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The Serf
The Serf

Chapter VIII

Cover illustration for The Serf
Context Illustration Reading 1/57 · 5 lines
English subtitles · tap any word to listen 1 / 5
"And after that, the Abbot with his couent Han sped hem for to burien him ful faste."
They buried Geoffroi de la Bourne, the day after his murder, in a pit dug in the castle chapel, under the flags.
The bell tolled, the tapers burnt, the pillars of the place were bound round with black.
Upon the altar was a purple cloth.
Dom Anselm got him a new black cope for the occasion, and was sober as may be.
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AI-generated narration by OpenAI · Slow US English
LEARNER DICTIONARY
Archivist
/ˈɑːrkɪvɪst/
Editorial verification pending

A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.

The Serf

Chapter VIII

Reading 1/57 · 5 reading units · Lines 1–5

Line 1
"And after that, the Abbot with his couent Han sped hem for to burien him ful faste."
Line 2
They buried Geoffroi de la Bourne, the day after his murder, in a pit dug in the castle chapel, under the flags.
Line 3
The bell tolled, the tapers burnt, the pillars of the place were bound round with black.
Line 4
Upon the altar was a purple cloth.
Line 5
Dom Anselm got him a new black cope for the occasion, and was sober as may be.

Learner Dictionary

Oxford-style entry order: headword, part of speech, US IPA, concise definition, contextual example, audio, and collocations from this reading.

After preposition US /ˈæftər/

later than; following

From this reading “"And after that, the Abbot with his couent Han sped hem for to burien him ful faste."”

May modal verb US /meɪ/

used to say something is possible, or to give permission

From this reading “Dom Anselm got him a new black cope for the occasion, and was sober as may be.”

Pit noun US /pɪt/

A large hole in the ground, or an abyss of darkness and peril.

From this reading “They buried Geoffroi de la Bourne, the day after his murder, in a pit dug in the castle chapel, under the flags.”

Sober adjective US /ˈsoʊbər/

not affected by alcohol

From this reading “Dom Anselm got him a new black cope for the occasion, and was sober as may be.”

Under preposition US /ˈʌndər/

below or beneath something; less than

From this reading “They buried Geoffroi de la Bourne, the day after his murder, in a pit dug in the castle chapel, under the flags.”

Upon preposition US /əˈpɑːn/

a formal word for “on”

From this reading “Upon the altar was a purple cloth.”

All words in this reading · 59

Every word is available to listen to. Dictionary details are shown only when verified; these are not licensed Oxford entries.

adeterminerUS /ə/

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

From this reading They buried Geoffroi de la Bourne, the day after his murder, in a pit dug in the castle chapel, under the flags.

Abbot

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

From this reading "And after that, the Abbot with his couent Han sped hem for to burien him ful faste."

afterprepositionUS /ˈæftər/

later than; following

From this reading "And after that, the Abbot with his couent Han sped hem for to burien him ful faste."

altar

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

From this reading Upon the altar was a purple cloth.

AndconjunctionUS /ənd/

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

From this reading "And after that, the Abbot with his couent Han sped hem for to burien him ful faste."

Anselm

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

From this reading Dom Anselm got him a new black cope for the occasion, and was sober as may be.

asconjunctionUS /æz/

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

From this reading Dom Anselm got him a new black cope for the occasion, and was sober as may be.

beauxiliary verbUS /biː/

used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses

From this reading Dom Anselm got him a new black cope for the occasion, and was sober as may be.

bell

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

From this reading The bell tolled, the tapers burnt, the pillars of the place were bound round with black.

black

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

From this reading The bell tolled, the tapers burnt, the pillars of the place were bound round with black.

bound

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

From this reading The bell tolled, the tapers burnt, the pillars of the place were bound round with black.

Bourne

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

From this reading They buried Geoffroi de la Bourne, the day after his murder, in a pit dug in the castle chapel, under the flags.

buried

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

From this reading They buried Geoffroi de la Bourne, the day after his murder, in a pit dug in the castle chapel, under the flags.

burien

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

From this reading "And after that, the Abbot with his couent Han sped hem for to burien him ful faste."

burnt

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

From this reading The bell tolled, the tapers burnt, the pillars of the place were bound round with black.

castle

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

From this reading They buried Geoffroi de la Bourne, the day after his murder, in a pit dug in the castle chapel, under the flags.

chapel

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

From this reading They buried Geoffroi de la Bourne, the day after his murder, in a pit dug in the castle chapel, under the flags.

cloth

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

From this reading Upon the altar was a purple cloth.

cope

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

From this reading Dom Anselm got him a new black cope for the occasion, and was sober as may be.

couent

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

From this reading "And after that, the Abbot with his couent Han sped hem for to burien him ful faste."

day

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

From this reading They buried Geoffroi de la Bourne, the day after his murder, in a pit dug in the castle chapel, under the flags.

de

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

From this reading They buried Geoffroi de la Bourne, the day after his murder, in a pit dug in the castle chapel, under the flags.

