used before a singular noun to mean one of a group, when it is not a particular one
From this reading When it was fed by the stoker, clouds of fire illuminated the darkness, and you saw in a flash purple pines, snow-covered gables, and wide-stretching golden spaces appearing out of black nothingness.
touching and pressing; in opposition to
From this reading Lilly leaned her head, drowsy from champagne, against the red velvet cushions.
(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 How beautiful, how strange it all was!
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading When it was fed by the stoker, clouds of fire illuminated the darkness, and you saw in a flash purple pines, snow-covered gables, and wide-stretching golden spaces appearing out of black nothingness.
appearingnounUS /əˈpɪrɪŋ/
formal attendance (in court or at a hearing) of a party in an action
From this reading When it was fed by the stoker, clouds of fire illuminated the darkness, and you saw in a flash purple pines, snow-covered gables, and wide-stretching golden spaces appearing out of black nothingness.
delighting the senses or exciting intellectual or emotional admiration
From this reading How beautiful, how strange it all was!
being of the achromatic color of maximum darkness; having little or no hue owing to absorption of almost all incident light
From this reading When it was fed by the stoker, clouds of fire illuminated the darkness, and you saw in a flash purple pines, snow-covered gables, and wide-stretching golden spaces appearing out of black nothingness.
showing who or what does the action
From this reading When it was fed by the stoker, clouds of fire illuminated the darkness, and you saw in a flash purple pines, snow-covered gables, and wide-stretching golden spaces appearing out of black nothingness.
champagnenounUS /ʃæmˈpeɪn/
a white sparkling wine either produced in Champagne or resembling that produced there
From this reading Lilly leaned her head, drowsy from champagne, against the red velvet cushions.
plural of “cloud” — any collection of particles (e.g., smoke or dust) or gases that is visible
From this reading When it was fed by the stoker, clouds of fire illuminated the darkness, and you saw in a flash purple pines, snow-covered gables, and wide-stretching golden spaces appearing out of black nothingness.
cushionsnounUS /ˈkʊʃənz/
plural of “cushion” — a mechanical damper; absorbs energy of sudden impulses
From this reading Lilly leaned her head, drowsy from champagne, against the red velvet cushions.
absence of light or illumination
From this reading When it was fed by the stoker, clouds of fire illuminated the darkness, and you saw in a flash purple pines, snow-covered gables, and wide-stretching golden spaces appearing out of black nothingness.
drowsyadjectiveUS /ˈdraʊzi/
half asleep
From this reading Lilly leaned her head, drowsy from champagne, against the red velvet cushions.
motor that converts thermal energy to mechanical work
From this reading The train rumbled on through the night, showers of sparks flew up from the engine.
all things; all of a situation
From this reading It was over, and everything had gone off well.
fednounUS /fed/
any federal law-enforcement officer
From this reading When it was fed by the stoker, clouds of fire illuminated the darkness, and you saw in a flash purple pines, snow-covered gables, and wide-stretching golden spaces appearing out of black nothingness.
start firing a weapon
From this reading When it was fed by the stoker, clouds of fire illuminated the darkness, and you saw in a flash purple pines, snow-covered gables, and wide-stretching golden spaces appearing out of black nothingness.
gleam or glow intermittently
From this reading When it was fed by the stoker, clouds of fire illuminated the darkness, and you saw in a flash purple pines, snow-covered gables, and wide-stretching golden spaces appearing out of black nothingness.
inflected form of “fly” — travel through the air; be airborne
From this reading The train rumbled on through the night, showers of sparks flew up from the engine.
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading The train rumbled on through the night, showers of sparks flew up from the engine.
gablesnounUS /ˈɡeɪbəlz/
plural of “gable” — the vertical triangular wall between the sloping ends of gable roof
From this reading When it was fed by the stoker, clouds of fire illuminated the darkness, and you saw in a flash purple pines, snow-covered gables, and wide-stretching golden spaces appearing out of black nothingness.
having the deep slightly brownish color of gold
From this reading When it was fed by the stoker, clouds of fire illuminated the darkness, and you saw in a flash purple pines, snow-covered gables, and wide-stretching golden spaces appearing out of black nothingness.
destroyed or killed
From this reading It was over, and everything had gone off well.
hadauxiliary verbUS /hæd/
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading It was over, and everything had gone off well.
the upper part of the human body or the front part of the body in animals; contains the face and brains
From this reading Lilly leaned her head, drowsy from champagne, against the red velvet cushions.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading Lilly leaned her head, drowsy from champagne, against the red velvet cushions.
How
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading How beautiful, how strange it all was!
illuminatedadjectiveUS /ˌɪˈluːməneɪtəd/
provided with artificial light
From this reading When it was fed by the stoker, clouds of fire illuminated the darkness, and you saw in a flash purple pines, snow-covered gables, and wide-stretching golden spaces appearing out of black nothingness.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading When it was fed by the stoker, clouds of fire illuminated the darkness, and you saw in a flash purple pines, snow-covered gables, and wide-stretching golden spaces appearing out of black nothingness.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading When it was fed by the stoker, clouds of fire illuminated the darkness, and you saw in a flash purple pines, snow-covered gables, and wide-stretching golden spaces appearing out of black nothingness.
past form of “lean” — to incline or bend from a vertical position
From this reading Lilly leaned her head, drowsy from champagne, against the red velvet cushions.
