used before a singular noun to mean one of a group, when it is not a particular one
From this reading Now she faced even silence with a strained attention.
aboutprepositionUS /əˈbaʊt/
on the subject of; concerning
From this reading Every word uttered by the maids upstairs made her jump; disturbed by all their running about, she kept asking herself what they could be doing.
(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 Every word uttered by the maids upstairs made her jump; disturbed by all their running about, she kept asking herself what they could be doing.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Certainly the servants had made no less noise in the attics of our old home; but she knew them, she had made of their comings and goings familiar events.
the verbal act of requesting
From this reading Every word uttered by the maids upstairs made her jump; disturbed by all their running about, she kept asking herself what they could be doing.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading ------------------------------------------------------------------------ THE GUERMANTES WAY _CHAPTER ONE_ The twittering of the birds at daybreak sounded insipid to Françoise.
the process whereby a person concentrates on some features of the environment to the (relative) exclusion of others
From this reading Now she faced even silence with a strained attention.
atticsnounUS /ˈætɪks/
plural of “attic” — floor consisting of open space at the top of a house just below roof; often used for storage
From this reading Certainly the servants had made no less noise in the attics of our old home; but she knew them, she had made of their comings and goings familiar events.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading Every word uttered by the maids upstairs made her jump; disturbed by all their running about, she kept asking herself what they could be doing.
plural of “bird” — warm-blooded egg-laying vertebrates characterized by feathers and forelimbs modified as wings
From this reading ------------------------------------------------------------------------ THE GUERMANTES WAY _CHAPTER ONE_ The twittering of the birds at daybreak sounded insipid to Françoise.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading Certainly the servants had made no less noise in the attics of our old home; but she knew them, she had made of their comings and goings familiar events.
showing who or what does the action
From this reading Every word uttered by the maids upstairs made her jump; disturbed by all their running about, she kept asking herself what they could be doing.
definitely or positively (“sure” is sometimes used informally for “surely”)
From this reading Certainly the servants had made no less noise in the attics of our old home; but she knew them, she had made of their comings and goings familiar events.
a subdivision of a written work; usually numbered and titled
From this reading ------------------------------------------------------------------------ THE GUERMANTES WAY _CHAPTER ONE_ The twittering of the birds at daybreak sounded insipid to Françoise.
comingsnounUS /ˈkʌmɪŋz/
plural of “coming” — the act of drawing spatially closer to something
From this reading Certainly the servants had made no less noise in the attics of our old home; but she knew them, she had made of their comings and goings familiar events.
the past of “can”; used for possibility or polite requests
From this reading Every word uttered by the maids upstairs made her jump; disturbed by all their running about, she kept asking herself what they could be doing.
daybreaknounUS /ˈdeɪbreɪk/
the first light of day
From this reading ------------------------------------------------------------------------ THE GUERMANTES WAY _CHAPTER ONE_ The twittering of the birds at daybreak sounded insipid to Françoise.
having the place or position changed
From this reading Every word uttered by the maids upstairs made her jump; disturbed by all their running about, she kept asking herself what they could be doing.
-ing form of “do” — engage in
From this reading Every word uttered by the maids upstairs made her jump; disturbed by all their running about, she kept asking herself what they could be doing.
divisible by two
From this reading Now she faced even silence with a strained attention.
plural of “event” — something that happens at a given place and time
From this reading Certainly the servants had made no less noise in the attics of our old home; but she knew them, she had made of their comings and goings familiar events.
EverydeterminerUS /ˈevəri/
all the members of a group, with none left out
From this reading Every word uttered by the maids upstairs made her jump; disturbed by all their running about, she kept asking herself what they could be doing.
having a face or facing especially of a specified kind or number; often used in combination
From this reading Now she faced even silence with a strained attention.
well known or easily recognized
From this reading Certainly the servants had made no less noise in the attics of our old home; but she knew them, she had made of their comings and goings familiar events.
Françoise
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading ------------------------------------------------------------------------ THE GUERMANTES WAY _CHAPTER ONE_ The twittering of the birds at daybreak sounded insipid to Françoise.
goingsnounUS /ˈɡoʊɪŋz/
plural of “going” — the act of departing
From this reading Certainly the servants had made no less noise in the attics of our old home; but she knew them, she had made of their comings and goings familiar events.
GUERMANTES
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading ------------------------------------------------------------------------ THE GUERMANTES WAY _CHAPTER ONE_ The twittering of the birds at daybreak sounded insipid to Françoise.
hadauxiliary verbUS /hæd/
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading In other words, we had moved.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading Every word uttered by the maids upstairs made her jump; disturbed by all their running about, she kept asking herself what they could be doing.
used when the woman or girl doing the action is also its object
From this reading Every word uttered by the maids upstairs made her jump; disturbed by all their running about, she kept asking herself what they could be doing.
where you live at a particular time
From this reading Certainly the servants had made no less noise in the attics of our old home; but she knew them, she had made of their comings and goings familiar events.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading In other words, we had moved.
insipidadjectiveUS /ˌɪnˈsɪpəd/
lacking taste or flavor or tang
From this reading ------------------------------------------------------------------------ THE GUERMANTES WAY _CHAPTER ONE_ The twittering of the birds at daybreak sounded insipid to Françoise.
move forward by leaps and bounds
From this reading Every word uttered by the maids upstairs made her jump; disturbed by all their running about, she kept asking herself what they could be doing.
