this reading That night, as Johnny listened to the chant of the negroes as they went about their tasks of breaking camp and loading, he fancied that there was a weird and restless tone to it, foretelling some catastrophe brooding over all.
a person, without saying who
From this reading His hand was on the rail when someone touched his arm.
tasksnounUS /tæsks/
plural of “task” — any piece of work that is undertaken or attempted
From this reading That night, as Johnny listened to the chant of the negroes as they went about their tasks of breaking camp and loading, he fancied that there was a weird and restless tone to it, foretelling some catastrophe brooding over all.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading That night, as Johnny listened to the chant of the negroes as they went about their tasks of breaking camp and loading, he fancied that there was a weird and restless tone to it, foretelling some catastrophe brooding over all.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading That night, as Johnny listened to the chant of the negroes as they went about their tasks of breaking camp and loading, he fancied that there was a weird and restless tone to it, foretelling some catastrophe brooding over all.
belonging to the people or things already mentioned
From this reading That night, as Johnny listened to the chant of the negroes as they went about their tasks of breaking camp and loading, he fancied that there was a weird and restless tone to it, foretelling some catastrophe brooding over all.
in or at that place or location
From this reading That night, as Johnny listened to the chant of the negroes as they went about their tasks of breaking camp and loading, he fancied that there was a weird and restless tone to it, foretelling some catastrophe brooding over all.
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading That night, as Johnny listened to the chant of the negroes as they went about their tasks of breaking camp and loading, he fancied that there was a weird and restless tone to it, foretelling some catastrophe brooding over all.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading That night, as Johnny listened to the chant of the negroes as they went about their tasks of breaking camp and loading, he fancied that there was a weird and restless tone to it, foretelling some catastrophe brooding over all.
the quality of a person's voice
From this reading That night, as Johnny listened to the chant of the negroes as they went about their tasks of breaking camp and loading, he fancied that there was a weird and restless tone to it, foretelling some catastrophe brooding over all.
having come into contact
From this reading His hand was on the rail when someone touched his arm.
towardprepositionUS /təˈwɔːrd/
in the direction of
From this reading Johnny shivered as he walked toward his sleeping car.
past form of “walk” — use one's feet to advance; advance by steps
From this reading Johnny shivered as he walked toward his sleeping car.
wasauxiliary verbUS /wɑːz/
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading That night, as Johnny listened to the chant of the negroes as they went about their tasks of breaking camp and loading, he fancied that there was a weird and restless tone to it, foretelling some catastrophe brooding over all.
weirdadjectiveUS /wɪrd/
suggesting the operation of supernatural influences
From this reading That night, as Johnny listened to the chant of the negroes as they went about their tasks of breaking camp and loading, he fancied that there was a weird and restless tone to it, foretelling some catastrophe brooding over all.
inflected form of “go” — change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically
From this reading That night, as Johnny listened to the chant of the negroes as they went about their tasks of breaking camp and loading, he fancied that there was a weird and restless tone to it, foretelling some catastrophe brooding over all.
at the time that
From this reading His hand was on the rail when someone touched his arm.
in the company of; together with
From this reading The night was dark, with black, rainless clouds hurrying across the sky.
