attaint sb. disgrace; infection; weariness; v. condemn; stain
attasked taken to task
attribute esteem, character, reputation
attribution praise
aught anything
aunt old woman, crony; female beggar; prostitute
auricular relating to the ear, heard
avise advise
avoid leave; expel, get rid of; (in law) invalidate
awkward oblique, adverse
baby girl’s doll
baccare stand back (pseudo-Lat.)
back saddle or ride (a horse)
back-friend false friend; police officer
backsword man fencer (backsword = single-stick, used in fencing)
back-trick backward step in dancing
baffle (of a knight) publicly disgrace
bait sb. light meal; v. harrass, terrorize, as with dogs; offer bait to, tempt, lure
baldrick belt, girdle
bale sorrow, misfortune
balk miss; lay up; balk logic = chop logic
baille bring (Fr.)
ban sb. curse; v. curse
Banbury cheese proverbially thin cheese
ban-dog fierce dog
bandy toss, exchange; contend, brawl
bane poison; death, destruction
bank sb. shore; v. sail along the shore
banquet light refreshment; running banquet = light refreshment; whipping
Barbary breed of horse
Barbason a devil
barbed (of a horse) armed
barber-monger someone always at the barber’s shop, vain person
barful full of difficulties
bark sb. ship; v. strip bark from
barley-break rustic chasing game in which the base was called ‘hell’
barm yeast, head of froth
barne child
barnacle shellfish supposed to metamorphose into a goose
Barrabas murderer whose release from prison the Jews demanded instead of Christ’s
Barson Barston or Barcheston (Warwickshire towns)
Bartholomew boar-pig roast pig eaten at Bartholomew Fair (see Bartholomew-tide)
Bartholomew-tide St Bartholomew’s day (24 August), date of a popular fair
Basan biblical mountain famous for its bulls
base a chasing game; bid a base = challenge to a chase
base-court lower courtyard
bases knight’s pleated skirt
Basilisco-like like Basilisco, a boastful knight in the play Soliman and Perseda (1592)
basilisk cockatrice(see cockatrice); large cannon
bass-viol stringed instrument, an early cello
basta enough (Ital.)
bastard sweet wine from Spain
bastinado cudgelling, hefty wallop
bate sb. strife; v. flutter the wings; abate, diminish; let off; lose; modify
bate-breeding mischief-making
bateless sharp
bat-fowling bird-catching at night by means of a strong light and sticks
batler paddle used to beat clothes being washed
batten gorge and grow fat
bauble toy, thing of trifling value; fool; fool’s stick
baubling like a bauble, trifling
bavian baboon
bavin brushwood
bawcock fine chap
bawd hare; pimp
bay sb. space under the gable of a building; barking; adj.(of horses) reddish brown; v. chase with barking; trap, corner; at bay = cornered
bays poet’s laurel wreath
beached of the beach
beachy see beached
beadle parish constable
beadsman person hired to pray for others
beam large piece of wood, mentioned by Christ as a metaphor for grave sinfulness (Matt. vii.3-5; Luke vi.41-2) (cf. mote)
bear win; bear in hand = lead on, deceive
bear-herd, bearherd see bearward
bearing-cloth cloth in which a child was carried to be christened
bearward bear-keeper
beated beaten
beaver helmet’s visor
beck sb. beckoning; v. beckon
become be appropriate for, suit
bedded lying down
Bedlam hospital for the insane
bedlam sb. insane person; adj. insane, frantic
bed-swerver adulterous person
beest the unpalatable milk of a cow that has just given birth
beetle sb. sledge-hammer; v. jut out
beldam grandmother; crone
be-leed left without wind, high and dry
bell, book, and candle formula used in the ceremony of excommunication
Bellona goddess of war
bell-wether sheep at the head of a flock
belock’d locked
bemadding causing madness
be-met met
bemete measure out
bemoiled covered with dirt
be-monster make hideous
bench sb. authority; v. raise to or occupy a position of authority
bench-hole hole in a privy
bend sb. look; obeisance; knot; v. turn; crease; tense
benetted netted, trapped
benevolence obligatory loan to the sovereign
benison blessing
bent limit, strain; direction, disposition; arch; sight
berayed stained, sullied
Bergomask from Bergamo in Italy, rustic
Bermoothes Bermudas
beshrew curse
besom brush, broom
Besonian ignoramus, beggarly person
besort sb. appropriate company; v. be appropriate for
beteem grant, allow
betid happened
betime soon, early
bevel oblique, zigzag
Bevis Bevis of Southampton, a legendary hero renowned for feats of arms
bewray betray, reveal, divulge
bezonian see Besonian
bias adj. convex; adv. crookedly; of bias = oblique, roundabout
bias-drawing deceit
bide stay, linger; endure
bifold twofold
bigamy marriage with someone previously married
biggen coarse nightcap
bilbo sword with a flexible blade
bilboes shackles used for prisoners on a ship
bill pike or halberd, painted brown to prevent rust; officer carrying a bill; written note; notice
bird-bolt flat-headed arrow for shooting birds
birding-piece gun for shooting birds
bis coctus cooked twice (Lat.)
