horn-book, hornbook child’s primer (the alphabet on a leaf of paper protected by a translucent plate of horn)
horn-mad like a furious bull, with connotations of cuckoldry (cf. horn)
horologe clock
hose breeches; French hose = loose-fitting hose
host lodge
hot-house brothel
house-clogs shackles
housekeeper domestic woman; guard dog
housewife hussy, prostitute
howlet owlet or owl
hox hamstring
hoy small coasting vessel
hoy-day, hoyday see hey-day
hugger-mugger secrecy
hull float with sails furled
humorous damp; temperamental, capricious, whimsical (see humour)
humour dampness; one of the four physiological ‘elements’ (melancholy, blood, choler, phlegm) governing disposition, hence temperament, mood, inclination
Humphrey Hower (?) meal-time (‘to dine with Duke Humphrey’ = to solicit dinner invitations);(?) name of an unidentified contemporary individual
Hungarian needy, hungry
hunt’s up morning song to awaken a newly married wife
hurricano waterspout
hurry commotion
husband sb. one who manages a household, accounts, etc.; v. cultivate; marry
husbandry management (cf.husband), thrift; farming, cultivation
huswife see housewife
Hybla mountain in Sicily famous for honey
Hydra legendary snake with many heads which grew back sevenfold when they were cut off
hyen hyena
Hymen, Hymenaeus god of marriage
hyperbole figure of speech used for exaggeration
Hyperion Phoebus, the sun god
Hyrcan, Hyrcanian from Hyrcania, a region on the shore of the Caspian sea famous for tigers
Hysterica passio type of hysteria in women (Lat.)
Icarus son of Daedalus who, with his father, used artificial wings to fly from Crete, where King Minos had imprisoned them; flying too near the sun, he melted the wax in his wings and so fell to his death in the sea
ice-brook stream of icy water, used in the tempering of sword blades
Iceland dog lap-dog from Iceland
idea image
ides of March 15 March in the Roman dating system
ignis fatuus (Lat.) will o’the wisp
ignominy, ignomy disgrace
Ilion, Ilium Troy; palace of Priam in Troy
ill-favoured ugly, unpleasant (cf.favour)
illness evil nature
ill-tempered (of the humours in the blood) badly balanced (see humour)
illustrous not lustrous, lack- lustre
image archetypal image, perfect example
imaginary imagining, imaginative
imbecility feebleness
imbrue pierce; spill blood
imitari to imitate (Lat.)
immanity barbarity, ferocity
immediacy the position of being next in authority
immediate direct; next in succession
imminence impending danger
immoment of no moment, insignificant
immures enclosing walls
imp sb. young offshoot, hence child; v. repair (a wing) by grafting on new feathers
impale see empale
impare inappropriate, unworthy
impart say, reveal; provide
impartment speech, communication
impasted formed into a crust
impawn pledge, stake
impeach sb. charge, reproach; v. undermine, discredit
impeachment charge; impediment, hindrance
imperseverant (?) stubborn; (?) imperceptive
impertinency irrelevance, nonsense
impertinent Gobbo’s word for ‘pertinent’
impeticos (?) pocket
implorators implorers, beseechers
import sb. weighty significance; v. signify; involve, concern
importance significance, meaning; importunity, urgent request; question at issue
importancy significance, importance
important importunate, urgent
importless without significance, trivial
importment importance, significance
importune demand, urge
imposition command; accusation; penalty, burden
imposthume, impostume abscess
imprese allegorical representations used in heraldic decoration (Ital.)
impress sb. conscription; v. press into military service
imputation attribution, reputation
in capite‘at the head’ (Lat.), used of tenants holding land direct from the king
In hac spe vivo‘In this hope I live’ (Lat.)
