used before a singular noun to mean one of a group, when it is not a particular one
From this reading And here I find myself in a difficulty.
a record or narrative description of past events
From this reading We shall have to encounter terrible names and tedious details, besides having to take into account a thousand things of which we have not yet spoken.
prior to a specified or implied time
From this reading We have been but too learned already, and now we run the risk of becoming still more so, if we commence an attack on the three primary divisions which follow the vertebrates.
the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound
From this reading We have been but too learned already, and now we run the risk of becoming still more so, if we commence an attack on the three primary divisions which follow the vertebrates.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading (_Insects._) Before speaking of insects, my dear child, it will be necessary, in the first place, to tell you to what primary division they belong and on what characters this division has been established.
(military) an offensive against an enemy (using weapons)
From this reading We have been but too learned already, and now we run the risk of becoming still more so, if we commence an attack on the three primary divisions which follow the vertebrates.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading (_Insects._) Before speaking of insects, my dear child, it will be necessary, in the first place, to tell you to what primary division they belong and on what characters this division has been established.
according with custom or propriety
From this reading We have been but too learned already, and now we run the risk of becoming still more so, if we commence an attack on the three primary divisions which follow the vertebrates.
beenauxiliary verbUS /bɪn/
the past participle of “be”
From this reading (_Insects._) Before speaking of insects, my dear child, it will be necessary, in the first place, to tell you to what primary division they belong and on what characters this division has been established.
earlier than; in front of
From this reading (_Insects._) Before speaking of insects, my dear child, it will be necessary, in the first place, to tell you to what primary division they belong and on what characters this division has been established.
be owned by; be in the possession of
From this reading (_Insects._) Before speaking of insects, my dear child, it will be necessary, in the first place, to tell you to what primary division they belong and on what characters this division has been established.
in addition to; as well as
From this reading We shall have to encounter terrible names and tedious details, besides having to take into account a thousand things of which we have not yet spoken.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading We have been but too learned already, and now we run the risk of becoming still more so, if we commence an attack on the three primary divisions which follow the vertebrates.
plural of “character” — an imaginary person represented in a work of fiction (play or film or story)
From this reading (_Insects._) Before speaking of insects, my dear child, it will be necessary, in the first place, to tell you to what primary division they belong and on what characters this division has been established.
a young person of either sex
From this reading (_Insects._) Before speaking of insects, my dear child, it will be necessary, in the first place, to tell you to what primary division they belong and on what characters this division has been established.
commenceverbUS /kəˈmens/
take the first step or steps in carrying out an action
From this reading We have been but too learned already, and now we run the risk of becoming still more so, if we commence an attack on the three primary divisions which follow the vertebrates.
dearly loved
From this reading (_Insects._) Before speaking of insects, my dear child, it will be necessary, in the first place, to tell you to what primary division they belong and on what characters this division has been established.
true confidential information
From this reading We shall have to encounter terrible names and tedious details, besides having to take into account a thousand things of which we have not yet spoken.
an effort that is inconvenient
From this reading And here I find myself in a difficulty.
divisionnounUS /dɪˈvɪʒən/
an army unit large enough to sustain combat
From this reading (_Insects._) Before speaking of insects, my dear child, it will be necessary, in the first place, to tell you to what primary division they belong and on what characters this division has been established.
divisionsnounUS /dɪˈvɪʒənz/
plural of “division” — an army unit large enough to sustain combat
From this reading We have been but too learned already, and now we run the risk of becoming still more so, if we commence an attack on the three primary divisions which follow the vertebrates.
encounterverbUS /ɪnˈkaʊntər/
come together
From this reading We shall have to encounter terrible names and tedious details, besides having to take into account a thousand things of which we have not yet spoken.
brought about or set up or accepted; especially long established
From this reading (_Insects._) Before speaking of insects, my dear child, it will be necessary, in the first place, to tell you to what primary division they belong and on what characters this division has been established.
come upon, as if by accident; meet with
From this reading And here I find myself in a difficulty.
firstadjectiveUS /fɜːrst/
preceding all others in time or space or degree
From this reading (_Insects._) Before speaking of insects, my dear child, it will be necessary, in the first place, to tell you to what primary division they belong and on what characters this division has been established.
