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The Executioner's Knife
The Executioner's Knife

Chapter II

Cover illustration for The Executioner's Knife
Context Illustration Reading 1/16 · 5 lines
English subtitles · tap any word to listen 1 / 5
JEANNETTE.
Domremy is a frontier village of Lorraine that cosily nestles on the slope of a fertile valley whose pasture grounds are watered by the Meuse.
An oak forest, that still preserves some mementoes of druid tradition, reaches out almost to the village church.
This church is the handsomest of all in the valley, which begins at Vaucouleurs and ends at Domremy.
St. Catherine and St. Marguerite, superbly painted and gilded, ornament the sanctuary.
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LEARNER DICTIONARY
Archivist
/ˈɑːrkɪvɪst/
Editorial verification pending

A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.

The Executioner's Knife

Chapter II

Reading 1/16 · 5 reading units · Lines 1–5

Line 1
JEANNETTE.
Line 2
Domremy is a frontier village of Lorraine that cosily nestles on the slope of a fertile valley whose pasture grounds are watered by the Meuse.
Line 3
An oak forest, that still preserves some mementoes of druid tradition, reaches out almost to the village church.
Line 4
This church is the handsomest of all in the valley, which begins at Vaucouleurs and ends at Domremy.
Line 5
St. Catherine and St. Marguerite, superbly painted and gilded, ornament the sanctuary.

Learner Dictionary

Oxford-style entry order: headword, part of speech, US IPA, concise definition, contextual example, audio, and collocations from this reading.

Sanctuary noun US /ˈsæŋk.tʃu.er.i/

A place of safety, refuge, or holy retreat within the academy.

From this reading “St. Catherine and St. Marguerite, superbly painted and gilded, ornament the sanctuary.”

Still noun US /still/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “An oak forest, that still preserves some mementoes of druid tradition, reaches out almost to the village church.”

Watered noun US /ˈwatered/

a story-specific word describing an important person, object, action, or idea in this passage

From this reading “Domremy is a frontier village of Lorraine that cosily nestles on the slope of a fertile valley whose pasture grounds are watered by the Meuse.”

Whose determiner US /huːz/

belonging to which person

From this reading “Domremy is a frontier village of Lorraine that cosily nestles on the slope of a fertile valley whose pasture grounds are watered by the Meuse.”

All words in this reading · 55

Every word is available to listen to. Dictionary details are shown only when verified; these are not licensed Oxford entries.

adeterminerUS /ə/

used before a singular noun to mean one of a group, when it is not a particular one

From this reading Domremy is a frontier village of Lorraine that cosily nestles on the slope of a fertile valley whose pasture grounds are watered by the Meuse.

all

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading This church is the handsomest of all in the valley, which begins at Vaucouleurs and ends at Domremy.

almost

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading An oak forest, that still preserves some mementoes of druid tradition, reaches out almost to the village church.

AndeterminerUS /æn/

the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound

From this reading An oak forest, that still preserves some mementoes of druid tradition, reaches out almost to the village church.

andconjunctionUS /ənd/

used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together

From this reading This church is the handsomest of all in the valley, which begins at Vaucouleurs and ends at Domremy.

areauxiliary verbUS /ɑːr/

the form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun

From this reading Domremy is a frontier village of Lorraine that cosily nestles on the slope of a fertile valley whose pasture grounds are watered by the Meuse.

atprepositionUS /æt/

in or near a particular place or position

From this reading This church is the handsomest of all in the valley, which begins at Vaucouleurs and ends at Domremy.

begins

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading This church is the handsomest of all in the valley, which begins at Vaucouleurs and ends at Domremy.

byprepositionUS /baɪ/

showing who or what does the action

From this reading Domremy is a frontier village of Lorraine that cosily nestles on the slope of a fertile valley whose pasture grounds are watered by the Meuse.

Catherine

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading St. Catherine and St. Marguerite, superbly painted and gilded, ornament the sanctuary.

church

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading An oak forest, that still preserves some mementoes of druid tradition, reaches out almost to the village church.

cosily

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Domremy is a frontier village of Lorraine that cosily nestles on the slope of a fertile valley whose pasture grounds are watered by the Meuse.

Domremy

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Domremy is a frontier village of Lorraine that cosily nestles on the slope of a fertile valley whose pasture grounds are watered by the Meuse.

druid

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading An oak forest, that still preserves some mementoes of druid tradition, reaches out almost to the village church.

ends

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading This church is the handsomest of all in the valley, which begins at Vaucouleurs and ends at Domremy.

fertile

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Domremy is a frontier village of Lorraine that cosily nestles on the slope of a fertile valley whose pasture grounds are watered by the Meuse.

forest

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading An oak forest, that still preserves some mementoes of druid tradition, reaches out almost to the village church.

frontier

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Domremy is a frontier village of Lorraine that cosily nestles on the slope of a fertile valley whose pasture grounds are watered by the Meuse.

gilded

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading St. Catherine and St. Marguerite, superbly painted and gilded, ornament the sanctuary.

grounds

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Domremy is a frontier village of Lorraine that cosily nestles on the slope of a fertile valley whose pasture grounds are watered by the Meuse.

handsomest

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading This church is the handsomest of all in the valley, which begins at Vaucouleurs and ends at Domremy.

inprepositionUS /ɪn/

inside something, or within a place, period, or state

From this reading This church is the handsomest of all in the valley, which begins at Vaucouleurs and ends at Domremy.

isauxiliary verbUS /ɪz/

the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun

From this reading Domremy is a frontier village of Lorraine that cosily nestles on the slope of a fertile valley whose pasture grounds are watered by the Meuse.