(especially of promises or contracts) not violated or disregarded
From this reading Every word uttered by the maids upstairs made her jump; disturbed by all their running about, she kept asking herself what they could be doing.
inflected form of “know” — be cognizant or aware of a fact or a specific piece of information; possess knowledge or information about
From this reading Certainly the servants had made no less noise in the attics of our old home; but she knew them, she had made of their comings and goings familiar events.
used to form the comparative of some adjectives and adverbs
From this reading Certainly the servants had made no less noise in the attics of our old home; but she knew them, she had made of their comings and goings familiar events.
produced by a manufacturing process
From this reading Every word uttered by the maids upstairs made her jump; disturbed by all their running about, she kept asking herself what they could be doing.
maidsnounUS /meɪdz/
plural of “maid” — a female domestic
From this reading Every word uttered by the maids upstairs made her jump; disturbed by all their running about, she kept asking herself what they could be doing.
being excited or provoked to the expression of an emotion
From this reading In other words, we had moved.
not any; not one
From this reading Certainly the servants had made no less noise in the attics of our old home; but she knew them, she had made of their comings and goings familiar events.
sound of any kind (especially unintelligible or dissonant sound)
From this reading Certainly the servants had made no less noise in the attics of our old home; but she knew them, she had made of their comings and goings familiar events.
in the historical present; at this point in the narration of a series of past events
From this reading Now she faced even silence with a strained attention.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading ------------------------------------------------------------------------ THE GUERMANTES WAY _CHAPTER ONE_ The twittering of the birds at daybreak sounded insipid to Françoise.
(used especially of persons) having lived for a relatively long time or attained a specific age
From this reading Certainly the servants had made no less noise in the attics of our old home; but she knew them, she had made of their comings and goings familiar events.
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading ------------------------------------------------------------------------ THE GUERMANTES WAY _CHAPTER ONE_ The twittering of the birds at daybreak sounded insipid to Françoise.
not the same one or ones already mentioned or implied
From this reading In other words, we had moved.
belonging to the speaker and others
From this reading Certainly the servants had made no less noise in the attics of our old home; but she knew them, she had made of their comings and goings familiar events.
(of fluids) moving or issuing in a stream
From this reading Every word uttered by the maids upstairs made her jump; disturbed by all their running about, she kept asking herself what they could be doing.
plural of “servant” — a person working in the service of another (especially in the household)
From this reading Certainly the servants had made no less noise in the attics of our old home; but she knew them, she had made of their comings and goings familiar events.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading Every word uttered by the maids upstairs made her jump; disturbed by all their running about, she kept asking herself what they could be doing.
Complete absence of sound; a state of quietness and stillness.
From this reading Now she faced even silence with a strained attention.
past form of “sound” — appear in a certain way
From this reading ------------------------------------------------------------------------ THE GUERMANTES WAY _CHAPTER ONE_ The twittering of the birds at daybreak sounded insipid to Françoise.
strainedadjectiveUS /streɪnd/
lacking natural ease
From this reading Now she faced even silence with a strained attention.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading ------------------------------------------------------------------------ THE GUERMANTES WAY _CHAPTER ONE_ The twittering of the birds at daybreak sounded insipid to Françoise.
belonging to the people or things already mentioned
From this reading Every word uttered by the maids upstairs made her jump; disturbed by all their running about, she kept asking herself what they could be doing.
the people or things already mentioned, as the object
From this reading Certainly the servants had made no less noise in the attics of our old home; but she knew them, she had made of their comings and goings familiar events.
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading Every word uttered by the maids upstairs made her jump; disturbed by all their running about, she kept asking herself what they could be doing.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading ------------------------------------------------------------------------ THE GUERMANTES WAY _CHAPTER ONE_ The twittering of the birds at daybreak sounded insipid to Françoise.
twittering
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading ------------------------------------------------------------------------ THE GUERMANTES WAY _CHAPTER ONE_ The twittering of the birds at daybreak sounded insipid to Françoise.
on a floor above
From this reading Every word uttered by the maids upstairs made her jump; disturbed by all their running about, she kept asking herself what they could be doing.
communicated in words
From this reading Every word uttered by the maids upstairs made her jump; disturbed by all their running about, she kept asking herself what they could be doing.
how something is done or how it happens
From this reading ------------------------------------------------------------------------ THE GUERMANTES WAY _CHAPTER ONE_ The twittering of the birds at daybreak sounded insipid to Françoise.
the speaker together with one or more other people
From this reading In other words, we had moved.
used to ask for information about something
From this reading Every word uttered by the maids upstairs made her jump; disturbed by all their running about, she kept asking herself what they could be doing.
in the company of; together with
From this reading Now she faced even silence with a strained attention.
a unit of language that native speakers can identify
From this reading Every word uttered by the maids upstairs made her jump; disturbed by all their running about, she kept asking herself what they could be doing.
the words that are spoken
From this reading In other words, we had moved.