to travel behind, go after, come after
From this reading We have been but too learned already, and now we run the risk of becoming still more so, if we commence an attack on the three primary divisions which follow the vertebrates.
hasauxiliary verbUS /hæz/
the form of “have” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading (_Insects._) Before speaking of insects, my dear child, it will be necessary, in the first place, to tell you to what primary division they belong and on what characters this division has been established.
haveauxiliary verbUS /hæv/
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading We have been but too learned already, and now we run the risk of becoming still more so, if we commence an attack on the three primary divisions which follow the vertebrates.
havingauxiliary verbUS /ˈhævɪŋ/
the -ing form of “have”
From this reading We shall have to encounter terrible names and tedious details, besides having to take into account a thousand things of which we have not yet spoken.
in or at this place; where the speaker or writer is
From this reading And here I find myself in a difficulty.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading And here I find myself in a difficulty.
on condition that; in the event that
From this reading We have been but too learned already, and now we run the risk of becoming still more so, if we commence an attack on the three primary divisions which follow the vertebrates.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading (_Insects._) Before speaking of insects, my dear child, it will be necessary, in the first place, to tell you to what primary division they belong and on what characters this division has been established.
INSECTAnoun
insects; about five-sixths of all known animal species
From this reading INSECTA.
InsectsnounUS /ˈɪnsekts/
plural of “insect” — small air-breathing arthropod
From this reading (_Insects._) Before speaking of insects, my dear child, it will be necessary, in the first place, to tell you to what primary division they belong and on what characters this division has been established.
intoprepositionUS /ˈɪntuː/
moving to the inside of something
From this reading We shall have to encounter terrible names and tedious details, besides having to take into account a thousand things of which we have not yet spoken.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading (_Insects._) Before speaking of insects, my dear child, it will be necessary, in the first place, to tell you to what primary division they belong and on what characters this division has been established.
having or showing profound knowledge
From this reading We have been but too learned already, and now we run the risk of becoming still more so, if we commence an attack on the three primary divisions which follow the vertebrates.
(comparative of “much” used with mass nouns) a quantifier meaning greater in size or amount or extent or degree
From this reading We have been but too learned already, and now we run the risk of becoming still more so, if we commence an attack on the three primary divisions which follow the vertebrates.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading (_Insects._) Before speaking of insects, my dear child, it will be necessary, in the first place, to tell you to what primary division they belong and on what characters this division has been established.
used when the speaker is also the object of the action
From this reading And here I find myself in a difficulty.
verbal abuse; a crude substitute for argument
From this reading We shall have to encounter terrible names and tedious details, besides having to take into account a thousand things of which we have not yet spoken.
absolutely essential
From this reading (_Insects._) Before speaking of insects, my dear child, it will be necessary, in the first place, to tell you to what primary division they belong and on what characters this division has been established.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading We shall have to encounter terrible names and tedious details, besides having to take into account a thousand things of which we have not yet spoken.
in the historical present; at this point in the narration of a series of past events
From this reading We have been but too learned already, and now we run the risk of becoming still more so, if we commence an attack on the three primary divisions which follow the vertebrates.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading (_Insects._) Before speaking of insects, my dear child, it will be necessary, in the first place, to tell you to what primary division they belong and on what characters this division has been established.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading (_Insects._) Before speaking of insects, my dear child, it will be necessary, in the first place, to tell you to what primary division they belong and on what characters this division has been established.
a point located with respect to surface features of some region
From this reading (_Insects._) Before speaking of insects, my dear child, it will be necessary, in the first place, to tell you to what primary division they belong and on what characters this division has been established.
primaryadjectiveUS /ˈpraɪmeri/
of first rank or importance or value; direct and immediate rather than secondary
From this reading (_Insects._) Before speaking of insects, my dear child, it will be necessary, in the first place, to tell you to what primary division they belong and on what characters this division has been established.
a source of danger; a possibility of incurring loss or misfortune
From this reading We have been but too learned already, and now we run the risk of becoming still more so, if we commence an attack on the three primary divisions which follow the vertebrates.
move fast by using one's feet, with one foot off the ground at any given time
From this reading We have been but too learned already, and now we run the risk of becoming still more so, if we commence an attack on the three primary divisions which follow the vertebrates.
used with I and we for the future, or to offer and suggest
From this reading We shall have to encounter terrible names and tedious details, besides having to take into account a thousand things of which we have not yet spoken.
