The Arden Shakespeare Complete Works

by William Shakespeare

  chapless with the lower jaw gone

  chaplets garlands

  chapman merchant

  chaps chops, jaws

  character sb. handwriting; v. write

  charactery writing

  chare sb. chore; v. accomplish, finish

  charge-house school

  charging-staff knight’s lance

  Charles’ wain constellation of the Plough

  charneco sweet wine

  Charon ferryman of the underworld

  chase hunt; (in tennis) bouncing ball

  chat gossip about

  chaudron entrails

  che I; che vor ye = I warrant you; ch’ill = I will; ch’ud = I had (dial.)

  cheapen bargain for

  cheater officer in charge of estates forfeited to the crown

  check sb. rebuke; v. come to a stop; rebuke

  chequin gold coin

  cherry-pit children’s game of throwing cherry stones into a hole

  cherubin cherub

  cheval volant … qui a les narines de feu, le ‘the flying horse … who has fiery nostrils’ (Fr.)

  cheveril, chev’ril kid leather, known for its stretching capacity

  chewet jackdaw; minced-meat pie

  Chi passa name of a popular dance tune (Ital.= ‘Who is passing?’)

  chiding din

  chien est retourné à son propre vomissement, et la truie lavée au bourbier, le ‘The dog has returned to his own vomit and the washed sow to her mud’ (Fr., 2 Peter ii.22)

  child girl

  childe title used by young nobles aspiring to knighthood

  childed having children

  childing generative, fertile

  ch’ill seeche

  chirurgeonly in the expert manner of a surgeon

  choler one of the four humours (seehumour); anger

  chop sb. crack; v. crack; chop on = burst in on

  chopine fashionable platform shoe

  chopless seechapless

  chough jackdaw

  christom newly christened

  chrysolite white or green gem

  ch’ud seeche

  cicatrice mark, scar

  cinque-pace quick dance

  Cinque-ports five English ports; the barons of these places

  ciphersb. the figure nought, zero; v. decipher; represent

  Circe sorceress in Homer’s Odyssey who transformed men into beasts

  circummur’d walled round

  cite summon, as to court; incite

  citizen city-bred

  cittern guitar with a carved head

  civet perfume derived from a civet cat’s anal glands

  civil of citizens, urban; well-behaved; civil doctor = doctor of civil law

  clack-dish begging bowl

  clap pledge with a clasping of hands; clap aboard = board (a ship); clap into = begin promptly; clap i’th’ clout = hit the bull’s-eye (cf.clout); clap up = agree promptly

  clapper-claw handle roughly

  clepe call

  clept called

  clerestories upper windows in halls and churches

  clerk cleric, scholar

  clew ball of twine

  climate sb. region of the earth or sky; v. live in a particular region

  climatures inhabitants of a particular region

  cling shrink up, wither

  clinquant glittering

  clip encircle, embrace

  clipper one who trims coins for the metal

  close sb. encounter; (in music) cadence; adj. confined; secret; secretive; adv. secretly; v. come to agreement

  closure containment; conclusion

  cloth o’ gold, cloth-of-gold sumptuous, top-quality cloth

  clothier’s yard a ‘cloth-yard’ length, the length of an arrow (cf.yard)

  cloud (of horses) facial blemish

  clout target in archery; cloth, rag; babe of clouts = rag doll; idiot

  clouted patched; hobnailed

  clown person from the country

  clubs traditional cry for assistance in breaking up a brawl

  clyster-pipe syringe inserted into the rectum or vagina

  coat coat of arms

  cobloaf small loaf

  cock rowing boat towed behind a larger ship; weathercock; tap; (in oaths) God; by cock and pie = by God and pie (an oath) (cf.pie)

