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And Other Old Words That Occur Frequently in Shakespeare |
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.. Compiled by Michael J. Cummings...© 2005 Alack Pronunciation: uh LAK Part of speech: interjection Definition: expression of regret, sorrow, dismay, alarm Example from Shakespeare: Lady Macbeth, worried that her husband has not committed the murder that will make him king and her queen, says: "Alack, I am afraid they have awaked, and 'tis not done" (Macbeth, Act II, Scene II). Anon Pronunciation: uh NON Part of speech: adverb Definition: now; at once; soon; shortly Example from Shakespeare: "Up, gentlemen: you shall see sport anon" (Ford to Sir Hugh Evans and others, The Merry Wives of Windsor, Act III, Scene III). Atomies Pronunciation: AT um eez Part of speech: noun Definition: tiny creatures Example from Shakespeare: "O, then, I see Queen Mab hath been with you. She is the fairies' midwife, and she comes In shape no bigger than an agate-stone On the fore-finger of an alderman, Drawn with a team of little atomies Athwart men's noses as they lie asleep. (Mercutio to Romeo, Act I, Scene IV, Romeo and Juliet) Avaunt Pronunciation: uh VAWNT Part of speech: interjection Definition: Go away! Withdraw! Depart! Example from Shakespeare: "Avaunt, thou hateful villain, get thee gone!" (Salisbury to Hubert in King John, Act IV, Scene III). Belike Pronunciation: be LIKE Part of speech: adverb Definition: probably; most likely Example from Shakespeare: "Belike this show imports the argument of the play" (Ophelia to Hamlet, Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, Act III, Scene II). Beseech Part of speech: verb Definition: implore; beg; ask; importune Example from Shakespeare: "I beseech you instantly to visit my too much changed son" (Queen Gertrude to Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, Act II, Scene II). Betimes Part of speech: adverb Definition: immediately; at once Example from Shakespeare: "I will to-morrow betimes, and betimes I will, [go to see] the weird sisters" (Macbeth to Lady Macbeth, Act III, Scene IV.) Betwixt Part of speech: preposition, adverb Definition: between Example from Shakespeare: "You shall see, as I have said, great difference betwixt our Bohemia and your Sicilia (Archidamus to Camillo, The Winter's Tale, Act I, Scene I). Bombard Part of speech: noun Definition: leather jug Example from Shakespeare: "Why dost thou converse with . . . that huge bombard of sack" (Prince Hal to friends, comparing fat John Falstaff to a jug of wine: Henry IV Part I, Act II, Scene IV) Bourn Part of speech: noun Definition: boundary Example from Shakespeare: In his "to be or not to be" soliloquy, Hamlet says fear of death makes us bear the burdens of this life because life after death is surrounded by boundaries from which no man may return:  ........Who
would fardels [burdens] bear,
To grunt and sweat under a weary life, But that the dread of something after death, The undiscover'd country from whose bourn No traveller returns, puzzles the will And makes us rather bear those ills we have Than fly to others that we know not of? Bruit Pronunciation: BROOT Part of speech: noun, verb Definition: echo, noise, clamor; to make a report or spread a rumor Example from Shakespeare: "The heavens shall bruit again, re-speaking earthly thunder" (Claudius to Halmlet, Act I, Scene II). Buckram Part of speech: noun Definition: stiff cotton cloth used to line clothing Example from Shakespeare: "Four rogues in buckram suits let drive at me" (Falstaff, Henry IV Part I, Act II, Scene IV). Cap-a-Pie Pronunciation: KAP UH PE Part of speech: adverb Definition: completely; entirely; in every way Example from Shakespeare: "A figure like your father, armed at point exactly, cap-a-pie, appears before them" (Horatio to Hamlet, Hamlet, Act I, Scene II). Cozen Pronunciation: KUZ in Part of speech: verb Definition: cheat; trick; deceive Example from Shakespeare: "Else, he had been damned for cozening the Devil" (Prince Hal to Poins, Henry IV Part I, Act I, Scene II). Cuckold Pronunciation: KUK old Part of speech: noun Definition: man married to an adulteress Example from Shakespeare: "Who would not make her husband a cuckold to make him a monarch? (Emilia to Desdemona, Othello, Act IV, Scene III). Durst Pronunciation: DERST Part of speech: verb (past tense and past participle of dare) Definition: dared; had the courage to Example from Shakespeare: "These five days have I hid me in these woods and durst not peep out" (Jack Cade to Alexander Iden, Henry VI Part II, Act IV, Scene X). Ere Pronunciation: AIR Part of speech: preposition