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading We have been but too learned already, and now we run the risk of becoming still more so, if we commence an attack on the three primary divisions which follow the vertebrates.
the utterance of intelligible speech
From this reading (_Insects._) Before speaking of insects, my dear child, it will be necessary, in the first place, to tell you to what primary division they belong and on what characters this division has been established.
uttered through the medium of speech or characterized by speech; sometimes used in combination
From this reading We shall have to encounter terrible names and tedious details, besides having to take into account a thousand things of which we have not yet spoken.
not in physical motion
From this reading We have been but too learned already, and now we run the risk of becoming still more so, if we commence an attack on the three primary divisions which follow the vertebrates.
carry out
From this reading We shall have to encounter terrible names and tedious details, besides having to take into account a thousand things of which we have not yet spoken.
tediousadjectiveUS /ˈtiːdiəs/
so lacking in interest as to cause mental weariness
From this reading We shall have to encounter terrible names and tedious details, besides having to take into account a thousand things of which we have not yet spoken.
express in words
From this reading (_Insects._) Before speaking of insects, my dear child, it will be necessary, in the first place, to tell you to what primary division they belong and on what characters this division has been established.
causing fear or dread or terror
From this reading We shall have to encounter terrible names and tedious details, besides having to take into account a thousand things of which we have not yet spoken.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading (_Insects._) Before speaking of insects, my dear child, it will be necessary, in the first place, to tell you to what primary division they belong and on what characters this division has been established.
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading (_Insects._) Before speaking of insects, my dear child, it will be necessary, in the first place, to tell you to what primary division they belong and on what characters this division has been established.
any movable possession (especially articles of clothing)
From this reading We shall have to encounter terrible names and tedious details, besides having to take into account a thousand things of which we have not yet spoken.
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading (_Insects._) Before speaking of insects, my dear child, it will be necessary, in the first place, to tell you to what primary division they belong and on what characters this division has been established.
the cardinal number that is the product of 10 and 100
From this reading We shall have to encounter terrible names and tedious details, besides having to take into account a thousand things of which we have not yet spoken.
the cardinal number that is the sum of one and one and one
From this reading We have been but too learned already, and now we run the risk of becoming still more so, if we commence an attack on the three primary divisions which follow the vertebrates.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading (_Insects._) Before speaking of insects, my dear child, it will be necessary, in the first place, to tell you to what primary division they belong and on what characters this division has been established.
to a degree exceeding normal or proper limits
From this reading We have been but too learned already, and now we run the risk of becoming still more so, if we commence an attack on the three primary divisions which follow the vertebrates.
vertebratesnounUS /ˈvɜːrtəbreɪts/
plural of “vertebrate” — animals having a bony or cartilaginous skeleton with a segmented spinal column and a large brain enclosed in a skull or cranium
From this reading We have been but too learned already, and now we run the risk of becoming still more so, if we commence an attack on the three primary divisions which follow the vertebrates.
the speaker together with one or more other people
From this reading We have been but too learned already, and now we run the risk of becoming still more so, if we commence an attack on the three primary divisions which follow the vertebrates.
used to ask for information about something
From this reading (_Insects._) Before speaking of insects, my dear child, it will be necessary, in the first place, to tell you to what primary division they belong and on what characters this division has been established.
used to introduce a clause giving more about a thing just mentioned
From this reading We have been but too learned already, and now we run the risk of becoming still more so, if we commence an attack on the three primary divisions which follow the vertebrates.
used to talk about the future, or about willingness
From this reading (_Insects._) Before speaking of insects, my dear child, it will be necessary, in the first place, to tell you to what primary division they belong and on what characters this division has been established.
but in spite of that
From this reading We shall have to encounter terrible names and tedious details, besides having to take into account a thousand things of which we have not yet spoken.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading (_Insects._) Before speaking of insects, my dear child, it will be necessary, in the first place, to tell you to what primary division they belong and on what characters this division has been established.
