Chapter 5 of The Old Dominion is here in full — 420 sentences across 84 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter V
Chapter 5 of The Old Dominion is here in full — 420 sentences across 84 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
The Muggletonian sat up. "What dost thou mean, wretched woman! fit descendant of the mother of all evil?" Margery, offended by his tone, only pursed up her lips and looked wise. "What did the master have done to Landless, Margery?" asked the youth. Margery threw her worn figure into a singular posture.
Chapter 5 of The Old Dominion is here in full — 420 sentences across 84 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/84 · 5 reading units · Lines 1–5
These definitions explain words found in the current reading and keep every example grounded in its original sentence.
Oxford-style entry order: headword, part of speech, US IPA, concise definition, contextual example, and audio.
a person considered as descended from some ancestor
From this reading “"What dost thou mean, wretched woman! fit descendant of the mother of all evil?"”
an old form of “do”, used with “thou”
From this reading “"What dost thou mean, wretched woman! fit descendant of the mother of all evil?"”
owning no land
From this reading “"What did the master have done to Landless, Margery?" asked the youth.”
emotionally hurt or upset or annoyed
From this reading “Margery, offended by his tone, only pursed up her lips and looked wise.”
the arrangement of the body and its limbs
From this reading “Margery threw her worn figure into a singular posture.”
past form of “purse” — contract one's lips into a rounded shape
From this reading “Margery, offended by his tone, only pursed up her lips and looked wise.”
unusual or striking
From this reading “Margery threw her worn figure into a singular posture.”
of very poor quality or condition
From this reading “"What dost thou mean, wretched woman! fit descendant of the mother of all evil?"”
English keeps certain words together, and knowing the pair is worth more than knowing each word alone. Every partnership below was counted across our whole published library, and earns its place by appearing far more often than two unrelated words of the same frequency would.
Shown as this reading writes them, with the form the library counts, what kind of pairing it is, and how often it occurs.
In this reading “"What dost thou mean, wretched woman! fit descendant of the mother of all evil?"”
Every word in these five lines is listed here, and every one of them can be played on its own.
Dictionary details are shown only when verified; these are not licensed Oxford entries.
used before a singular noun to mean one of a group, when it is not a particular one
From this reading Margery threw her worn figure into a singular posture.
(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 "What dost thou mean, wretched woman! fit descendant of the mother of all evil?"
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Margery, offended by his tone, only pursed up her lips and looked wise.
past form of “ask” — make a request or demand for something to somebody
From this reading "What did the master have done to Landless, Margery?" asked the youth.
showing who or what does the action
From this reading Margery, offended by his tone, only pursed up her lips and looked wise.
a person considered as descended from some ancestor
From this reading "What dost thou mean, wretched woman! fit descendant of the mother of all evil?"
the past form of “do”, used in questions and negatives
From this reading "What did the master have done to Landless, Margery?" asked the youth.
having finished or arrived at completion
From this reading "What did the master have done to Landless, Margery?" asked the youth.
an old form of “do”, used with “thou”
From this reading "What dost thou mean, wretched woman! fit descendant of the mother of all evil?"
morally objectionable behavior
From this reading "What dost thou mean, wretched woman! fit descendant of the mother of all evil?"
a diagram or picture illustrating textual material
From this reading Margery threw her worn figure into a singular posture.
be agreeable or acceptable to
From this reading "What dost thou mean, wretched woman! fit descendant of the mother of all evil?"
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading "What did the master have done to Landless, Margery?" asked the youth.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading Margery, offended by his tone, only pursed up her lips and looked wise.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading Margery, offended by his tone, only pursed up her lips and looked wise.
moving to the inside of something
From this reading Margery threw her worn figure into a singular posture.
owning no land
From this reading "What did the master have done to Landless, Margery?" asked the youth.
plural of “lip” — either of two fleshy folds of tissue that surround the mouth and play a role in speaking
From this reading Margery, offended by his tone, only pursed up her lips and looked wise.
past form of “look” — perceive with attention; direct one's gaze towards
From this reading Margery, offended by his tone, only pursed up her lips and looked wise.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Margery, offended by his tone, only pursed up her lips and looked wise.
an artist of consummate skill
From this reading "What did the master have done to Landless, Margery?" asked the youth.
mean or intend to express or convey
From this reading "What dost thou mean, wretched woman! fit descendant of the mother of all evil?"
a woman who has given birth to a child (also used as a term of address to your mother)
From this reading "What dost thou mean, wretched woman! fit descendant of the mother of all evil?"