  cockatrice legendary creature with a fatal stare

  cockle cockleshell; weed; cockle hat = pilgrim’s hat

  cocklight first light, dawn

  cockney person of affected manners

  cock’red pampered

  cockshut twilight

  Cocytus a river of the underworld

  cod husk

  codding lascivious

  codpiece prominent pouch at the front of a man’s breeches to hold his genitals

  coffin pie-crust

  cog cheat

  cognizance emblem worn by retainers

  coif cap

  coign corner

  coil commotion, fuss

  coistrel base person, scoundrel

  Colbrand Danish giant in the English romance of Guy of Warwick

  collect infer, learn

  collection piecing together, understanding

  collied darkened

  collop slice of flesh

  Colme-kill Iona

  coloquintida colocynth, a bitter apple

  Colossus gigantic statue of Apollo at Rhodes that stood over the harbour entrance

  colour sb. appearance; pretext; sort, type; v. disguise

  colourable plausible

  colours military colours, banner

  colt sb. young and foolish person; v. play the fool with, trick; colt’s tooth = friskiness

  combinate bound by pledge

  come off withdraw; pay up

  coming-on compliant

  commeddled mingled

  commit commit sins

  commodity supply of merchandise; benefit, advantage; pledge against a loan

  commoner prostitute

  comonty Sly’s word for ‘comedy’

  companion fellow, used insultingly

  comparative sb. dealer in insults; adj. skilled at (insulting) comparisons

  compeer sb. peer, companion; v. be the peer of, equal

  competitor partner

  complain bewail

  complement outward appearance

  complexion constitution, nature; face

  complot sb. design, conspiracy; v. conspire

  comply behave formally

  compose reach agreement

  compt account, reckoning; the Day of Judgement

  comptible sensitive

  con study, memorize; con thanks = acknowledge gratitude

  Con tutto il cuore ben trovato ‘With all my heart well met’ (Ital.)

  conceit sb. mental, imaginative or artistic conception; wit, intelligence; fancy article; v. conceive

  conceited witty, inventive; be conceited of = conceive of

  conceptious conceiving, fertile

  concernancy relevance

  conclusion experiment; judgement; riddle

  concolinel (?) title of a song; (?) singer’s preparatory warble

  concupiscible concupiscent, lustful

  concupy (?) concupiscence; (?) concubine

  condition rank; disposition; compact, contract

  condolement grieving; (?) confused with dole, portion

  conference conversation, debate

  confessors boasters

  confiners inhabitants

  congee, congie bow, take one’s leave

  congree agree together

  conscience matter of conscience; mind, thoughts

  conscionable governed by conscience

  consider reward; (?) appreciate

  consign subscribe, endorse

  consist stand firm, insist

  consolate console

  conspectuity power of vision

  constring’d drawn together, compressed

  contain reta
in

  contestation contention

  continent sb. container, vessel; sum, summary; adj. restraining

  contraction solemn agreement

  control sb. compulsion; v. contradict; overpower

  controller steward; critic

  convenient fit, suitable

  convent call together

  conventicle secret assembly

  conversation dealing; social conduct

  converse associate, be in company (with)

  conversion promotion; conversation

  convert change

  convertite penitent

  convey manage discreetly; steal

  conveyance dishonest dealing; (in law) transfer of property; escort

  convict convicted

  convince overpower; prove; prove guilty, convict

  convive feast together

  convoy means of transport

  cony rabbit

  cony-catch dupe, cheat

  copatain hat hat with a high crown

  cope sb. sky; v. encounter; have dealings; requite

  copesmate companion

  copp’d peaked

  copy theme, copiously discussed; exemplar, model; copyhold, tenure

  coragio courage (Ital.)

