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250
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From this reading Except for the lightning conductor, it was 250 years after Gilbert before electricity stepped out of the cabinet of scientific curiosities into the life of the common man....
adeterminerUS /ə/
used before a singular noun to mean one of a group, when it is not a particular one
From this reading And even then the science of electricity remained a mere little group of curious facts for nearly two hundred years, connected perhaps with magnetism—a mere guess that—perhaps with the lightning.
afterprepositionUS /ˈæftər/
later than; following
From this reading Except for the lightning conductor, it was 250 years after Gilbert before electricity stepped out of the cabinet of scientific curiosities into the life of the common man....
amber
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From this reading It was Gilbert, Queen Elizabeth’s court physician, who first puzzled his brains with rubbed amber and bits of glass and silk and shellac, and so began the quickening of the human mind to the existence of this universal presence.
andconjunctionUS /ənd/
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading How often things must have been seen and dismissed as unimportant, before the speculative eye and the moment of vision came!
asconjunctionUS /æz/
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading How often things must have been seen and dismissed as unimportant, before the speculative eye and the moment of vision came!
beenauxiliary verbUS /bɪn/
the past participle of “be”
From this reading How often things must have been seen and dismissed as unimportant, before the speculative eye and the moment of vision came!
beforeprepositionUS /bɪˈfɔːr/
earlier than; in front of
From this reading How often things must have been seen and dismissed as unimportant, before the speculative eye and the moment of vision came!
begannounUS /began/
an important story-specific word used in this passage
From this reading It was Gilbert, Queen Elizabeth’s court physician, who first puzzled his brains with rubbed amber and bits of glass and silk and shellac, and so began the quickening of the human mind to the existence of this universal presence.
bits
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From this reading It was Gilbert, Queen Elizabeth’s court physician, who first puzzled his brains with rubbed amber and bits of glass and silk and shellac, and so began the quickening of the human mind to the existence of this universal presence.
brains
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From this reading It was Gilbert, Queen Elizabeth’s court physician, who first puzzled his brains with rubbed amber and bits of glass and silk and shellac, and so began the quickening of the human mind to the existence of this universal presence.
byprepositionUS /baɪ/
showing who or what does the action
From this reading Frogs’ legs must have hung by copper hooks from iron railings and twitched upon countless occasions before Galvani saw them.
cabinet
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From this reading Except for the lightning conductor, it was 250 years after Gilbert before electricity stepped out of the cabinet of scientific curiosities into the life of the common man....
came
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From this reading How often things must have been seen and dismissed as unimportant, before the speculative eye and the moment of vision came!
common
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From this reading Except for the lightning conductor, it was 250 years after Gilbert before electricity stepped out of the cabinet of scientific curiosities into the life of the common man....
conductor
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From this reading Except for the lightning conductor, it was 250 years after Gilbert before electricity stepped out of the cabinet of scientific curiosities into the life of the common man....
connected
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From this reading And even then the science of electricity remained a mere little group of curious facts for nearly two hundred years, connected perhaps with magnetism—a mere guess that—perhaps with the lightning.
copper
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From this reading Frogs’ legs must have hung by copper hooks from iron railings and twitched upon countless occasions before Galvani saw them.
countless
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From this reading Frogs’ legs must have hung by copper hooks from iron railings and twitched upon countless occasions before Galvani saw them.
court
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From this reading It was Gilbert, Queen Elizabeth’s court physician, who first puzzled his brains with rubbed amber and bits of glass and silk and shellac, and so began the quickening of the human mind to the existence of this universal presence.
curiosities
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From this reading Except for the lightning conductor, it was 250 years after Gilbert before electricity stepped out of the cabinet of scientific curiosities into the life of the common man....
curious
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From this reading And even then the science of electricity remained a mere little group of curious facts for nearly two hundred years, connected perhaps with magnetism—a mere guess that—perhaps with the lightning.
dismissed
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From this reading How often things must have been seen and dismissed as unimportant, before the speculative eye and the moment of vision came!
electricity
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From this reading And even then the science of electricity remained a mere little group of curious facts for nearly two hundred years, connected perhaps with magnetism—a mere guess that—perhaps with the lightning.
Elizabeth's
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From this reading It was Gilbert, Queen Elizabeth’s court physician, who first puzzled his brains with rubbed amber and bits of glass and silk and shellac, and so began the quickening of the human mind to the existence of this universal presence.
evennounUS /even/
an important story-specific word used in this passage
From this reading And even then the science of electricity remained a mere little group of curious facts for nearly two hundred years, connected perhaps with magnetism—a mere guess that—perhaps with the lightning.
