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Henry Esmond
Henry Esmond

Chapter I

Cover illustration for Henry Esmond
Context Illustration Reading 1/54 · 5 lines
English subtitles · tap any word to listen 1 / 5
New York, Toronto, Melbourne, Cape Town, We know exceedingly little of the genesis and progress of _Esmond_.
“It did not seem to be a part of our lives as _Pendennis_ was,” says Lady Ritchie, though she wrote part of it to dictation.
She “only heard _Esmond_ spoken of very rarely”.
Perhaps its state was not the less gracious.
The Milton girls found _Paradise Lost_ a very considerable part of their lives—and were not the happier.
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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.

Henry Esmond

Chapter I

Reading 1/54 · 5 reading units · Lines 1–5

Line 1
New York, Toronto, Melbourne, Cape Town, We know exceedingly little of the genesis and progress of _Esmond_.
Line 2
“It did not seem to be a part of our lives as _Pendennis_ was,” says Lady Ritchie, though she wrote part of it to dictation.
Line 3
She “only heard _Esmond_ spoken of very rarely”.
Line 4
Perhaps its state was not the less gracious.
Line 5
The Milton girls found _Paradise Lost_ a very considerable part of their lives—and were not the happier.

Learner Dictionary

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

Found noun US /found/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “The Milton girls found _Paradise Lost_ a very considerable part of their lives—and were not the happier.”

Know noun US /know/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “New York, Toronto, Melbourne, Cape Town, We know exceedingly little of the genesis and progress of _Esmond_.”

Little noun US /little/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “New York, Toronto, Melbourne, Cape Town, We know exceedingly little of the genesis and progress of _Esmond_.”

Part noun US /part/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading ““It did not seem to be a part of our lives as _Pendennis_ was,” says Lady Ritchie, though she wrote part of it to dictation.”

Perhaps noun US /perhaps/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “Perhaps its state was not the less gracious.”

Though conjunction US /ðoʊ/

in spite of the fact that

From this reading ““It did not seem to be a part of our lives as _Pendennis_ was,” says Lady Ritchie, though she wrote part of it to dictation.”

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 “It did not seem to be a part of our lives as _Pendennis_ was,” says Lady Ritchie, though she wrote part of it to dictation.

andconjunctionUS /ənd/

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

From this reading New York, Toronto, Melbourne, Cape Town, We know exceedingly little of the genesis and progress of _Esmond_.

asconjunctionUS /æz/

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

From this reading “It did not seem to be a part of our lives as _Pendennis_ was,” says Lady Ritchie, though she wrote part of it to dictation.

beauxiliary verbUS /biː/

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

From this reading “It did not seem to be a part of our lives as _Pendennis_ was,” says Lady Ritchie, though she wrote part of it to dictation.

Cape

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

From this reading New York, Toronto, Melbourne, Cape Town, We know exceedingly little of the genesis and progress of _Esmond_.

considerable

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

From this reading The Milton girls found _Paradise Lost_ a very considerable part of their lives—and were not the happier.

dictation

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

From this reading “It did not seem to be a part of our lives as _Pendennis_ was,” says Lady Ritchie, though she wrote part of it to dictation.

didauxiliary verbUS /dɪd/

the past form of “do”, used in questions and negatives

From this reading “It did not seem to be a part of our lives as _Pendennis_ was,” says Lady Ritchie, though she wrote part of it to dictation.

Esmond

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

From this reading New York, Toronto, Melbourne, Cape Town, We know exceedingly little of the genesis and progress of _Esmond_.

exceedingly

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

From this reading New York, Toronto, Melbourne, Cape Town, We know exceedingly little of the genesis and progress of _Esmond_.

foundnounUS /found/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading The Milton girls found _Paradise Lost_ a very considerable part of their lives—and were not the happier.

genesis

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

From this reading New York, Toronto, Melbourne, Cape Town, We know exceedingly little of the genesis and progress of _Esmond_.

girls

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

From this reading The Milton girls found _Paradise Lost_ a very considerable part of their lives—and were not the happier.

gracious

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

From this reading Perhaps its state was not the less gracious.

happier

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

From this reading The Milton girls found _Paradise Lost_ a very considerable part of their lives—and were not the happier.

heard

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

From this reading She “only heard _Esmond_ spoken of very rarely”.

ItpronounUS /ɪt/

a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned

From this reading “It did not seem to be a part of our lives as _Pendennis_ was,” says Lady Ritchie, though she wrote part of it to dictation.

itsdeterminerUS /ɪts/

belonging to the thing or animal already mentioned

From this reading Perhaps its state was not the less gracious.

knownounUS /know/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading New York, Toronto, Melbourne, Cape Town, We know exceedingly little of the genesis and progress of _Esmond_.