Dom

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

From this reading Dom Anselm got him a new black cope for the occasion, and was sober as may be.

dug

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

From this reading They buried Geoffroi de la Bourne, the day after his murder, in a pit dug in the castle chapel, under the flags.

faste

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

From this reading "And after that, the Abbot with his couent Han sped hem for to burien him ful faste."

flags

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

From this reading They buried Geoffroi de la Bourne, the day after his murder, in a pit dug in the castle chapel, under the flags.

forprepositionUS /fɔːr/

intended to be given to, or used by, somebody

From this reading "And after that, the Abbot with his couent Han sped hem for to burien him ful faste."

ful

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

From this reading "And after that, the Abbot with his couent Han sped hem for to burien him ful faste."

Geoffroi

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

From this reading They buried Geoffroi de la Bourne, the day after his murder, in a pit dug in the castle chapel, under the flags.

got

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

From this reading Dom Anselm got him a new black cope for the occasion, and was sober as may be.

Han

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

From this reading "And after that, the Abbot with his couent Han sped hem for to burien him ful faste."

hem

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

From this reading "And after that, the Abbot with his couent Han sped hem for to burien him ful faste."

himpronounUS /hɪm/

the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition

From this reading "And after that, the Abbot with his couent Han sped hem for to burien him ful faste."

hisdeterminerUS /hɪz/

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

From this reading "And after that, the Abbot with his couent Han sped hem for to burien him ful faste."

inprepositionUS /ɪn/

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

From this reading They buried Geoffroi de la Bourne, the day after his murder, in a pit dug in the castle chapel, under the flags.

la

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

From this reading They buried Geoffroi de la Bourne, the day after his murder, in a pit dug in the castle chapel, under the flags.

maymodal verbUS /meɪ/

used to say something is possible, or to give permission

From this reading Dom Anselm got him a new black cope for the occasion, and was sober as may be.

murder

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

From this reading They buried Geoffroi de la Bourne, the day after his murder, in a pit dug in the castle chapel, under the flags.

new

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

From this reading Dom Anselm got him a new black cope for the occasion, and was sober as may be.

occasion

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

From this reading Dom Anselm got him a new black cope for the occasion, and was sober as may be.

ofprepositionUS /ʌv/

belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something

From this reading The bell tolled, the tapers burnt, the pillars of the place were bound round with black.

pillars

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

From this reading The bell tolled, the tapers burnt, the pillars of the place were bound round with black.

pitnounUS /pɪt/

A large hole in the ground, or an abyss of darkness and peril.

From this reading They buried Geoffroi de la Bourne, the day after his murder, in a pit dug in the castle chapel, under the flags.

place

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

From this reading The bell tolled, the tapers burnt, the pillars of the place were bound round with black.

purple

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

From this reading Upon the altar was a purple cloth.

round

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

From this reading The bell tolled, the tapers burnt, the pillars of the place were bound round with black.

soberadjectiveUS /ˈsoʊbər/

not affected by alcohol

From this reading Dom Anselm got him a new black cope for the occasion, and was sober as may be.

sped

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

From this reading "And after that, the Abbot with his couent Han sped hem for to burien him ful faste."

tapers

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

From this reading The bell tolled, the tapers burnt, the pillars of the place were bound round with black.

thatconjunctionUS /ðæt/

used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt

From this reading "And after that, the Abbot with his couent Han sped hem for to burien him ful faste."

thedeterminerUS /ðə/

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

From this reading "And after that, the Abbot with his couent Han sped hem for to burien him ful faste."

TheypronounUS /ðeɪ/

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

From this reading They buried Geoffroi de la Bourne, the day after his murder, in a pit dug in the castle chapel, under the flags.

toparticleUS /tuː/

used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive

From this reading "And after that, the Abbot with his couent Han sped hem for to burien him ful faste."

tolled

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

From this reading The bell tolled, the tapers burnt, the pillars of the place were bound round with black.

underprepositionUS /ˈʌndər/

below or beneath something; less than

From this reading They buried Geoffroi de la Bourne, the day after his murder, in a pit dug in the castle chapel, under the flags.

UponprepositionUS /əˈpɑːn/

a formal word for “on”

From this reading Upon the altar was a purple cloth.

wasauxiliary verbUS /wɑːz/

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

From this reading Upon the altar was a purple cloth.

wereauxiliary verbUS /wɜːr/

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

From this reading The bell tolled, the tapers burnt, the pillars of the place were bound round with black.

withprepositionUS /wɪð/

in the company of; together with

From this reading "And after that, the Abbot with his couent Han sped hem for to burien him ful faste."