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The Muggletonian sat up.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading "What dost thou mean, wretched woman! fit descendant of the mother of all evil?"
emotionally hurt or upset or annoyed
From this reading Margery, offended by his tone, only pursed up her lips and looked wise.
and nothing more
From this reading Margery, offended by his tone, only pursed up her lips and looked wise.
the arrangement of the body and its limbs
From this reading Margery threw her worn figure into a singular posture.
past form of “purse” — contract one's lips into a rounded shape
From this reading Margery, offended by his tone, only pursed up her lips and looked wise.
the seventh and last day of the week; observed as the Sabbath by Jews and some Christians
From this reading The Muggletonian sat up.
unusual or striking
From this reading Margery threw her worn figure into a singular posture.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading The Muggletonian sat up.
an old word for “you”, as the subject, speaking to one person
From this reading "What dost thou mean, wretched woman! fit descendant of the mother of all evil?"
inflected form of “throw” — propel through the air
From this reading Margery threw her worn figure into a singular posture.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading "What did the master have done to Landless, Margery?" asked the youth.
the quality of a person's voice
From this reading Margery, offended by his tone, only pursed up her lips and looked wise.
being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level
From this reading The Muggletonian sat up.
used to ask for information about something
From this reading "What dost thou mean, wretched woman! fit descendant of the mother of all evil?"
having or prompted by wisdom or discernment
From this reading Margery, offended by his tone, only pursed up her lips and looked wise.
an adult female person (as opposed to a man)
From this reading "What dost thou mean, wretched woman! fit descendant of the mother of all evil?"
Damaged or thinned by continuous use.
From this reading Margery threw her worn figure into a singular posture.
of very poor quality or condition
From this reading "What dost thou mean, wretched woman! fit descendant of the mother of all evil?"
a young person (especially a young man or boy)
From this reading "What did the master have done to Landless, Margery?" asked the youth.
Chapter 5 of The Old Dominion by Mary Johnston holds 420 sentences, grouped into 84 reading sections of at most 5 sentences. The text is the source edition, unabridged, and the chapter records which sentences cover which part of the work so that nothing is dropped. Every word can be tapped for its pronunciation and dictionary entry.
Chapter 5 holds 420 sentences of The Old Dominion, unabridged, divided into 84 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 5 of The Old Dominion by Mary Johnston exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 420 sentences, grouped into 84 sections of at most 5 sentences so that a reader can take the chapter in steady, finishable pieces. The chapter also stores a coverage record mapping every one of its sentences to a part of the work, which is how the edition demonstrates that no line was dropped.
Work through the 84 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 84 sections in this chapter is short enough to read once, hear once, and then re-read with the vocabulary in view. Tapping a word plays it alone and opens its dictionary entry with IPA, part of speech and meaning, so the reader is never forced to guess a pronunciation from spelling. Working section by section keeps a long chapter from becoming an undifferentiated wall of text, which is the usual reason a reader abandons a work of this period.
Yes — every sentence and every individual word in chapter 5 can be played aloud in United States English.
Audio covers the whole chapter: any sentence can be played, and any single word within it can be played on its own. The voice uses United States English. For a work of this period that matters, because spelling is an unreliable guide to pronunciation for vocabulary that has fallen out of daily use, and a learner who guesses wrong tends to keep the error. Hearing the word in its own sentence, and then alone, settles it.
Common questions about reading The Old Dominion by Mary Johnston on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 6359 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #48258 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #48258, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 529 minutes of reading across 1272 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Old Dominion section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 15 chapters of The Old Dominion to begin.
Each section holds 5 sentences; read it once through.
Play the section aloud, then tap any unfamiliar word for its entry.
Words and structures a reader meets early in The Old Dominion, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