and conjunction Definition: before; previous to; sooner than Example from Shakespeare: "Meet me ere the first cock crow" (Oberon to Puck, Midsummer Night's Dream, Act II, Scene I). Fain Pronunciation: FANE Part of speech: adjective Definition: ready; willing; eager Example from Shakespeare: "I must be fain to pawn both my plate and the tapestry of my dining chambers" (Host to Falstaff, Henry IV Part II, Act II, Scene I). Fardel Pronunciation: FAR dl Part of speech: noun Definition: burden; pack; bundle Example from Shakespeare: In his "to be or not to be" soliloquy, Hamlet says fear of death makes us bear the burdens (fardels) of this life because the unknown may impose burdens we know nothing about. ........Who would fardels bear, To grunt and sweat under a weary life, But that the dread of something after death, The undiscover'd country from whose bourn No traveller returns, puzzles the will And makes us rather bear those ills we have Than fly to others that we know not of? Part of speech: noun Definition: faith, as used in an oath. (Similar in meaning to "by George" or "by heaven"). Fay can also mean fairy in other contexts. Example from Shakespeare: "By my fay, a goodly nap" (Christopher Sly to servants, The Taming of the Shrew, Induction). Fie Part of speech: interjection Definition: For shame! Nonsense! (Used to express disagreement, annoyance, or mild disgust) Example from Shakespeare: "Fie on't! ah fie! 'tis [the world is] an unweeded garden (Hamlet, alone on stage, Act I, Scene II) Fool Part of speech: verb or noun Definition: In the courts of England, a fool was a comic figure with a quick tongue who entertained the king, queen and their guests. He was allowed to--and even expected to--criticize anyone at court. Many fools, or jesters, were dwarfs or cripples, their odd appearance enhancing their appeal and, according to prevail beliefs, bringing good luck to the court. Shakespeare wrote many fools into his plays. Among them were the fool in King Lear and Feste in Twelfth Night. William Kempe and Richard Armin became London celebrities for their performances as fools in Shakespeare's plays. Armin wrote a book about fools entitled Foole Upon Foole; or Six Sortes of Sottes. Fordo (Fordone, Fordoing) Part of speech: verb Definition: ruin; kill; destroy Example from Shakespeare:"Your eldest daughters have fordone themselves, and desperately are dead" (Kent to Lear, King Lear, Act V, Scene III). Forsooth Part of speech: adverb Definition: Indeed; in truth; verily; in fact Example from Shakespeare:"Yes, forsooth, I will hold my tongue" (Fool to Goneril, King Lear, Act I, Scene IV). Gaoler Pronunciation: JALE er Part of speech: noun Definition: jailer Example from Shakespeare: "You're my prisoner, but your gaoler shall deliver you the keys that lock up your restraint" (Queen to Posthumus, Act I, Cymbeline). Gramercy Part of speech: interjection Definition: thanks, thank you Example from Shakespeare: ........GOBBO God bless your worship! ........BASSANIO Gramercy! (Act II, Scene II, The Merchant of Venice) Gules Pronunciation: GYOOLZ Part of speech: noun Definition: In heraldry, the color red Example from Shakespeare: "Head to foot now is he total gules; horridly trick'd with blood of fathers, mothers, daughters, sons" (Hamlet to Polonius, Hamlet, Act II, Scene II). Note: Nathaniel Hawthorne used this word in the last sentence of his novel The Scarlet Letter to identify the color of the letter A (standing for adulteress), sewn into a patch worn by the novel's heroine, Hester Prynne. Haply Part of speech: adverb Definition: perhaps; by accident or chance; by happenstance Example from Shakespeare: "I have thrust myself into this maze, haply to wive and thrive as best I may" (Petruchio, Act I, Scene II, The Taming of the Shrew). Hautboy (or Hautbois) Pronunciation: O bwah or HO bway Part of speech: noun Definition: oboe, a woodwind instrument Example from Shakespeare: At the beginning of Act I, Scene II, of Timon of Athens, a bracketed description of what is taking place begins with the following phrase: "Hautboys playing loud music." This description precedes the scene but is not part of it. Holp Pronunciation: The o is long Part of speech: verb Definition: help or helped Example from Shakespeare: "Our own hands have holp to make . . . ." (Earl of Worcester to Henry IV, Act I, Scene III, Henry IV Part I). Huggermugger Part of speech: noun Definition: secret act performed in confusion or haste Example from Shakespeare: "And we have done but greenly in huggermugger to inter him" (Claudius to Gertrude, Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, Act IV, Scene V). Explanation: Claudius is telling Gertrude that they acted without thinking things through (greenly) when they buried (interred) Polonius in secret haste (in huggermugger). Incarnadine Pronunciation: in KAR nuh dine (or din, deen) Part of speech: adjective Definition: blood-red Example from Shakespeare: ........Will all great Neptune's ocean wash this blood Clean from my hand? No, this my hand will rather The multitudinous seas in incarnadine, Making the green one red. (Macbeth, Act II, Scene II) Liege Part of speech: noun Definition: lord; king; sovereign Example from Shakespeare: "I assure my good liege, I hold my duty, as I hold my soul, both to my God and to my gracious king" (Polonius to King Claudius, Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, Act II, Scene II). Marry (As Introductory Word) Part of speech: adverb used to introduce a sentence or to provide transition Definition: by the Virgin Mary (I swear by the Virgin Mary); the meaning and force are similar to those of the word well. Example from Shakespeare: "Marry, what do you think, John?" Also used as an exclamation of surprise or emphasis. Meed Part of speech: noun Definition: merit, worth, excellence Example from Shakespeare: "We, the sons of brave Plantagenet, each one already blazing by our meeds, should notwithstanding join our lights together and over-shine the earth" (Edward to Richard, Henry VI, Part III, Act II, Scene 1). Methinks Part of speech: verb Definition: I think; it seems to me; it appears as if Example from Shakespeare: "Methinks I hear hither your husband's drum" (Volumnia to Virgilia, Coriolanus, Act I, Scene III). Misprise (Misprize in Modern American English) Part of speech: verb Definition: undervalue; underestimate; belittle; disparage Example from Shakespeare: "This is not well, rash and unbridled boy . . .to pluck his indignation on thy head by the misprising of a maid. . . . "(Countess, All's Well That Ends Well, Act III, Scene II). Moe Part of speech: adjective and pronoun Definition: more Example from Shakespeare: "A million moe, now lost (Antony to Eros and Mardian, Antony and Cleopatra, Act IV, Scene XIV (14). Morris Part of speech: noun Definition: dance in which costumed performers act out a story Example from Shakespeare: "That fore thy dignity will dance a morris" (Schoolmaster, The Two Noble Kinsmen, by Fletcher and Shakespeare,Act III, Scene V). Morrow Pronunciation: MAR oh Part of speech: noun Definition: morning Example from Shakespeare: "Good morrow, to thee; welcome" (Mark Antony greeting a soldier in Act IV, Scene IV, of Antony and Cleopatra). Mote Part of speech: noun Definition: dust particle; speck Example from Shakespeare: "Through crystal walls each little mote will peep. . . . (The Rape of Lucrece, Line 1251). Nonce Part of speech: noun Definition: occasion Example from Shakespeare: "And that he calls for drink, I'll have prepared for him a chalice for the nonce" (King Claudius to Laertes, Hamlet, Act IV, Scene VII). Orison Pronunciation: OR ih zun Part of speech: noun Definition: prayer Example from Shakespeare: "The fair Ophelia! Nymph, in thy orisons be all my sins remember'd" (Hamlet, "To or not to be" soliloquy, Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, Act III, Scene I). Palter Part of speech: verb Definition: talk insincerely; mislead; equivocate; leave the meaning open to interpretation Example from Shakespeare: After Macbeth realizes he was misled by an apparition that told him "none born of woman shall harm" him, he says, "And be these juggling fiends no more believed, that palter with us in a double sense" (Macbeth, Act V, Scene VIII). Prithee Part of speech: interjection Definition: please; I pray thee Example from Shakespeare: "I prithee, take thy fingers from my throat, for though I am not splenitive and rash, yet have I in me something dangerous, which let thy wisdom fear" (Hamlet to Laertes at Ophelia's burial ceremony, Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, Act V, Scene I). Reck Part of speech: verb Definition: concern; take heed of Example from Shakespeare: "[He] recks not his own rede [advice]" (Ophelia to Laertes, Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, Act I, Scene III). Rede Pronunciation: REED Part of speech: noun Definition: advice; counsel; guidance Example from Shakespeare: "Example from Shakespeare: "[He] recks not his own rede" (Ophelia to Laertes, Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, Act I, Scene III). Rheum Pronunciation: ROOM Part of speech: noun Definition: tears; eye discharge Example from Shakespeare: "The northeast wind, which then blew bitterly against our faces, awak'd the sleeping rheum" (Aumerle to King Richard, Richard II, Act I, Scene IV). Rood Part of speech: noun Definition: cross on which Christ was crucified; crucifix (cross with a sculpted, carved or molded figure of Christ). Characters in Shakespeare often swore to the truth of a statement with the expression "by the rood" or "by the holy rood." Example from Shakespeare: Hamlet, Act III, Scene IV Gertrude:..Have you forgot me? Hamlet:.....No, by the rood, not so: ................You are the queen, your husband's brother's wife; ................And--would it were not so!