Lady

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

From this reading “It did not seem to be a part of our lives as _Pendennis_ was,” says Lady Ritchie, though she wrote part of it to dictation.

less

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

From this reading Perhaps its state was not the less gracious.

littlenounUS /little/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading New York, Toronto, Melbourne, Cape Town, We know exceedingly little of the genesis and progress of _Esmond_.

lives

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

From this reading “It did not seem to be a part of our lives as _Pendennis_ was,” says Lady Ritchie, though she wrote part of it to dictation.

Lost

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

From this reading The Milton girls found _Paradise Lost_ a very considerable part of their lives—and were not the happier.

Melbourne

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

From this reading New York, Toronto, Melbourne, Cape Town, We know exceedingly little of the genesis and progress of _Esmond_.

Milton

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

From this reading The Milton girls found _Paradise Lost_ a very considerable part of their lives—and were not the happier.

New

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

From this reading New York, Toronto, Melbourne, Cape Town, We know exceedingly little of the genesis and progress of _Esmond_.

notadverbUS /nɑːt/

used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative

From this reading “It did not seem to be a part of our lives as _Pendennis_ was,” says Lady Ritchie, though she wrote part of it to dictation.

ofprepositionUS /ʌv/

belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something

From this reading New York, Toronto, Melbourne, Cape Town, We know exceedingly little of the genesis and progress of _Esmond_.

only

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

From this reading She “only heard _Esmond_ spoken of very rarely”.

ourdeterminerUS /ˈaʊər/

belonging to the speaker and others

From this reading “It did not seem to be a part of our lives as _Pendennis_ was,” says Lady Ritchie, though she wrote part of it to dictation.

Paradise

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

From this reading The Milton girls found _Paradise Lost_ a very considerable part of their lives—and were not the happier.

partnounUS /part/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “It did not seem to be a part of our lives as _Pendennis_ was,” says Lady Ritchie, though she wrote part of it to dictation.

Pendennis

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

From this reading “It did not seem to be a part of our lives as _Pendennis_ was,” says Lady Ritchie, though she wrote part of it to dictation.

Perhaps

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

From this reading Perhaps its state was not the less gracious.

progress

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

From this reading New York, Toronto, Melbourne, Cape Town, We know exceedingly little of the genesis and progress of _Esmond_.

rarely

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

From this reading She “only heard _Esmond_ spoken of very rarely”.

Ritchie

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

From this reading “It did not seem to be a part of our lives as _Pendennis_ was,” says Lady Ritchie, though she wrote part of it to dictation.

says

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

From this reading “It did not seem to be a part of our lives as _Pendennis_ was,” says Lady Ritchie, though she wrote part of it to dictation.

seem

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

From this reading “It did not seem to be a part of our lives as _Pendennis_ was,” says Lady Ritchie, though she wrote part of it to dictation.

shepronounUS /ʃiː/

a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject

From this reading “It did not seem to be a part of our lives as _Pendennis_ was,” says Lady Ritchie, though she wrote part of it to dictation.

spoken

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

From this reading She “only heard _Esmond_ spoken of very rarely”.

state

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

From this reading Perhaps its state was not the less gracious.

thedeterminerUS /ðə/

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

From this reading New York, Toronto, Melbourne, Cape Town, We know exceedingly little of the genesis and progress of _Esmond_.

theirdeterminerUS /ðer/

belonging to the people or things already mentioned

From this reading The Milton girls found _Paradise Lost_ a very considerable part of their lives—and were not the happier.

thoughconjunctionUS /ðoʊ/

in spite of the fact that

From this reading “It did not seem to be a part of our lives as _Pendennis_ was,” says Lady Ritchie, though she wrote part of it to dictation.

toparticleUS /tuː/

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

From this reading “It did not seem to be a part of our lives as _Pendennis_ was,” says Lady Ritchie, though she wrote part of it to dictation.

Toronto

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

From this reading New York, Toronto, Melbourne, Cape Town, We know exceedingly little of the genesis and progress of _Esmond_.

Town

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

From this reading New York, Toronto, Melbourne, Cape Town, We know exceedingly little of the genesis and progress of _Esmond_.

very

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

From this reading She “only heard _Esmond_ spoken of very rarely”.

wasauxiliary verbUS /wɑːz/

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

From this reading “It did not seem to be a part of our lives as _Pendennis_ was,” says Lady Ritchie, though she wrote part of it to dictation.

WepronounUS /wiː/

the speaker together with one or more other people

From this reading New York, Toronto, Melbourne, Cape Town, We know exceedingly little of the genesis and progress of _Esmond_.

wereauxiliary verbUS /wɜːr/

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

From this reading The Milton girls found _Paradise Lost_ a very considerable part of their lives—and were not the happier.

wrote

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

From this reading “It did not seem to be a part of our lives as _Pendennis_ was,” says Lady Ritchie, though she wrote part of it to dictation.

York

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

From this reading New York, Toronto, Melbourne, Cape Town, We know exceedingly little of the genesis and progress of _Esmond_.