ExceptprepositionUS /ɪkˈsept/
apart from; not including
From this reading Except for the lightning conductor, it was 250 years after Gilbert before electricity stepped out of the cabinet of scientific curiosities into the life of the common man....
existence
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From this reading It was Gilbert, Queen Elizabeth’s court physician, who first puzzled his brains with rubbed amber and bits of glass and silk and shellac, and so began the quickening of the human mind to the existence of this universal presence.
eye
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From this reading How often things must have been seen and dismissed as unimportant, before the speculative eye and the moment of vision came!
facts
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From this reading And even then the science of electricity remained a mere little group of curious facts for nearly two hundred years, connected perhaps with magnetism—a mere guess that—perhaps with the lightning.
firstnounUS /first/
an important story-specific word used in this passage
From this reading It was Gilbert, Queen Elizabeth’s court physician, who first puzzled his brains with rubbed amber and bits of glass and silk and shellac, and so began the quickening of the human mind to the existence of this universal presence.
forprepositionUS /fɔːr/
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading And even then the science of electricity remained a mere little group of curious facts for nearly two hundred years, connected perhaps with magnetism—a mere guess that—perhaps with the lightning.
Frogs
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From this reading Frogs’ legs must have hung by copper hooks from iron railings and twitched upon countless occasions before Galvani saw them.
fromprepositionUS /frʌm/
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading Frogs’ legs must have hung by copper hooks from iron railings and twitched upon countless occasions before Galvani saw them.
Galvani
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From this reading Frogs’ legs must have hung by copper hooks from iron railings and twitched upon countless occasions before Galvani saw them.
Gilbert
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From this reading It was Gilbert, Queen Elizabeth’s court physician, who first puzzled his brains with rubbed amber and bits of glass and silk and shellac, and so began the quickening of the human mind to the existence of this universal presence.
glass
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From this reading It was Gilbert, Queen Elizabeth’s court physician, who first puzzled his brains with rubbed amber and bits of glass and silk and shellac, and so began the quickening of the human mind to the existence of this universal presence.
group
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From this reading And even then the science of electricity remained a mere little group of curious facts for nearly two hundred years, connected perhaps with magnetism—a mere guess that—perhaps with the lightning.
guess
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From this reading And even then the science of electricity remained a mere little group of curious facts for nearly two hundred years, connected perhaps with magnetism—a mere guess that—perhaps with the lightning.
haveauxiliary verbUS /hæv/
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading How often things must have been seen and dismissed as unimportant, before the speculative eye and the moment of vision came!
hisdeterminerUS /hɪz/
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading It was Gilbert, Queen Elizabeth’s court physician, who first puzzled his brains with rubbed amber and bits of glass and silk and shellac, and so began the quickening of the human mind to the existence of this universal presence.
hooks
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From this reading Frogs’ legs must have hung by copper hooks from iron railings and twitched upon countless occasions before Galvani saw them.
How
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From this reading How often things must have been seen and dismissed as unimportant, before the speculative eye and the moment of vision came!
human
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From this reading It was Gilbert, Queen Elizabeth’s court physician, who first puzzled his brains with rubbed amber and bits of glass and silk and shellac, and so began the quickening of the human mind to the existence of this universal presence.
hundred
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From this reading And even then the science of electricity remained a mere little group of curious facts for nearly two hundred years, connected perhaps with magnetism—a mere guess that—perhaps with the lightning.
hung
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From this reading Frogs’ legs must have hung by copper hooks from iron railings and twitched upon countless occasions before Galvani saw them.
intoprepositionUS /ˈɪntuː/
moving to the inside of something
From this reading Except for the lightning conductor, it was 250 years after Gilbert before electricity stepped out of the cabinet of scientific curiosities into the life of the common man....
iron
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From this reading Frogs’ legs must have hung by copper hooks from iron railings and twitched upon countless occasions before Galvani saw them.
