Chapter III · Chapter 3

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

From this reading "I saw askant the armies, I saw as in noiseless dreams hundreds of battle-flags, Borne through the smoke of the battles and pierced with missiles I saw them, And carried hither and yon through the smoke, and torn and bloody, And at last but a few shreds left on the staffs (and all in silence), And the staffs all splinter'd and broken.

(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 "I saw askant the armies, I saw as in noiseless dreams hundreds of battle-flags, Borne through the smoke of the battles and pierced with missiles I saw them, And carried hither and yon through the smoke, and torn and bloody, And at last but a few shreds left on the staffs (and all in silence), And the staffs all splinter'd and broken.

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

From this reading And so Henry Blaine went with his regiment, and the black and terrible years set in--years in which so often she saw what Walt Whitman had seen:

plural of “army” — a permanent organization of the military land forces of a nation or state

From this reading "I saw askant the armies, I saw as in noiseless dreams hundreds of battle-flags, Borne through the smoke of the battles and pierced with missiles I saw them, And carried hither and yon through the smoke, and torn and bloody, And at last but a few shreds left on the staffs (and all in silence), And the staffs all splinter'd and broken.

at the same time that; because; in the way that

From this reading "I saw askant the armies, I saw as in noiseless dreams hundreds of battle-flags, Borne through the smoke of the battles and pierced with missiles I saw them, And carried hither and yon through the smoke, and torn and bloody, And at last but a few shreds left on the staffs (and all in silence), And the staffs all splinter'd and broken.

(used especially of glances) directed to one side with or as if with doubt or suspicion or envy

From this reading "I saw askant the armies, I saw as in noiseless dreams hundreds of battle-flags, Borne through the smoke of the battles and pierced with missiles I saw them, And carried hither and yon through the smoke, and torn and bloody, And at last but a few shreds left on the staffs (and all in silence), And the staffs all splinter'd and broken.

in or near a particular place or position

From this reading "I saw askant the armies, I saw as in noiseless dreams hundreds of battle-flags, Borne through the smoke of the battles and pierced with missiles I saw them, And carried hither and yon through the smoke, and torn and bloody, And at last but a few shreds left on the staffs (and all in silence), And the staffs all splinter'd and broken.

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

From this reading I saw battle-corpses, myriads of them, And the white skeletons of young men, I saw them.

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

From this reading "I saw askant the armies, I saw as in noiseless dreams hundreds of battle-flags, Borne through the smoke of the battles and pierced with missiles I saw them, And carried hither and yon through the smoke, and torn and bloody, And at last but a few shreds left on the staffs (and all in silence), And the staffs all splinter'd and broken.

plural of “battle” — a hostile meeting of opposing military forces in the course of a war

From this reading "I saw askant the armies, I saw as in noiseless dreams hundreds of battle-flags, Borne through the smoke of the battles and pierced with missiles I saw them, And carried hither and yon through the smoke, and torn and bloody, And at last but a few shreds left on the staffs (and all in silence), And the staffs all splinter'd and broken.

being of the achromatic color of maximum darkness; having little or no hue owing to absorption of almost all incident light

From this reading And so Henry Blaine went with his regiment, and the black and terrible years set in--years in which so often she saw what Walt Whitman had seen:

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

From this reading And so Henry Blaine went with his regiment, and the black and terrible years set in--years in which so often she saw what Walt Whitman had seen:

having or covered with or accompanied by blood

From this reading "I saw askant the armies, I saw as in noiseless dreams hundreds of battle-flags, Borne through the smoke of the battles and pierced with missiles I saw them, And carried hither and yon through the smoke, and torn and bloody, And at last but a few shreds left on the staffs (and all in silence), And the staffs all splinter'd and broken.

inflected form of “bear” — have

From this reading "I saw askant the armies, I saw as in noiseless dreams hundreds of battle-flags, Borne through the smoke of the battles and pierced with missiles I saw them, And carried hither and yon through the smoke, and torn and bloody, And at last but a few shreds left on the staffs (and all in silence), And the staffs all splinter'd and broken.