JEANNETTE

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading JEANNETTE.

Lorraine

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Domremy is a frontier village of Lorraine that cosily nestles on the slope of a fertile valley whose pasture grounds are watered by the Meuse.

Marguerite

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading St. Catherine and St. Marguerite, superbly painted and gilded, ornament the sanctuary.

mementoes

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading An oak forest, that still preserves some mementoes of druid tradition, reaches out almost to the village church.

Meuse

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Domremy is a frontier village of Lorraine that cosily nestles on the slope of a fertile valley whose pasture grounds are watered by the Meuse.

nestles

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Domremy is a frontier village of Lorraine that cosily nestles on the slope of a fertile valley whose pasture grounds are watered by the Meuse.

oak

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading An oak forest, that still preserves some mementoes of druid tradition, reaches out almost to the village church.

ofprepositionUS /ʌv/

belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something

From this reading Domremy is a frontier village of Lorraine that cosily nestles on the slope of a fertile valley whose pasture grounds are watered by the Meuse.

onprepositionUS /ɑːn/

touching and supported by a surface

From this reading Domremy is a frontier village of Lorraine that cosily nestles on the slope of a fertile valley whose pasture grounds are watered by the Meuse.

ornament

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading St. Catherine and St. Marguerite, superbly painted and gilded, ornament the sanctuary.

out

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading An oak forest, that still preserves some mementoes of druid tradition, reaches out almost to the village church.

painted

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading St. Catherine and St. Marguerite, superbly painted and gilded, ornament the sanctuary.

pasture

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Domremy is a frontier village of Lorraine that cosily nestles on the slope of a fertile valley whose pasture grounds are watered by the Meuse.

preserves

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading An oak forest, that still preserves some mementoes of druid tradition, reaches out almost to the village church.

reaches

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading An oak forest, that still preserves some mementoes of druid tradition, reaches out almost to the village church.

sanctuarynounUS /ˈsæŋk.tʃu.er.i/

A place of safety, refuge, or holy retreat within the academy.

From this reading St. Catherine and St. Marguerite, superbly painted and gilded, ornament the sanctuary.

slope

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Domremy is a frontier village of Lorraine that cosily nestles on the slope of a fertile valley whose pasture grounds are watered by the Meuse.

some

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading An oak forest, that still preserves some mementoes of druid tradition, reaches out almost to the village church.

St

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading St. Catherine and St. Marguerite, superbly painted and gilded, ornament the sanctuary.

stillnounUS /still/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading An oak forest, that still preserves some mementoes of druid tradition, reaches out almost to the village church.

superbly

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading St. Catherine and St. Marguerite, superbly painted and gilded, ornament the sanctuary.

thatconjunctionUS /ðæt/

used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt

From this reading Domremy is a frontier village of Lorraine that cosily nestles on the slope of a fertile valley whose pasture grounds are watered by the Meuse.

thedeterminerUS /ðə/

used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind

From this reading Domremy is a frontier village of Lorraine that cosily nestles on the slope of a fertile valley whose pasture grounds are watered by the Meuse.

ThisdeterminerUS /ðɪs/

used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned

From this reading This church is the handsomest of all in the valley, which begins at Vaucouleurs and ends at Domremy.

toparticleUS /tuː/

used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive

From this reading An oak forest, that still preserves some mementoes of druid tradition, reaches out almost to the village church.

tradition

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading An oak forest, that still preserves some mementoes of druid tradition, reaches out almost to the village church.

valley

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Domremy is a frontier village of Lorraine that cosily nestles on the slope of a fertile valley whose pasture grounds are watered by the Meuse.

Vaucouleurs

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading This church is the handsomest of all in the valley, which begins at Vaucouleurs and ends at Domremy.

village

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Domremy is a frontier village of Lorraine that cosily nestles on the slope of a fertile valley whose pasture grounds are watered by the Meuse.

waterednounUS /ˈwatered/

a story-specific word describing an important person, object, action, or idea in this passage

From this reading Domremy is a frontier village of Lorraine that cosily nestles on the slope of a fertile valley whose pasture grounds are watered by the Meuse.

whichpronounUS /wɪtʃ/

used to introduce a clause giving more about a thing just mentioned

From this reading This church is the handsomest of all in the valley, which begins at Vaucouleurs and ends at Domremy.

whosedeterminerUS /huːz/

belonging to which person

From this reading Domremy is a frontier village of Lorraine that cosily nestles on the slope of a fertile valley whose pasture grounds are watered by the Meuse.