bisson blind; obscuring the sight
bite the thumb make an insulting gesture
bitumed smeared with bitumen, made watertight
Black-Monday Easter Monday
blame blameworthy (in the phrase ‘too blame’)
blank sb. range, focus, target; v. make pale, drain of colour; blank charter = blank cheque
blastment blight
blazon sb. coat of arms; proclamation; description; v. proclaim; describe
blear dim or blur, especially with weeping
blench sb. sidelong glance; v. flinch, turn aside
blind-worm slow-worm
blister’d, blistered padded
block mould for shaping a hat; mounting-block (for mounting horses)
blood family; gallant man; character, disposition; appetite, passion; in blood = active, healthy
blood-bolter’d having hair caked and matted with blood
blood-sized glazed with blood (cf.size)
blow swell; (of plants) blossom; (of flies) lay eggs (on); blow wind i’th’ breech = be unable to keep pace (with); break wind
blowse stocky, rosy-cheeked girl
blubbered with tear-stained face
bluebottle beadle, parish constable
blue-cap Scot
blurt scoff
board draw up alongside; attack
bob sb. jest; v. beat; cheat, diddle<
br />
bodement foreboding
bodkin short dagger; hair-pin; God’s bodkin = by the Eucharist (God’s little body) (an oath)
bodykins seebodkin (God’s bodkin)
boggle take fright, swerve uncertainly
bolins bow-lines on a ship
boll’n swollen
bolt sb. arrow; shackle; v. sift, refine; shackle
bolter cloth for sifting meal
bolting-hutch sifting-bin
bombard wine vessel
bombast sb. cotton padding; adj. padded; bombastic, verbally over-elaborate
bona terra, mala gens a good land but bad people (Lat.)
bona-roba better class of prostitute (Ital.)
bones rustic musical instrument accompanied by bells or tongs; bone bobbins for lace-making
book-man scholar
boot sb. booty, spoil; something extra; advantage, help; v. give as something extra; help; give the boots = make a laughing-stock of
boot-hose long over-stocking
bootless useless, pointless
Boreas north wind
borrow sb. loan; v. take, adopt
borrowed taken, feigned, not genuine
bosky shrubby, woody
botcher one who patches old clothes
botchy carbuncular, ulcerous
bots maggot infection in horses
bottom sb. valley; ship’s hold, ship; bobbin for winding thread; v. wind
bought and sold tricked, betrayed
bounce bang
bounden bound, obliged
bourn limit; burn, brook
bow-hand left-hand side of an archer
boy endow with the characteristics of a boy
brabble brawl
brace pair; armour to protect the arm; defensive position
brach bitch-hound
bragless without bragging
braid adj. false, deceitful v. upbraid, reproach
brainish deluded, frenzied
brain-pan skull
brake clump of bushes
branched bearing a pattern of leafy branches
brave sb. vaunt, boast; adj. fine, admirable; finely dressed; fearless, insolent; v. make brave, adorn; defy; brave it = swagger
bravery finery; flamboyance; defiant attitude
brawl French dance
brawn fattened boar; arm or leg muscle
break break up, disband; communicate; discipline; break across, break cross = (of a knight’s lance) break awkwardly or unfairly; break up = open
break-neck disaster
breast singing voice
breathe talk, talk of; train, condition, accustom; allow to take a breath
breathing voice; excercise, activity; interval
breech breeches, trousers; i’th’ breech on = behind, following breed-bate trouble-maker (cf. bate)
breese, breeze gadfly
brewage brew
Briareus giant with a hundred arms and fifty heads
bribed (?) stolen; (?) obtained through bribery
bride-house house where a wedding takes place
brief sb. letter; list, summary; brief in hand = in need of attention
brinded patterned with streaks
bring off rescue
broach pierce; tap
brock badger
brogues heavy shoes
broke trade
broken fragmented; missing teeth; broken music = music played by instruments of different families
broker go-between, pimp
brooch sb. ornament; v. decorate
brooded brooding
Brownist member of an English Puritan sect founded by Robert Browne
bruit sb. rumour; v. announce, report bubuncle Fluellen’s confusion of ‘bubo’ (Lat.= ‘abscess’) and ‘carbuncle’
buck stag; linen in the wash; buck of the first head = fully grown stag
bucking laundry
buckler sb. shield; v. protect, shield; give the bucklers = acknowledge defeat
Bucklersbury London street known for its apothecaries
buckram tough, stiff linen
buck-washing washing of linen
budget tinker’s bag
buff hard-wearing leather worn by constables
bug bugbear, bogeyman
bugle black glass bead
bulk display stall at the front of a shop
bully fine man, friend
bum-baily bailiff
bung pickpocket
burden load; undersong; refrain; at a burden = at one birth
burgonet close-fitting helmet
burn heat up; light up; burn daylight = waste time
burthen see burden
buss sb. kiss; v. kiss
buttery bar hatch of a buttery (store room) where beer was served
butt-shaft strong, heavy arrow
buzzard insect; fool
by and by immediately; in due course
by-drinkings drinks between meals
by-peeping glancing sidelong
by’r lady by our Lady (an oath)
by’r lakin, byrlakin by our little Lady (an oath)
cabin sb. hut; den, cave; v. dwell, rest
cabinet small lodging
cacodemon malignant spirit
caddis ribbon for a garter
cade large barrel
cadent falling
Cadmus legendary founder of Thebes
caduceus Mercury’s staff, wound about with two serpents
cage prison
Cain son of Adam and Eve, who murdered his brother Abel; Cain-coloured = red, the imagined colour of Cain’s beard
caitiff, caitive sb. wretch; adj. captive; wretched
cake (of roses) compressed block used as perfume; cake is dough = plan has failed
calculate forecast by means of a horoscope; speculate upon the future
Caleno custore me Elizabethan version of ‘cailin og a’ stor’, the refrain of a popular Irish song, for Pistol a specimen of an incomprehensible foreign language
Calipolis character in Peele’s Battle of Alcazar (1594), there presented with a lioness to eat
caliver light musket
calkins parts of a horse-shoe
call decoy
callat, callet slut
Cambyses a Persian king, subject of an early Elizabethan tragedy
can began
canary wine from the Canaries; Spanish dance
candidatus‘clad in a white robe’, hence candidate (Lat.)