ItpronounUS /ɪt/
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading It was Gilbert, Queen Elizabeth’s court physician, who first puzzled his brains with rubbed amber and bits of glass and silk and shellac, and so began the quickening of the human mind to the existence of this universal presence.
legs
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From this reading Frogs’ legs must have hung by copper hooks from iron railings and twitched upon countless occasions before Galvani saw them.
lifenounUS /life/
an important story-specific word used in this passage
From this reading Except for the lightning conductor, it was 250 years after Gilbert before electricity stepped out of the cabinet of scientific curiosities into the life of the common man....
lightning
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From this reading And even then the science of electricity remained a mere little group of curious facts for nearly two hundred years, connected perhaps with magnetism—a mere guess that—perhaps with the lightning.
littlenounUS /little/
an important story-specific word used in this passage
From this reading And even then the science of electricity remained a mere little group of curious facts for nearly two hundred years, connected perhaps with magnetism—a mere guess that—perhaps with the lightning.
magnetism
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From this reading And even then the science of electricity remained a mere little group of curious facts for nearly two hundred years, connected perhaps with magnetism—a mere guess that—perhaps with the lightning.
man
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From this reading Except for the lightning conductor, it was 250 years after Gilbert before electricity stepped out of the cabinet of scientific curiosities into the life of the common man....
mere
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From this reading And even then the science of electricity remained a mere little group of curious facts for nearly two hundred years, connected perhaps with magnetism—a mere guess that—perhaps with the lightning.
mindnounUS /mind/
an important story-specific word used in this passage
From this reading It was Gilbert, Queen Elizabeth’s court physician, who first puzzled his brains with rubbed amber and bits of glass and silk and shellac, and so began the quickening of the human mind to the existence of this universal presence.
moment
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From this reading How often things must have been seen and dismissed as unimportant, before the speculative eye and the moment of vision came!
mustmodal verbUS /mʌst/
used to say something is necessary, or almost certainly true
From this reading How often things must have been seen and dismissed as unimportant, before the speculative eye and the moment of vision came!
nearly
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From this reading And even then the science of electricity remained a mere little group of curious facts for nearly two hundred years, connected perhaps with magnetism—a mere guess that—perhaps with the lightning.
occasions
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From this reading Frogs’ legs must have hung by copper hooks from iron railings and twitched upon countless occasions before Galvani saw them.
ofprepositionUS /ʌv/
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading How often things must have been seen and dismissed as unimportant, before the speculative eye and the moment of vision came!
often
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From this reading How often things must have been seen and dismissed as unimportant, before the speculative eye and the moment of vision came!
out
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From this reading Except for the lightning conductor, it was 250 years after Gilbert before electricity stepped out of the cabinet of scientific curiosities into the life of the common man....
perhaps
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From this reading And even then the science of electricity remained a mere little group of curious facts for nearly two hundred years, connected perhaps with magnetism—a mere guess that—perhaps with the lightning.
physician
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From this reading It was Gilbert, Queen Elizabeth’s court physician, who first puzzled his brains with rubbed amber and bits of glass and silk and shellac, and so began the quickening of the human mind to the existence of this universal presence.
presence
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From this reading It was Gilbert, Queen Elizabeth’s court physician, who first puzzled his brains with rubbed amber and bits of glass and silk and shellac, and so began the quickening of the human mind to the existence of this universal presence.
puzzled
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading It was Gilbert, Queen Elizabeth’s court physician, who first puzzled his brains with rubbed amber and bits of glass and silk and shellac, and so began the quickening of the human mind to the existence of this universal presence.
Queen
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading It was Gilbert, Queen Elizabeth’s court physician, who first puzzled his brains with rubbed amber and bits of glass and silk and shellac, and so began the quickening of the human mind to the existence of this universal presence.
quickening
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From this reading It was Gilbert, Queen Elizabeth’s court physician, who first puzzled his brains with rubbed amber and bits of glass and silk and shellac, and so began the quickening of the human mind to the existence of this universal presence.
railings
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From this reading Frogs’ legs must have hung by copper hooks from iron railings and twitched upon countless occasions before Galvani saw them.
remainednounUS /ˈremained/
a story-specific word describing an important person, object, action, or idea in this passage
From this reading And even then the science of electricity remained a mere little group of curious facts for nearly two hundred years, connected perhaps with magnetism—a mere guess that—perhaps with the lightning.
rubbed
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From this reading It was Gilbert, Queen Elizabeth’s court physician, who first puzzled his brains with rubbed amber and bits of glass and silk and shellac, and so began the quickening of the human mind to the existence of this universal presence.
saw
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From this reading Frogs’ legs must have hung by copper hooks from iron railings and twitched upon countless occasions before Galvani saw them.