  coram for ‘quorum’, justice whose particular presence was necessary for some cases

  coranto dance with a running step

  Corinth ancient city know for its licentiousness and partying

  Corinthian one from Corinth (seeCorinth)

  corky dry, withered

  Cornelia mother of the Gracchi (famous early Roman republicans)

  cornet body of cavalry

  cornuto horned beast, cuckold (Ital.) (cf.horn)

  corollary excessive amount

  corporal of the body, physical

  correctioner one from the ‘House of Correction’

  corrigible corrective; susceptible of punishment

  corroborate strengthened; Pistol’s word for ‘ruined’

  corslet piece of body armour

  costard large apple; the head

  costermonger fruit seller, petty trader

  cote sb. cottage; v. overtake

  cot-quean man who meddles in domestic affairs

  Cotsall the Cotswold hills

  couch lie hidden; cause to shrink back

  counsel reflection; secrets

  countenance sb. face, outward appearance, demeanour; approval, patronage; v. behold; suit

  counter sb. coin of negligible value; debtors’ prison; adv.(in hunting) backwards, off course

  counterchange exchange, reciprocation

  counterfeit sb. image, reproduction; fake money; adj. painted, not real

  Counter-gate gate of the Counter prison (cf.counter)

  countermand contradict; prohibit

  counterpoint counterpane, tapestry

  countervail counterbalance, be equal to

  county count

  Couple a gorge Pistol’s version of ‘coupe la gorge’ (Fr.= ‘cut the throat’)

  courage disposition

  course sail of a ship

  courser horse; courser’s hair = horse’s hair, supposed to turn into a serpent in water

  court of guard guard room; body of soldiers on guard

  court-cupboard sideboard

  courthand handwriting used for legal contracts

  cousin any near relation

  coverture covering, shelter

  cowish cowardly

  cowl-staff wooden rod for carrying a cowl (tub)

  cox cock’s (God’s) (seecock)

  coxcomb jester’s cap; the head

  coy caress; show reluctance

  coz cousin (seecousin)

  cozen cheat

  cozier cobbler

  crab crab apple

  crack sb. lad, rascal; partial fracture; v. boast; cracked within the ring = (of coins) nicked past the ring around the sovereign’s head, and so no longer legal tender

  crack-hemp one deserving to be hanged

  crak’d cracked (seecrack)

  crank sb. winding passage; v. twist and turn

  crants garland

  craven sb. cock; coward; v. make cowardly

  craze break, damage

  credent believing; believable, plausible

  credit credibility; belief, current opinion

  crescive growing, having the power of growth

  cressets fire-baskets, beacons

  crestless not bearing a heraldic crest, not aristocratic

  critic fault-finder, satirist

  cross sb. an Elizabethan coin; adj. quarrelsome, thwarting; (of lightning) forked

  cross’d, crossed freed from debts

  cross-gartered wearing garters above and below the knee (and so crossed behind)

  cross-row the alphabet

  crow-flower the ragged robin flower

  crow-keeper, crowkeeper scarecrow; boy employed to shoo birds off crops

  crown imperial the fritillary plant

  crudy thick

  crupper strap fixing the saddle to the horse’s back end

  crusado Portuguese coin

  cry sb. barking pack of hounds; rumour; v. proclaim; cried in the top of = loudly exceeded; cry aim seeaim; cry out of = cry out against; cry up = applaud

  cubiculo bedroom

  Cucullus non facit monachum ‘The hood does not make the monk’ (Lat., proverbial)

  cullion rascal

  culverin small cannon

  cum privilegio‘with privilege (i.e. immunity)’ (Lat.); cum privilegio ad imprimendum solum = ‘with the privilege for printing only’ (i.e. ‘with the sole right to print’)

  cunning sb. knowledge; skill; adj. skilful; ingenious

  Cupid son of Venus, a winged boy, sometimes thought of as blind, whose arrows caused people to fall in (and out of) love; Cupid’s flower = pansy

  curate parish priest

  curdied congealed

  curiosity delicacy, scrupulousness

  curious scrupulous, careful; elaborate, exquisite; anxious

  currence flowing

  curst fierce, cantankerous

  curtal with a docked tail

  curtle-axe short broadsword

  cushes thigh-armour

  Custalorum for ‘Custos Rotulorum’ (Lat.= ‘keeper of the rolls’), the highest justiciary office in a county

