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War Is Kind
War Is Kind

Chapter I

Cover illustration for War Is Kind
Context Illustration Reading 1/44 · 5 lines
English subtitles · tap any word to listen 1 / 5
Do not weep, maiden, for war is kind.
Because your lover threw wild hands toward the sky And the affrighted steed ran on alone, Do not weep.
War is kind.
Hoarse, booming drums of the regiment, Little souls who thirst for fight, These men were born to drill and die.
The unexplained glory files above them, Great is the battle-god, great, and his kingdom-- A field where a thousand corpses lie.
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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.

War Is Kind

Chapter I

Reading 1/44 · 5 reading units · Lines 1–5

Line 1
Do not weep, maiden, for war is kind.
Line 2
Because your lover threw wild hands toward the sky And the affrighted steed ran on alone, Do not weep.
Line 3
War is kind.
Line 4
Hoarse, booming drums of the regiment, Little souls who thirst for fight, These men were born to drill and die.
Line 5
The unexplained glory files above them, Great is the battle-god, great, and his kingdom-- A field where a thousand corpses lie.

Learner Dictionary

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

Above preposition US /əˈbʌv/

higher than, or over, something

From this reading “The unexplained glory files above them, Great is the battle-god, great, and his kingdom-- A field where a thousand corpses lie.”

Alone noun US /alone/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “Because your lover threw wild hands toward the sky And the affrighted steed ran on alone, Do not weep.”

Because conjunction US /bɪˈkɔːz/

for the reason that

From this reading “Because your lover threw wild hands toward the sky And the affrighted steed ran on alone, Do not weep.”

Booming noun US /ˈbooming/

a story-specific word describing an important person, object, action, or idea in this passage

From this reading “Hoarse, booming drums of the regiment, Little souls who thirst for fight, These men were born to drill and die.”

Born noun US /born/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “Hoarse, booming drums of the regiment, Little souls who thirst for fight, These men were born to drill and die.”

Great noun US /great/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “The unexplained glory files above them, Great is the battle-god, great, and his kingdom-- A field where a thousand corpses lie.”

Hands plural noun US /hændz/

members of a ship’s crew

From this reading “Because your lover threw wild hands toward the sky And the affrighted steed ran on alone, Do not weep.”

Little noun US /little/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “Hoarse, booming drums of the regiment, Little souls who thirst for fight, These men were born to drill and die.”

Maiden noun, literary US /ˈmeɪdən/

a young woman who is not married

From this reading “Do not weep, maiden, for war is kind.”

These determiner US /ðiːz/

the plural of “this”: the people or things near, or just mentioned

From this reading “Hoarse, booming drums of the regiment, Little souls who thirst for fight, These men were born to drill and die.”

Toward preposition US /təˈwɔːrd/

in the direction of

From this reading “Because your lover threw wild hands toward the sky And the affrighted steed ran on alone, Do not weep.”

All words in this reading · 55

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 The unexplained glory files above them, Great is the battle-god, great, and his kingdom-- A field where a thousand corpses lie.

aboveprepositionUS /əˈbʌv/

higher than, or over, something

From this reading The unexplained glory files above them, Great is the battle-god, great, and his kingdom-- A field where a thousand corpses lie.

affrighted

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

From this reading Because your lover threw wild hands toward the sky And the affrighted steed ran on alone, Do not weep.

alonenounUS /alone/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading Because your lover threw wild hands toward the sky And the affrighted steed ran on alone, Do not weep.

AndconjunctionUS /ənd/

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

From this reading Because your lover threw wild hands toward the sky And the affrighted steed ran on alone, Do not weep.

battle-god

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

From this reading The unexplained glory files above them, Great is the battle-god, great, and his kingdom-- A field where a thousand corpses lie.

BecauseconjunctionUS /bɪˈkɔːz/

for the reason that

From this reading Because your lover threw wild hands toward the sky And the affrighted steed ran on alone, Do not weep.

boomingnounUS /ˈbooming/

a story-specific word describing an important person, object, action, or idea in this passage

From this reading Hoarse, booming drums of the regiment, Little souls who thirst for fight, These men were born to drill and die.

bornnounUS /born/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading Hoarse, booming drums of the regiment, Little souls who thirst for fight, These men were born to drill and die.

corpses

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

From this reading The unexplained glory files above them, Great is the battle-god, great, and his kingdom-- A field where a thousand corpses lie.

die

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

From this reading Hoarse, booming drums of the regiment, Little souls who thirst for fight, These men were born to drill and die.

Doauxiliary verbUS /duː/

used to form questions and negatives, and to give emphasis

From this reading Do not weep, maiden, for war is kind.

drill

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

From this reading Hoarse, booming drums of the regiment, Little souls who thirst for fight, These men were born to drill and die.

drums

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

From this reading Hoarse, booming drums of the regiment, Little souls who thirst for fight, These men were born to drill and die.

field

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

From this reading The unexplained glory files above them, Great is the battle-god, great, and his kingdom-- A field where a thousand corpses lie.

fight

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

From this reading Hoarse, booming drums of the regiment, Little souls who thirst for fight, These men were born to drill and die.

files

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

From this reading The unexplained glory files above them, Great is the battle-god, great, and his kingdom-- A field where a thousand corpses lie.

forprepositionUS /fɔːr/

intended to be given to, or used by, somebody

From this reading Do not weep, maiden, for war is kind.

glory

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

From this reading The unexplained glory files above them, Great is the battle-god, great, and his kingdom-- A field where a thousand corpses lie.

