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A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter I
Read the complete chapter in order, with its original wording preserved for focused English study.
After a pause, Lord Henry pulled out his watch. “I am afraid I must be going, Basil,” he murmured, “and before I go, I insist on your answering a question I put to you some time ago.” “What is that?” said the painter, keeping his eyes fixed on the ground. “You know quite well.”
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Reading 26/78 · 5 reading units · Lines 126–130
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.
replying
From this reading ““I am afraid I must be going, Basil,” he murmured, “and before I go, I insist on your answering a question I put to you some time ago.””
any of several Old World tropical aromatic annual or perennial herbs of the genus Ocimum
From this reading ““I am afraid I must be going, Basil,” he murmured, “and before I go, I insist on your answering a question I put to you some time ago.””
be emphatic or resolute and refuse to budge
From this reading ““I am afraid I must be going, Basil,” he murmured, “and before I go, I insist on your answering a question I put to you some time ago.””
conformity or harmony
From this reading “said the painter, keeping his eyes fixed on the ground.”
past form of “murmur” — speak softly or indistinctly
From this reading ““I am afraid I must be going, Basil,” he murmured, “and before I go, I insist on your answering a question I put to you some time ago.””
an artist who paints
From this reading “said the painter, keeping his eyes fixed on the ground.”
a time interval during which there is a temporary cessation of something
From this reading “After a pause, Lord Henry pulled out his watch.”
past form of “pull” — cause to move by pulling
From this reading “After a pause, Lord Henry pulled out his watch.”
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 After a pause, Lord Henry pulled out his watch.
filled with fear or apprehension
From this reading “I am afraid I must be going, Basil,” he murmured, “and before I go, I insist on your answering a question I put to you some time ago.”
later than; following
From this reading After a pause, Lord Henry pulled out his watch.
in the past
From this reading “I am afraid I must be going, Basil,” he murmured, “and before I go, I insist on your answering a question I put to you some time ago.”
the form of “be” used with “I”
From this reading “I am afraid I must be going, Basil,” he murmured, “and before I go, I insist on your answering a question I put to you some time ago.”
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading “I am afraid I must be going, Basil,” he murmured, “and before I go, I insist on your answering a question I put to you some time ago.”
replying
From this reading “I am afraid I must be going, Basil,” he murmured, “and before I go, I insist on your answering a question I put to you some time ago.”
any of several Old World tropical aromatic annual or perennial herbs of the genus Ocimum
From this reading “I am afraid I must be going, Basil,” he murmured, “and before I go, I insist on your answering a question I put to you some time ago.”
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading “I am afraid I must be going, Basil,” he murmured, “and before I go, I insist on your answering a question I put to you some time ago.”
earlier than; in front of
From this reading “I am afraid I must be going, Basil,” he murmured, “and before I go, I insist on your answering a question I put to you some time ago.”
opinion or judgment
From this reading said the painter, keeping his eyes fixed on the ground.
(of a number) having a fixed and unchanging value
From this reading said the painter, keeping his eyes fixed on the ground.
change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically
From this reading “I am afraid I must be going, Basil,” he murmured, “and before I go, I insist on your answering a question I put to you some time ago.”
the act of departing
From this reading “I am afraid I must be going, Basil,” he murmured, “and before I go, I insist on your answering a question I put to you some time ago.”
the solid part of the earth's surface
From this reading said the painter, keeping his eyes fixed on the ground.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading “I am afraid I must be going, Basil,” he murmured, “and before I go, I insist on your answering a question I put to you some time ago.”
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 After a pause, Lord Henry pulled out his watch.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading After a pause, Lord Henry pulled out his watch.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading “I am afraid I must be going, Basil,” he murmured, “and before I go, I insist on your answering a question I put to you some time ago.”
be emphatic or resolute and refuse to budge
From this reading “I am afraid I must be going, Basil,” he murmured, “and before I go, I insist on your answering a question I put to you some time ago.”
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading “What is that?”
conformity or harmony
From this reading said the painter, keeping his eyes fixed on the ground.
be cognizant or aware of a fact or a specific piece of information; possess knowledge or information about
From this reading “You know quite well.”
terms referring to the Judeo-Christian God
From this reading After a pause, Lord Henry pulled out his watch.
past form of “murmur” — speak softly or indistinctly
From this reading “I am afraid I must be going, Basil,” he murmured, “and before I go, I insist on your answering a question I put to you some time ago.”
used to say something is necessary, or almost certainly true
From this reading “I am afraid I must be going, Basil,” he murmured, “and before I go, I insist on your answering a question I put to you some time ago.”
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading “I am afraid I must be going, Basil,” he murmured, “and before I go, I insist on your answering a question I put to you some time ago.”
not allowed to continue to bat or run
From this reading After a pause, Lord Henry pulled out his watch.
an artist who paints
From this reading said the painter, keeping his eyes fixed on the ground.
a time interval during which there is a temporary cessation of something
From this reading After a pause, Lord Henry pulled out his watch.
past form of “pull” — cause to move by pulling
From this reading After a pause, Lord Henry pulled out his watch.
put into a certain place or abstract location
From this reading “I am afraid I must be going, Basil,” he murmured, “and before I go, I insist on your answering a question I put to you some time ago.”
challenge the accuracy, probity, or propriety of
From this reading “I am afraid I must be going, Basil,” he murmured, “and before I go, I insist on your answering a question I put to you some time ago.”
to a degree (not used with a negative)
From this reading “You know quite well.”
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading said the painter, keeping his eyes fixed on the ground.
(quantifier) used with either mass nouns or plural count nouns to indicate an unspecified number or quantity
From this reading “I am afraid I must be going, Basil,” he murmured, “and before I go, I insist on your answering a question I put to you some time ago.”
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading “What is that?”
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading said the painter, keeping his eyes fixed on the ground.
an instance or single occasion for some event
From this reading “I am afraid I must be going, Basil,” he murmured, “and before I go, I insist on your answering a question I put to you some time ago.”
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading “I am afraid I must be going, Basil,” he murmured, “and before I go, I insist on your answering a question I put to you some time ago.”
look attentively
From this reading After a pause, Lord Henry pulled out his watch.
(often used as a combining form) in a good or proper or satisfactory manner or to a high standard (“good” is a nonstandard dialectal variant for “well”)
From this reading “You know quite well.”
used to ask for information about something
From this reading “What is that?”
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading “I am afraid I must be going, Basil,” he murmured, “and before I go, I insist on your answering a question I put to you some time ago.”
belonging to the person or people being spoken to
From this reading “I am afraid I must be going, Basil,” he murmured, “and before I go, I insist on your answering a question I put to you some time ago.”