  customer prostitute; prostitute’s client

  cut docked or gelded horse; female genitals; cut and long- tail = every kind; in any event; draw cuts = draw lots

  cut-purse, cutpurse petty thief who snips purses from people’s belts

  cuttle (?) thief

  Cyclops = Cyclopes, one-eyed giants who assisted in the manufacture of armour for the gods

  cyme a medicinal plant

  cynic foul-mouthed philosopher

  Cynthia the goddess Diana when represented as the moon

  cypress cypress wood; crape, linen

  Cytherea the goddess Venus

  Daedalus father of Icarus (seeIcarus)

  daff seedoff

  Dagonet King Arthur’s fool

  Daintry Daventry

  dainty adj. particular, finicky; make dainty = hesitate primly

  dam mother

  Damascus traditional scene of Abel’s murder (seeCain)

  dan sir

  dancing horse a famous Elizabethan performing horse

  dancing-rapier ornamental sword worn when dancing

  danger power to harm

  Dansker Dane

  Daphne seeApollo

  dare (in bird-catching) dazzle, daze

  darkling in the dark

  darraign set in order, prepare

  dash sb. mark, sign; v. crush, dishearten; at first dash = at the outset

  date fixed term or limit

  daub it put on a false show

  daubery false pretence, trickery

  day-bed couch

  day-woman dairymaid

  dear important; intense, ardent; grievous />
  dearth scarcity, hence high value

  death-practised whose death has been plotted

  deathsman executioner

  death-token sign of the plague

  debate sb. struggle, contention; v. contend; contend about

  debile feeble

  debitor and creditor account book; book-keeper

  Deborah Israelite judge who incited an attack on Sisera, the general of the Canaanite king Jabin

  deboshed debauched

  decerns Dogberry’s word for ‘concerns’

  decimation execution of one man in ten

  deck sb. deck of cards; v. adorn, cover

  decoct boil up

  deed performance, doing; contract; deed of saying = keeping promises

  deep-fet fetched from deep down

  deer animals

  default fault, offence; in the default = (?) when necessary; (?) when you fail

  defeat mar, destroy; defraud

  defeature disfigurement

  defence armour; fencing, swordplay

  defend forbid

  definement definition, description

  defunct extinct, dead

  defunction death

  defunctive relating to death, funereal

  degree order, hierarchy; step, stage

  delations narrations, accusations

  delicates luxuries, delicacies

  deliverly nimbly

  demean conduct, behave

  demerit merit; deficiency, sin

  demi-cannon large gun

  demure adj. solemn, modest; v. look thoughtfully

  denay sb. denial; v. deny

  denier small copper coin

  denunciation public announcement

  depend be dependent; lean; hang, impend

  dependency dependants; logical sequence; submissiveness

  deplore talk woefully

  depose take an oath; examine on oath

  deputation appointment or office of a deputy (usually in high office)

  deracinate uproot

  derived descended

  dern dark, wild

  derogate adj. degenerate, debased; derogatory; v. degrade oneself

  descant sb. sung variations; v. sing variations

  descension descent

  descry sb. discovery; v. discover

  design sb. purpose, enterprise; v. designate, refer to

  designment purpose, enterprise

  determinate adj. at an end; decisive; planned; v. put an end to

  determination end, expiry; decision

  determine end, conclude; put an end to

  Deucalion with his wife, the sole survivors of a great flood sent by Jupiter

  deuce-ace a low score at dice

  dewlap loose flesh around a cow’s throat

  dexter right

  dey-woman dairy woman

  Di faciant laudis summa sit ista tuae ‘The gods grant that this may be the peak of thy glory’ (Lat., Ovid)

  diable devil (Fr.)

  diablo devil (Sp.)

  dial clock; sundial

  Dian, Diana goddess of chastity, hunting and the moon (cf. Cynthia)