GreatnounUS /great/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading The unexplained glory files above them, Great is the battle-god, great, and his kingdom-- A field where a thousand corpses lie.

handsplural nounUS /hændz/

members of a ship’s crew

From this reading Because your lover threw wild hands toward the sky And the affrighted steed ran on alone, Do not weep.

hisdeterminerUS /hɪz/

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

From this reading The unexplained glory files above them, Great is the battle-god, great, and his kingdom-- A field where a thousand corpses lie.

Hoarse

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

From this reading Hoarse, booming drums of the regiment, Little souls who thirst for fight, These men were born to drill and die.

isauxiliary verbUS /ɪz/

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

From this reading Do not weep, maiden, for war is kind.

kind

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

From this reading Do not weep, maiden, for war is kind.

kingdom

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

From this reading The unexplained glory files above them, Great is the battle-god, great, and his kingdom-- A field where a thousand corpses lie.

lie

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

From this reading The unexplained glory files above them, Great is the battle-god, great, and his kingdom-- A field where a thousand corpses lie.

LittlenounUS /little/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading Hoarse, booming drums of the regiment, Little souls who thirst for fight, These men were born to drill and die.

lover

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

From this reading Because your lover threw wild hands toward the sky And the affrighted steed ran on alone, Do not weep.

maidennoun, literaryUS /ˈmeɪdən/

a young woman who is not married

From this reading Do not weep, maiden, for war is kind.

men

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

From this reading Hoarse, booming drums of the regiment, Little souls who thirst for fight, These men were born to drill and die.

notadverbUS /nɑːt/

used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative

From this reading Do not weep, maiden, for war is kind.

ofprepositionUS /ʌv/

belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something

From this reading Hoarse, booming drums of the regiment, Little souls who thirst for fight, These men were born to drill and die.

onprepositionUS /ɑːn/

touching and supported by a surface

From this reading Because your lover threw wild hands toward the sky And the affrighted steed ran on alone, Do not weep.

ran

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

From this reading Because your lover threw wild hands toward the sky And the affrighted steed ran on alone, Do not weep.

regiment

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

From this reading Hoarse, booming drums of the regiment, Little souls who thirst for fight, These men were born to drill and die.

sky

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

From this reading Because your lover threw wild hands toward the sky And the affrighted steed ran on alone, Do not weep.

souls

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

From this reading Hoarse, booming drums of the regiment, Little souls who thirst for fight, These men were born to drill and die.

steed

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

From this reading Because your lover threw wild hands toward the sky And the affrighted steed ran on alone, Do not weep.

thedeterminerUS /ðə/

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

From this reading Because your lover threw wild hands toward the sky And the affrighted steed ran on alone, Do not weep.

thempronounUS /ðem/

the people or things already mentioned, as the object

From this reading The unexplained glory files above them, Great is the battle-god, great, and his kingdom-- A field where a thousand corpses lie.

ThesedeterminerUS /ðiːz/

the plural of “this”: the people or things near, or just mentioned

From this reading Hoarse, booming drums of the regiment, Little souls who thirst for fight, These men were born to drill and die.

thirst

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

From this reading Hoarse, booming drums of the regiment, Little souls who thirst for fight, These men were born to drill and die.

thousand

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

From this reading The unexplained glory files above them, Great is the battle-god, great, and his kingdom-- A field where a thousand corpses lie.

threw

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

From this reading Because your lover threw wild hands toward the sky And the affrighted steed ran on alone, Do not weep.

toparticleUS /tuː/

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

From this reading Hoarse, booming drums of the regiment, Little souls who thirst for fight, These men were born to drill and die.

towardprepositionUS /təˈwɔːrd/

in the direction of

From this reading Because your lover threw wild hands toward the sky And the affrighted steed ran on alone, Do not weep.

unexplained

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

From this reading The unexplained glory files above them, Great is the battle-god, great, and his kingdom-- A field where a thousand corpses lie.

war

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

From this reading Do not weep, maiden, for war is kind.

weep

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

From this reading Do not weep, maiden, for war is kind.

wereauxiliary verbUS /wɜːr/

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

From this reading Hoarse, booming drums of the regiment, Little souls who thirst for fight, These men were born to drill and die.

whereconjunctionUS /wer/

in or at the place that

From this reading The unexplained glory files above them, Great is the battle-god, great, and his kingdom-- A field where a thousand corpses lie.

whopronounUS /huː/

which person or people

From this reading Hoarse, booming drums of the regiment, Little souls who thirst for fight, These men were born to drill and die.

wild

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

From this reading Because your lover threw wild hands toward the sky And the affrighted steed ran on alone, Do not weep.

yourdeterminerUS /jɔːr/

belonging to the person or people being spoken to

From this reading Because your lover threw wild hands toward the sky And the affrighted steed ran on alone, Do not weep.