physically and forcibly separated into pieces or cracked or split

From this reading "I saw askant the armies, I saw as in noiseless dreams hundreds of battle-flags, Borne through the smoke of the battles and pierced with missiles I saw them, And carried hither and yon through the smoke, and torn and bloody, And at last but a few shreds left on the staffs (and all in silence), And the staffs all splinter'd and broken.

used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before

From this reading "I saw askant the armies, I saw as in noiseless dreams hundreds of battle-flags, Borne through the smoke of the battles and pierced with missiles I saw them, And carried hither and yon through the smoke, and torn and bloody, And at last but a few shreds left on the staffs (and all in silence), And the staffs all splinter'd and broken.

inflected form of “carry” — move while supporting, either in a vehicle or in one's hands or on one's body

From this reading "I saw askant the armies, I saw as in noiseless dreams hundreds of battle-flags, Borne through the smoke of the battles and pierced with missiles I saw them, And carried hither and yon through the smoke, and torn and bloody, And at last but a few shreds left on the staffs (and all in silence), And the staffs all splinter'd and broken.

a young person of either sex

From this reading They themselves were fully at rest, they suffered not, The living remain'd and suffer'd, the mother suffer'd, And the wife and the child and the musing comrade suffer'd, And the armies that remain'd suffer'd."

a friend who is frequently in the company of another

From this reading They themselves were fully at rest, they suffered not, The living remain'd and suffer'd, the mother suffer'd, And the wife and the child and the musing comrade suffer'd, And the armies that remain'd suffer'd."

plural of “dream” — a series of mental images and emotions occurring during sleep

From this reading "I saw askant the armies, I saw as in noiseless dreams hundreds of battle-flags, Borne through the smoke of the battles and pierced with missiles I saw them, And carried hither and yon through the smoke, and torn and bloody, And at last but a few shreds left on the staffs (and all in silence), And the staffs all splinter'd and broken.

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

From this reading I saw the débris and débris of all the slain soldiers of the war, But I saw they were not as was thought.

a quantifier that can be used with count nouns and is often preceded by “a”; a small but indefinite number

From this reading "I saw askant the armies, I saw as in noiseless dreams hundreds of battle-flags, Borne through the smoke of the battles and pierced with missiles I saw them, And carried hither and yon through the smoke, and torn and bloody, And at last but a few shreds left on the staffs (and all in silence), And the staffs all splinter'd and broken.

to the greatest degree or extent; completely or entirely; (“full” in this sense is used as a combining form)

From this reading They themselves were fully at rest, they suffered not, The living remain'd and suffer'd, the mother suffer'd, And the wife and the child and the musing comrade suffer'd, And the armies that remain'd suffer'd."

the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect

From this reading And so Henry Blaine went with his regiment, and the black and terrible years set in--years in which so often she saw what Walt Whitman had seen:

a unit of inductance in which an induced electromotive force of one volt is produced when the current is varied at the rate of one ampere per second

From this reading And so Henry Blaine went with his regiment, and the black and terrible years set in--years in which so often she saw what Walt Whitman had seen:

belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned

From this reading And so Henry Blaine went with his regiment, and the black and terrible years set in--years in which so often she saw what Walt Whitman had seen:

an old word meaning “to this place”

From this reading "I saw askant the armies, I saw as in noiseless dreams hundreds of battle-flags, Borne through the smoke of the battles and pierced with missiles I saw them, And carried hither and yon through the smoke, and torn and bloody, And at last but a few shreds left on the staffs (and all in silence), And the staffs all splinter'd and broken.

plural of “hundred” — ten 10s

From this reading "I saw askant the armies, I saw as in noiseless dreams hundreds of battle-flags, Borne through the smoke of the battles and pierced with missiles I saw them, And carried hither and yon through the smoke, and torn and bloody, And at last but a few shreds left on the staffs (and all in silence), And the staffs all splinter'd and broken.

the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb

From this reading "I saw askant the armies, I saw as in noiseless dreams hundreds of battle-flags, Borne through the smoke of the battles and pierced with missiles I saw them, And carried hither and yon through the smoke, and torn and bloody, And at last but a few shreds left on the staffs (and all in silence), And the staffs all splinter'd and broken.