--you are my mother. Shrive Part of speech: verb Definition: absolve from sins; obtain forgiveness by confessing sins Example from Shakespeare: "I had rather he should shrive me than wive me" (Portia to Nerissa, The Mechant of Venice, Act I, Scene II). Sirrah Pronunciation: SIR uh Part of speech: noun Definition: fellow; mister. The word is used contemptuously. Example from Shakespeare: "Hold, sirrah, bear you these letters tightly" (Falstaff to Robin, The Merry Wives of Windsor, Act I, Scene IV). Soft Part of speech: interject Definition: stop, be quiet; hold up Example from Shakespeare: "But soft, behold! lo, where it comes again!" (Horatio, Hamlet, noticing the ghost approach, Act I, Scene I) Sooth Part of speech: noun Definition: truth; fact Example from Shakespeare: "In sooth, you are to blame" (Desdemona to Othello, Othello, Act III, Scene IV). Swain Part of speech: noun Definition: young fellow; country boy Example from Shakespeare: "Who is Silvia? What is she, that all our swains commend her?" (Song in The Two Gentlemen of Verona, Act IV, Scene II). Thee, Thou, Thine, Thy, Thyself Part of speech: pronoun Definition: thee (you), thou (you), thine (yours), thy (your), thyself (yourself) Usage: Thou is subjective; thee is objective; thine and thy are possessive; thyself is reflexive and intensive. Examples from Shakespeare: (1) "Thou [you, subject of the sentence] swear'st in vain" (Kent, King Lear). (2) "Thy [your] youngest daughter does not love thee [you, direct object of the sentence] least." (Kent, King Lear). (3) "To thine [yours] and Albany's issue be this perpetual" (Lear, King Lear). (4) "Prithee, go in thyself [yourself]" (Lear, King Lear). Click here for a full explanation of the use of these pronouns. Verily Part of speech: adverb Definition: truly; in truth; indeed; really Example from Shakespeare: "Verily, I swear, 'tis better to be lowly born" (Anne to Old Lady, Henry VIII, Act II, Scene III). Vouchsafe Part of speech: verb Definition: grant, bestow Example from Shakespeare: "Good my lord, vouchsafe me a word with you" (Guildenstern to Hamlet, Act III, Scene II, Hamlet, Prince of Denmark). Welkin Part of speech: noun Definition: sky; heavenly vault Example from Shakespeare: "No cloudy show of stormy blustering weather / Doth yet in his fair welkin once appear" (Rape of Lucrece, Lines 115, 116). Whence Part of speech: adverb Definition: from where; from what source; from what place Example from Shakespeare: "O Cassio, whence came this?" (Bianca, King Lear, Act III, Scene IV) Wherefore Part of speech: adverb Definition: why Example from Shakespeare: "I have of late--but wherefore I know not--lost all my mirth" (Hamlet addressing Rosencrantz and Guildenstern in Act II, Scene II, of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark). Withal Part of speech: adverb Definition: in addition; notwithstanding; besides Example from Shakespeare: "I am doubtless I can purge myself of many [offenses} I am charged withal" (Prince Hal to King Henry, Henry IV Part I, Act III, Scene II). Wonted Part of speech: adjective Definition: accustomed; usual; ordinary Example from Shakespeare: And for your part, Ophelia, I do wish That your good beauties be the happy cause Of Hamlet's wildness: so shall I hope your virtues Will bring him to his wonted way again (Queen Gertrude to Ophelia, Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, Act III, Scene I). Zounds Pronunciation: zoons (oons as in swoons) Part of speech: interjection Definition: expression of surprise, anger, amazement, disappointment. The word is a corruption of "by His wounds" (meaning the wounds of Christ). The word came about after people began pronouncing "by His wounds" quickly so that it sounded like a single word--zounds. If a person used this word today, he might say, "Zounds! The U.S. just landed three astronauts on Mars!" Or he might say, "Zounds! The Yankees lost today by 24 runs." Example from Shakespeare: "Zounds, ye fat paunch, an ye call me coward, by the Lord, I'll stab thee." (Poins speaking to Falstaff in Henry IV, Part I, Act II, Scene IV). .  |