Complete classic literature • Five-line readings • Clear US narration
VELMORA ACADEMY
Academy of Archival Languages & Memory Studies
Menu Close
Middlemarch
Middlemarch

Chapter XXIV

Cover illustration for Middlemarch
Context Illustration Reading 1/74 · 5 lines
English subtitles · tap any word to listen 1 / 5
“This Loller here wol precilen us somewhat.”
“Nay by my father’s soule! that schal he nat,” Sayde the Schipman, ‘here schal he not preche, We schal no gospel glosen here ne teche.
We leven all in the gret God,’ quod he.
He wolden sowen some diffcultee.”—_Canterbury Tales_.
Dorothea had been safe at Freshitt Hall nearly a week before she had asked any dangerous questions.
0:00 / 0:00
Speed 0.75x
AI-generated narration by OpenAI · Slow US English
LEARNER DICTIONARY
Archivist
/ˈɑːrkɪvɪst/
Editorial verification pending

A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.

Middlemarch

Chapter XXIV

Reading 1/74 · 5 reading units · Lines 1–5

Line 1
“This Loller here wol precilen us somewhat.”
Line 2
“Nay by my father’s soule! that schal he nat,” Sayde the Schipman, ‘here schal he not preche, We schal no gospel glosen here ne teche.
Line 3
We leven all in the gret God,’ quod he.
Line 4
He wolden sowen some diffcultee.”—_Canterbury Tales_.
Line 5
Dorothea had been safe at Freshitt Hall nearly a week before she had asked any dangerous questions.

Learner Dictionary

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

Asked noun US /asked/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “Dorothea had been safe at Freshitt Hall nearly a week before she had asked any dangerous questions.”

Been auxiliary verb US /bɪn/

the past participle of “be”

From this reading “Dorothea had been safe at Freshitt Hall nearly a week before she had asked any dangerous questions.”

Before preposition US /bɪˈfɔːr/

earlier than; in front of

From this reading “Dorothea had been safe at Freshitt Hall nearly a week before she had asked any dangerous questions.”

Here noun US /here/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading ““This Loller here wol precilen us somewhat.””

Nay exclamation US /neɪ/

an old word for “no”

From this reading ““Nay by my father’s soule! that schal he nat,” Sayde the Schipman, ‘here schal he not preche, We schal no gospel glosen here ne teche.”

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 Dorothea had been safe at Freshitt Hall nearly a week before she had asked any dangerous questions.

all

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

From this reading We leven all in the gret God,’ quod he.

any

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

From this reading Dorothea had been safe at Freshitt Hall nearly a week before she had asked any dangerous questions.

askednounUS /asked/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading Dorothea had been safe at Freshitt Hall nearly a week before she had asked any dangerous questions.

atprepositionUS /æt/

in or near a particular place or position

From this reading Dorothea had been safe at Freshitt Hall nearly a week before she had asked any dangerous questions.

beenauxiliary verbUS /bɪn/

the past participle of “be”

From this reading Dorothea had been safe at Freshitt Hall nearly a week before she had asked any dangerous questions.

beforeprepositionUS /bɪˈfɔːr/

earlier than; in front of

From this reading Dorothea had been safe at Freshitt Hall nearly a week before she had asked any dangerous questions.

byprepositionUS /baɪ/

showing who or what does the action

From this reading “Nay by my father’s soule! that schal he nat,” Sayde the Schipman, ‘here schal he not preche, We schal no gospel glosen here ne teche.

Canterbury

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

From this reading He wolden sowen some diffcultee.”—_Canterbury Tales_.

dangerous

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

From this reading Dorothea had been safe at Freshitt Hall nearly a week before she had asked any dangerous questions.

diffcultee

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

From this reading He wolden sowen some diffcultee.”—_Canterbury Tales_.

Dorothea

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

From this reading Dorothea had been safe at Freshitt Hall nearly a week before she had asked any dangerous questions.

father's

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

From this reading “Nay by my father’s soule! that schal he nat,” Sayde the Schipman, ‘here schal he not preche, We schal no gospel glosen here ne teche.

Freshitt

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

From this reading Dorothea had been safe at Freshitt Hall nearly a week before she had asked any dangerous questions.

glosen

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

From this reading “Nay by my father’s soule! that schal he nat,” Sayde the Schipman, ‘here schal he not preche, We schal no gospel glosen here ne teche.

God

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

From this reading We leven all in the gret God,’ quod he.

gospel

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

From this reading “Nay by my father’s soule! that schal he nat,” Sayde the Schipman, ‘here schal he not preche, We schal no gospel glosen here ne teche.

gret

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

From this reading We leven all in the gret God,’ quod he.

hadauxiliary verbUS /hæd/

the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect

From this reading Dorothea had been safe at Freshitt Hall nearly a week before she had asked any dangerous questions.