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

From this reading And so Henry Blaine went with his regiment, and the black and terrible years set in--years in which so often she saw what Walt Whitman had seen:

immediately past

From this reading "I saw askant the armies, I saw as in noiseless dreams hundreds of battle-flags, Borne through the smoke of the battles and pierced with missiles I saw them, And carried hither and yon through the smoke, and torn and bloody, And at last but a few shreds left on the staffs (and all in silence), And the staffs all splinter'd and broken.

location near or direction toward the left side; i.e. the side to the north when a person or object faces east

From this reading "I saw askant the armies, I saw as in noiseless dreams hundreds of battle-flags, Borne through the smoke of the battles and pierced with missiles I saw them, And carried hither and yon through the smoke, and torn and bloody, And at last but a few shreds left on the staffs (and all in silence), And the staffs all splinter'd and broken.

the experience of being alive; the course of human events and activities

From this reading They themselves were fully at rest, they suffered not, The living remain'd and suffer'd, the mother suffer'd, And the wife and the child and the musing comrade suffer'd, And the armies that remain'd suffer'd."

the force of workers available

From this reading I saw battle-corpses, myriads of them, And the white skeletons of young men, I saw them.

plural of “missile” — a rocket carrying a warhead of conventional or nuclear explosives; may be ballistic or directed by remote control

From this reading "I saw askant the armies, I saw as in noiseless dreams hundreds of battle-flags, Borne through the smoke of the battles and pierced with missiles I saw them, And carried hither and yon through the smoke, and torn and bloody, And at last but a few shreds left on the staffs (and all in silence), And the staffs all splinter'd and broken.

a woman who has given birth to a child (also used as a term of address to your mother)

From this reading They themselves were fully at rest, they suffered not, The living remain'd and suffer'd, the mother suffer'd, And the wife and the child and the musing comrade suffer'd, And the armies that remain'd suffer'd."

a calm, lengthy, intent consideration

From this reading They themselves were fully at rest, they suffered not, The living remain'd and suffer'd, the mother suffer'd, And the wife and the child and the musing comrade suffer'd, And the armies that remain'd suffer'd."

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

From this reading I saw battle-corpses, myriads of them, And the white skeletons of young men, I saw them.

making no sound

From this reading "I saw askant the armies, I saw as in noiseless dreams hundreds of battle-flags, Borne through the smoke of the battles and pierced with missiles I saw them, And carried hither and yon through the smoke, and torn and bloody, And at last but a few shreds left on the staffs (and all in silence), And the staffs all splinter'd and broken.

used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative

From this reading I saw the débris and débris of all the slain soldiers of the war, But I saw they were not as was thought.

belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something

From this reading "I saw askant the armies, I saw as in noiseless dreams hundreds of battle-flags, Borne through the smoke of the battles and pierced with missiles I saw them, And carried hither and yon through the smoke, and torn and bloody, And at last but a few shreds left on the staffs (and all in silence), And the staffs all splinter'd and broken.

many times at short intervals

From this reading And so Henry Blaine went with his regiment, and the black and terrible years set in--years in which so often she saw what Walt Whitman had seen:

touching and supported by a surface

From this reading "I saw askant the armies, I saw as in noiseless dreams hundreds of battle-flags, Borne through the smoke of the battles and pierced with missiles I saw them, And carried hither and yon through the smoke, and torn and bloody, And at last but a few shreds left on the staffs (and all in silence), And the staffs all splinter'd and broken.

having a hole cut through

From this reading "I saw askant the armies, I saw as in noiseless dreams hundreds of battle-flags, Borne through the smoke of the battles and pierced with missiles I saw them, And carried hither and yon through the smoke, and torn and bloody, And at last but a few shreds left on the staffs (and all in silence), And the staffs all splinter'd and broken.

subject to rigid discipline, order, and systematization

From this reading And so Henry Blaine went with his regiment, and the black and terrible years set in--years in which so often she saw what Walt Whitman had seen:

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

From this reading They themselves were fully at rest, they suffered not, The living remain'd and suffer'd, the mother suffer'd, And the wife and the child and the musing comrade suffer'd, And the armies that remain'd suffer'd."

not move; be in a resting position

From this reading They themselves were fully at rest, they suffered not, The living remain'd and suffer'd, the mother suffer'd, And the wife and the child and the musing comrade suffer'd, And the armies that remain'd suffer'd."

cut with a saw

From this reading And so Henry Blaine went with his regiment, and the black and terrible years set in--years in which so often she saw what Walt Whitman had seen:

inflected form of “see” — perceive by sight or have the power to perceive by sight

From this reading And so Henry Blaine went with his regiment, and the black and terrible years set in--years in which so often she saw what Walt Whitman had seen:

put into a certain place or abstract location

From this reading And so Henry Blaine went with his regiment, and the black and terrible years set in--years in which so often she saw what Walt Whitman had seen:

a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject

From this reading And so Henry Blaine went with his regiment, and the black and terrible years set in--years in which so often she saw what Walt Whitman had seen:

plural of “shred” — a tiny or scarcely detectable amount

From this reading "I saw askant the armies, I saw as in noiseless dreams hundreds of battle-flags, Borne through the smoke of the battles and pierced with missiles I saw them, And carried hither and yon through the smoke, and torn and bloody, And at last but a few shreds left on the staffs (and all in silence), And the staffs all splinter'd and broken.

Complete absence of sound; a state of quietness and stillness.

From this reading "I saw askant the armies, I saw as in noiseless dreams hundreds of battle-flags, Borne through the smoke of the battles and pierced with missiles I saw them, And carried hither and yon through the smoke, and torn and bloody, And at last but a few shreds left on the staffs (and all in silence), And the staffs all splinter'd and broken.

plural of “skeleton” — something reduced to its minimal form

From this reading I saw battle-corpses, myriads of them, And the white skeletons of young men, I saw them.

people who have been slain (as in battle)

From this reading I saw the débris and débris of all the slain soldiers of the war, But I saw they were not as was thought.

a cloud of fine particles suspended in a gas

From this reading "I saw askant the armies, I saw as in noiseless dreams hundreds of battle-flags, Borne through the smoke of the battles and pierced with missiles I saw them, And carried hither and yon through the smoke, and torn and bloody, And at last but a few shreds left on the staffs (and all in silence), And the staffs all splinter'd and broken.

for that reason; with the result that

From this reading And so Henry Blaine went with his regiment, and the black and terrible years set in--years in which so often she saw what Walt Whitman had seen:

plural of “soldier” — an enlisted man or woman who serves in an army

From this reading I saw the débris and débris of all the slain soldiers of the war, But I saw they were not as was thought.

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

From this reading "I saw askant the armies, I saw as in noiseless dreams hundreds of battle-flags, Borne through the smoke of the battles and pierced with missiles I saw them, And carried hither and yon through the smoke, and torn and bloody, And at last but a few shreds left on the staffs (and all in silence), And the staffs all splinter'd and broken.

plural of “staff” — personnel who assist their superior in carrying out an assigned task

From this reading "I saw askant the armies, I saw as in noiseless dreams hundreds of battle-flags, Borne through the smoke of the battles and pierced with missiles I saw them, And carried hither and yon through the smoke, and torn and bloody, And at last but a few shreds left on the staffs (and all in silence), And the staffs all splinter'd and broken.

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

From this reading They themselves were fully at rest, they suffered not, The living remain'd and suffer'd, the mother suffer'd, And the wife and the child and the musing comrade suffer'd, And the armies that remain'd suffer'd."

past form of “suffer” — undergo or be subjected to

From this reading They themselves were fully at rest, they suffered not, The living remain'd and suffer'd, the mother suffer'd, And the wife and the child and the musing comrade suffer'd, And the armies that remain'd suffer'd."

causing fear or dread or terror

From this reading And so Henry Blaine went with his regiment, and the black and terrible years set in--years in which so often she saw what Walt Whitman had seen:

used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt

From this reading They themselves were fully at rest, they suffered not, The living remain'd and suffer'd, the mother suffer'd, And the wife and the child and the musing comrade suffer'd, And the armies that remain'd suffer'd."