candied frosted, as if with sugar
candle-mine load of tallow
candle-waster book-worm
canker sore; wild rose; parasitic caterpillar
cannikin small drinking can
canon Church law, hence law, edict
cantle segment of a circle
canton song
canvas, canvass toss about
canzonet canzonetta, short song
capable responsive, appreciative; capacious; qualified to inherit
capacity mental capacity, mind
cap-a-pe, cap-à-pe‘head to foot’ (OldFr.)
capital mortal, fatal; chief, main
Capitol temple of Jupiter in Rome
capitulate come to terms
capocchia fool, simple person (Ital.)
capriccio caprice, fancy (Ital.)
captious capacious; deceitful
car cart, chariot
caract official marking
carbonado sb. fish or meat scored and grilled; v. score, slash
carcanet jewelled necklace
card sb. playing card; toothed instrument for combing out wool; compass; model; v. adulterate, dilute; by the card = correctly; card of ten = playing card worth ten points; cooling card = playing card that dashes an opponent’s hopes; pack cards with = shuffle playing cards in favour of
cardecue small French coin (quart d’écu)
cardinally Elbow’s word for ‘carnally’
cardmaker maker of cards for wool (seecard)
ca
rduus benedictus‘holy thistle’ (Lat.), a plant credited with healing properties
caret‘it is missing’ (Lat.); interpreted by Quickly as ‘carrot’ (penis)
carl churl, rustic person
carlot rustic person
carnation rosy-pink
carpet sb. cover for chests and tables; on carpet consideration = at court rather than on the battle-field
carpet-monger knight more at home at court than in battle
carrack galleon, treasure ship
carriage carrying; ability to carry; conduct; deportment; purport
carry coals endure insults without retaliation
carry out a side fulfil a side of an agreement
carry-tale spy
carve v. compliment; be one’s own carver, carve for oneself = be independent
case sb. question; body, skin or clothes; v. clothe, mask; skin; in case = in a position or mood; on the case = for some particular offence
cashiered discarded; (?) robbed
cast adj. cast off; v. vomit; discharge; examine; calculate; cast the gorge = vomit
casted seecast (adj.)
Castiliano vulgo Sir Toby’s attempt to refer in Spanish and (?) Latin to (?) wine, (?) the devil
casual accidental; subject to misfortune
cat o’ mountain, cat-a-mountain leopard
Cataian Cathaian (Chinese), used insultingly
cataplasm plaster
catastrophe final phase of action in classical drama
catch tune for several voices
cater-cousins close friends
caterpillar parasite
cates choice provisions, delicacies
catling catgut for stringed instruments
cautel wile, deception
cautelous deceitful
censer ornamental vessel for burning perfume
censure sb. judgement; opinion; v. judge; express an opinion
centre the earth’s mid-point
century one hundred soldiers
Cerberus three-headed dog at the gate of the underworld, fought with by Hercules and charmed to sleep by Orpheus
cerecloth shroud
cerements shroud
Ceres goddess of agriculture and plenty
’cerns concerns
certes truly
cess ceasing, decease; out of cess = excessively
cesse cease
chair-days time of rest
chairs of order stalls in St George’s Chapel, Windsor, for the Knights of the Order of the Garter
challenge sb. claim; legal objection; v. claim as due
chamberer wooer
chamber-lye urine
chambers small cannon
chamblet rich cloth of silk and goat’s hair
champaign open countryside
champion challenge to fight
changeling turncoat; fairy child swapped for a human one (or vice versa)
chanson song
chanticleer cock
chape metal cap on the end of a scabbard
The Arden Shakespeare Complete Works Page 579