Hall

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

From this reading Dorothea had been safe at Freshitt Hall nearly a week before she had asked any dangerous questions.

hepronounUS /hiː/

a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject

From this reading “Nay by my father’s soule! that schal he nat,” Sayde the Schipman, ‘here schal he not preche, We schal no gospel glosen here ne teche.

herenounUS /here/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “This Loller here wol precilen us somewhat.”

inprepositionUS /ɪn/

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

From this reading We leven all in the gret God,’ quod he.

leven

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

From this reading We leven all in the gret God,’ quod he.

Loller

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

From this reading “This Loller here wol precilen us somewhat.”

mydeterminerUS /maɪ/

belonging to the person speaking

From this reading “Nay by my father’s soule! that schal he nat,” Sayde the Schipman, ‘here schal he not preche, We schal no gospel glosen here ne teche.

nat

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

From this reading “Nay by my father’s soule! that schal he nat,” Sayde the Schipman, ‘here schal he not preche, We schal no gospel glosen here ne teche.

NayexclamationUS /neɪ/

an old word for “no”

From this reading “Nay by my father’s soule! that schal he nat,” Sayde the Schipman, ‘here schal he not preche, We schal no gospel glosen here ne teche.

ne

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

From this reading “Nay by my father’s soule! that schal he nat,” Sayde the Schipman, ‘here schal he not preche, We schal no gospel glosen here ne teche.

nearly

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

From this reading Dorothea had been safe at Freshitt Hall nearly a week before she had asked any dangerous questions.

nodeterminerUS /noʊ/

not any; not one

From this reading “Nay by my father’s soule! that schal he nat,” Sayde the Schipman, ‘here schal he not preche, We schal no gospel glosen here ne teche.

notadverbUS /nɑːt/

used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative

From this reading “Nay by my father’s soule! that schal he nat,” Sayde the Schipman, ‘here schal he not preche, We schal no gospel glosen here ne teche.

preche

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

From this reading “Nay by my father’s soule! that schal he nat,” Sayde the Schipman, ‘here schal he not preche, We schal no gospel glosen here ne teche.

precilen

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

From this reading “This Loller here wol precilen us somewhat.”

questions

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

From this reading Dorothea had been safe at Freshitt Hall nearly a week before she had asked any dangerous questions.

quod

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

From this reading We leven all in the gret God,’ quod he.

safe

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

From this reading Dorothea had been safe at Freshitt Hall nearly a week before she had asked any dangerous questions.

Sayde

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

From this reading “Nay by my father’s soule! that schal he nat,” Sayde the Schipman, ‘here schal he not preche, We schal no gospel glosen here ne teche.

schal

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

From this reading “Nay by my father’s soule! that schal he nat,” Sayde the Schipman, ‘here schal he not preche, We schal no gospel glosen here ne teche.

Schipman

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

From this reading “Nay by my father’s soule! that schal he nat,” Sayde the Schipman, ‘here schal he not preche, We schal no gospel glosen here ne teche.

shepronounUS /ʃiː/

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

From this reading Dorothea had been safe at Freshitt Hall nearly a week before she had asked any dangerous questions.

some

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

From this reading He wolden sowen some diffcultee.”—_Canterbury Tales_.

somewhat

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

From this reading “This Loller here wol precilen us somewhat.”

soule

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

From this reading “Nay by my father’s soule! that schal he nat,” Sayde the Schipman, ‘here schal he not preche, We schal no gospel glosen here ne teche.

sowen

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

From this reading He wolden sowen some diffcultee.”—_Canterbury Tales_.

Tales

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

From this reading He wolden sowen some diffcultee.”—_Canterbury Tales_.

teche

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

From this reading “Nay by my father’s soule! that schal he nat,” Sayde the Schipman, ‘here schal he not preche, We schal no gospel glosen here ne teche.

thatconjunctionUS /ðæt/

used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt

From this reading “Nay by my father’s soule! that schal he nat,” Sayde the Schipman, ‘here schal he not preche, We schal no gospel glosen here ne teche.

thedeterminerUS /ðə/

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

From this reading “Nay by my father’s soule! that schal he nat,” Sayde the Schipman, ‘here schal he not preche, We schal no gospel glosen here ne teche.

ThisdeterminerUS /ðɪs/

used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned

From this reading “This Loller here wol precilen us somewhat.”

uspronounUS /ʌs/

the speaker and others, as the object of a verb or preposition

From this reading “This Loller here wol precilen us somewhat.”

WepronounUS /wiː/

the speaker together with one or more other people

From this reading “Nay by my father’s soule! that schal he nat,” Sayde the Schipman, ‘here schal he not preche, We schal no gospel glosen here ne teche.

week

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

From this reading Dorothea had been safe at Freshitt Hall nearly a week before she had asked any dangerous questions.

wol

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

From this reading “This Loller here wol precilen us somewhat.”

wolden

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

From this reading He wolden sowen some diffcultee.”—_Canterbury Tales_.