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

From this reading And so Henry Blaine went with his regiment, and the black and terrible years set in--years in which so often she saw what Walt Whitman had seen:

the people or things already mentioned, as the object

From this reading "I saw askant the armies, I saw as in noiseless dreams hundreds of battle-flags, Borne through the smoke of the battles and pierced with missiles I saw them, And carried hither and yon through the smoke, and torn and bloody, And at last but a few shreds left on the staffs (and all in silence), And the staffs all splinter'd and broken.

used when the people doing the action are also its object

From this reading They themselves were fully at rest, they suffered not, The living remain'd and suffer'd, the mother suffer'd, And the wife and the child and the musing comrade suffer'd, And the armies that remain'd suffer'd."

the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject

From this reading I saw the débris and débris of all the slain soldiers of the war, But I saw they were not as was thought.

the content of cognition; the main thing you are thinking about

From this reading I saw the débris and débris of all the slain soldiers of the war, But I saw they were not as was thought.

from one end or side of something to the other

From this reading "I saw askant the armies, I saw as in noiseless dreams hundreds of battle-flags, Borne through the smoke of the battles and pierced with missiles I saw them, And carried hither and yon through the smoke, and torn and bloody, And at last but a few shreds left on the staffs (and all in silence), And the staffs all splinter'd and broken.

having edges that are jagged from injury

From this reading "I saw askant the armies, I saw as in noiseless dreams hundreds of battle-flags, Borne through the smoke of the battles and pierced with missiles I saw them, And carried hither and yon through the smoke, and torn and bloody, And at last but a few shreds left on the staffs (and all in silence), And the staffs all splinter'd and broken.

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

From this reading And so Henry Blaine went with his regiment, and the black and terrible years set in--years in which so often she saw what Walt Whitman had seen:

the waging of armed conflict against an enemy

From this reading I saw the débris and débris of all the slain soldiers of the war, But I saw they were not as was thought.

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

From this reading I saw the débris and débris of all the slain soldiers of the war, But I saw they were not as was thought.

inflected form of “go” — change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically

From this reading And so Henry Blaine went with his regiment, and the black and terrible years set in--years in which so often she saw what Walt Whitman had seen:

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

From this reading I saw the débris and débris of all the slain soldiers of the war, But I saw they were not as was thought.

used to ask for information about something

From this reading And so Henry Blaine went with his regiment, and the black and terrible years set in--years in which so often she saw what Walt Whitman had seen:

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

From this reading And so Henry Blaine went with his regiment, and the black and terrible years set in--years in which so often she saw what Walt Whitman had seen:

a Caucasian

From this reading I saw battle-corpses, myriads of them, And the white skeletons of young men, I saw them.

United States poet who celebrated the greatness of America (1819-1892)

From this reading And so Henry Blaine went with his regiment, and the black and terrible years set in--years in which so often she saw what Walt Whitman had seen:

a married woman; a man's partner in marriage

From this reading They themselves were fully at rest, they suffered not, The living remain'd and suffer'd, the mother suffer'd, And the wife and the child and the musing comrade suffer'd, And the armies that remain'd suffer'd."

in the company of; together with

From this reading And so Henry Blaine went with his regiment, and the black and terrible years set in--years in which so often she saw what Walt Whitman had seen:

a late time of life

From this reading And so Henry Blaine went with his regiment, and the black and terrible years set in--years in which so often she saw what Walt Whitman had seen:

distant but within sight (“yon” is dialectal)

From this reading "I saw askant the armies, I saw as in noiseless dreams hundreds of battle-flags, Borne through the smoke of the battles and pierced with missiles I saw them, And carried hither and yon through the smoke, and torn and bloody, And at last but a few shreds left on the staffs (and all in silence), And the staffs all splinter'd and broken.

(used of living things especially persons) in an early period of life or development or growth

From this reading I saw battle-corpses, myriads of them, And the white skeletons of young men, I saw them.