science
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading And even then the science of electricity remained a mere little group of curious facts for nearly two hundred years, connected perhaps with magnetism—a mere guess that—perhaps with the lightning.
scientific
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Except for the lightning conductor, it was 250 years after Gilbert before electricity stepped out of the cabinet of scientific curiosities into the life of the common man....
seen
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From this reading How often things must have been seen and dismissed as unimportant, before the speculative eye and the moment of vision came!
shellac
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From this reading It was Gilbert, Queen Elizabeth’s court physician, who first puzzled his brains with rubbed amber and bits of glass and silk and shellac, and so began the quickening of the human mind to the existence of this universal presence.
silk
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From this reading It was Gilbert, Queen Elizabeth’s court physician, who first puzzled his brains with rubbed amber and bits of glass and silk and shellac, and so began the quickening of the human mind to the existence of this universal presence.
soconjunctionUS /soʊ/
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading It was Gilbert, Queen Elizabeth’s court physician, who first puzzled his brains with rubbed amber and bits of glass and silk and shellac, and so began the quickening of the human mind to the existence of this universal presence.
speculative
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From this reading How often things must have been seen and dismissed as unimportant, before the speculative eye and the moment of vision came!
stepped
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From this reading Except for the lightning conductor, it was 250 years after Gilbert before electricity stepped out of the cabinet of scientific curiosities into the life of the common man....
thatconjunctionUS /ðæt/
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading And even then the science of electricity remained a mere little group of curious facts for nearly two hundred years, connected perhaps with magnetism—a mere guess that—perhaps with the lightning.
thedeterminerUS /ðə/
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading How often things must have been seen and dismissed as unimportant, before the speculative eye and the moment of vision came!
thempronounUS /ðem/
the people or things already mentioned, as the object
From this reading Frogs’ legs must have hung by copper hooks from iron railings and twitched upon countless occasions before Galvani saw them.
then
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From this reading And even then the science of electricity remained a mere little group of curious facts for nearly two hundred years, connected perhaps with magnetism—a mere guess that—perhaps with the lightning.
things
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From this reading How often things must have been seen and dismissed as unimportant, before the speculative eye and the moment of vision came!
thisdeterminerUS /ðɪs/
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading It was Gilbert, Queen Elizabeth’s court physician, who first puzzled his brains with rubbed amber and bits of glass and silk and shellac, and so began the quickening of the human mind to the existence of this universal presence.
toparticleUS /tuː/
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading It was Gilbert, Queen Elizabeth’s court physician, who first puzzled his brains with rubbed amber and bits of glass and silk and shellac, and so began the quickening of the human mind to the existence of this universal presence.
twitched
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From this reading Frogs’ legs must have hung by copper hooks from iron railings and twitched upon countless occasions before Galvani saw them.
two
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From this reading And even then the science of electricity remained a mere little group of curious facts for nearly two hundred years, connected perhaps with magnetism—a mere guess that—perhaps with the lightning.
unimportant
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From this reading How often things must have been seen and dismissed as unimportant, before the speculative eye and the moment of vision came!
universal
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From this reading It was Gilbert, Queen Elizabeth’s court physician, who first puzzled his brains with rubbed amber and bits of glass and silk and shellac, and so began the quickening of the human mind to the existence of this universal presence.
uponprepositionUS /əˈpɑːn/
a formal word for “on”
From this reading Frogs’ legs must have hung by copper hooks from iron railings and twitched upon countless occasions before Galvani saw them.
vision
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading How often things must have been seen and dismissed as unimportant, before the speculative eye and the moment of vision came!
wasauxiliary verbUS /wɑːz/
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading It was Gilbert, Queen Elizabeth’s court physician, who first puzzled his brains with rubbed amber and bits of glass and silk and shellac, and so began the quickening of the human mind to the existence of this universal presence.
whopronounUS /huː/
which person or people
From this reading It was Gilbert, Queen Elizabeth’s court physician, who first puzzled his brains with rubbed amber and bits of glass and silk and shellac, and so began the quickening of the human mind to the existence of this universal presence.
withprepositionUS /wɪð/
in the company of; together with
From this reading It was Gilbert, Queen Elizabeth’s court physician, who first puzzled his brains with rubbed amber and bits of glass and silk and shellac, and so began the quickening of the human mind to the existence of this universal presence.
years
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading And even then the science of electricity remained a mere little group of curious facts for nearly two hundred years, connected perhaps with magnetism—a mere guess that—perhaps with the lightning.