Lilly
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Lilly leaned her head, drowsy from champagne, against the red velvet cushions.
the time after sunset and before sunrise while it is dark outside
From this reading The train rumbled on through the night, showers of sparks flew up from the engine.
nothingnessnounUS /ˈnʌθɪŋnəs/
the state of nonexistence
From this reading When it was fed by the stoker, clouds of fire illuminated the darkness, and you saw in a flash purple pines, snow-covered gables, and wide-stretching golden spaces appearing out of black nothingness.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading The train rumbled on through the night, showers of sparks flew up from the engine.
from a particular thing or place or position (“forth” is obsolete)
From this reading It was over, and everything had gone off well.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading The train rumbled on through the night, showers of sparks flew up from the engine.
not allowed to continue to bat or run
From this reading When it was fed by the stoker, clouds of fire illuminated the darkness, and you saw in a flash purple pines, snow-covered gables, and wide-stretching golden spaces appearing out of black nothingness.
overprepositionUS /ˈoʊvər/
above and across; more than
From this reading It was over, and everything had gone off well.
pinesnounUS /paɪnz/
plural of “pine” — a coniferous tree
From this reading When it was fed by the stoker, clouds of fire illuminated the darkness, and you saw in a flash purple pines, snow-covered gables, and wide-stretching golden spaces appearing out of black nothingness.
a purple color or pigment
From this reading When it was fed by the stoker, clouds of fire illuminated the darkness, and you saw in a flash purple pines, snow-covered gables, and wide-stretching golden spaces appearing out of black nothingness.
red color or pigment; the chromatic color resembling the hue of blood
From this reading Lilly leaned her head, drowsy from champagne, against the red velvet cushions.
rumbledverbUS /ˈrʌmbəld/
past form of “rumble” — make a low noise
From this reading The train rumbled on through the night, showers of sparks flew up from the engine.
cut with a saw
From this reading When it was fed by the stoker, clouds of fire illuminated the darkness, and you saw in a flash purple pines, snow-covered gables, and wide-stretching golden spaces appearing out of black nothingness.
showersnounUS /ˈʃaʊərz/
plural of “shower” — a plumbing fixture that sprays water over you
From this reading The train rumbled on through the night, showers of sparks flew up from the engine.
snow-coveredadjective
covered with snow
From this reading When it was fed by the stoker, clouds of fire illuminated the darkness, and you saw in a flash purple pines, snow-covered gables, and wide-stretching golden spaces appearing out of black nothingness.
spacesnounUS /ˈspeɪsəz/
plural of “space” — the unlimited expanse in which everything is located
From this reading When it was fed by the stoker, clouds of fire illuminated the darkness, and you saw in a flash purple pines, snow-covered gables, and wide-stretching golden spaces appearing out of black nothingness.
sparksnounUS /spɑːrks/
plural of “spark” — a momentary flash of light
From this reading The train rumbled on through the night, showers of sparks flew up from the engine.
stokernounUS /ˈstoʊkər/
Irish writer of the horror novel about Dracula (1847-1912)
From this reading When it was fed by the stoker, clouds of fire illuminated the darkness, and you saw in a flash purple pines, snow-covered gables, and wide-stretching golden spaces appearing out of black nothingness.
being definitely out of the ordinary and unexpected; slightly odd or even a bit weird
From this reading How beautiful, how strange it all was!
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading The train rumbled on through the night, showers of sparks flew up from the engine.
from one end or side of something to the other
From this reading The train rumbled on through the night, showers of sparks flew up from the engine.
create by training and teaching
From this reading The train rumbled on through the night, showers of sparks flew up from the engine.
being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level
From this reading The train rumbled on through the night, showers of sparks flew up from the engine.
velvetnounUS /ˈvelvət/
a silky densely piled fabric with a plain back
From this reading Lilly leaned her head, drowsy from champagne, against the red velvet cushions.
wasauxiliary verbUS /wɑːz/
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading When it was fed by the stoker, clouds of fire illuminated the darkness, and you saw in a flash purple pines, snow-covered gables, and wide-stretching golden spaces appearing out of black nothingness.
(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 It was over, and everything had gone off well.
at the time that
From this reading When it was fed by the stoker, clouds of fire illuminated the darkness, and you saw in a flash purple pines, snow-covered gables, and wide-stretching golden spaces appearing out of black nothingness.
wide-stretching
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading When it was fed by the stoker, clouds of fire illuminated the darkness, and you saw in a flash purple pines, snow-covered gables, and wide-stretching golden spaces appearing out of black nothingness.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading When it was fed by the stoker, clouds of fire illuminated the darkness, and you saw in a flash purple pines, snow-covered gables, and wide-stretching golden spaces appearing out of black nothingness.