incapable unable to take in; unable to understand, unaware
incardinate Aguecheek’s word for ‘incarnate’
incarnadine turn red
incarnation Gobbo’s word for ‘incarnate’
inch island; Saint Colme’s Inch = Inchcomb, an island in the Firth of Forth
inchmeal, by inch by inch
inclining sb. inclination, side; adj. ready to be persuaded
income gathering in
incomprehensible limitless
incontinent adj. lacking self- restraint; adv. immediately
incony darling; delicate
incorporate united in one body
incorps’d united into a single body
incorrect uncorrected, incorrigible
incredulous incredible, unbelievable
Ind, Inde India
indent sb. indentation; v. make an agreement; dart about
index table of contents at the beginning or end of a book
indifferency impartiality; unremarkable nature
indifferent impartial, lacking prejudice or interest; mediocre, moderate; identical
indigest sb. that which is amorphous; adj. crude, amorphous
indign disgraceful
indirect devious, wrongful
indirection injustice; oblique method
indirectly wrongly; obliquely; nonchalantly
indisposition unwillingness
indistinguishable of no recognized kind or function
indistinguished indistinguishable; limitless
individable (?) conforming to the dramatic unity of place; (?) not to be identified by divisions and subdivisions of genre
indrench’d drenched, overwhelmed
induction first step; opening scene
infamonize Armado’s word for ‘infamize’ (make infamous, defame)
infect infected
infection Quickly’s and Old Gobbo’s word for ‘affection’ (see affection)
infer bring in; allege; imply
influence planetary emanation supposed to exert a determining effect upon people
inform take on a form; give form to, fashion, direct; report
informal deranged
infuse pour into or onto
ingenious mentally alert, responsive; crafty; crafted; appropriate
ingeniously ingenuously, candidly
inginer see engineer
ingling fondling, caressing
ingraft see engraffed
inhabitable uninhabitable
inherit possess; put in possession of; take possession of
inhibited prohibited
inhibition prohibition, ban
initiate belonging to a beginner
injurious abusive, offensive
ink-horn small vessel for containing ink; inkhorn mate = bookish person
inkle tape or yarn
inland sb. interior of a land, especially its urban and prosperous parts
innocent sb. idiot, fool; adj. simple, foolish
inoculate graft a new shoot into (a plant)
insane causing insanity
insconce see ensconce
insensible unable to be sensed
insinuate flatter, wheedle; hint to
i
nsinuation flattery, worming a way in
insisture (?) persistence; (?) moment of stasis
instalment installation; stall
instance proof, sign, evidence; motive
instruction information
insuppressive unable to be suppressed or contained
Integer vitae, scelerisque purus, / Non eget Mauri iaculis, nec arcu ‘The man of upright life and free from crime does not need the javelins or bows of the Moor’ (Lat., Horace)
intellect message, meaning
intelligence communication; secret information; spies
intelligencer messenger; spy
intelligencing carrying information
intelligent carrying information; intelligible
intendment intention
intentively attentively
intercept interrupt
interessed given a right to or share in
interest right to or share in
interlude short comedy
intervallum interval, pause
intitled, intituled see entitled
intreat see entreat
intrenchant unable to be cut
intrince intricate
intrinsicate intricate
investments robes; seiges
Invitis nubibus‘in spite of the opposition of the clouds’ (Lat.)
ipso facto‘by that very act’ (Lat.)
Ira furor brevis est‘Anger is a brief madness’ (Lat., Horace)
Iris messenger of Juno, represented as a rainbow
irreconciled unreconciled (to God)
irregular lawless, unruly
irregulous see irregular
iterance repetition
iwis truly
Jack, jack term of contempt, meaning fool, knave, trickster, also used in combinations, e.g. Jack-priest, Jack-slave
jack mechanized human figure that strikes a clock bell; small wooden block in a keyboard (wrongly used of the keys themselves); (in bowls) small bowl aimed at by the players; soldier’s padded jacket; drinking vessel
Jack-a-Lent brightly dressed puppet stoned by fun-seeking children during Lent
jack-a-nape, jack-an-ape, jackanape, jackanapes, jack'nape performing monkey; fool
jade sb. mangy or difficult horse; contemptuous term, usually for a woman; v. trick; harrass
jad’ry a horse’s difficult behaviour (cf. jade)
jakes latrine
jaunce sb.(?) tiring business; v. prance
jaw devour
jay glamorous, immoral woman
jealous anxious; suspicious, doubtful
jealous-hood (?) jealous woman
jealousy anxiety; suspicion
jean kind of twilled cotton
jennet Spanish horse
jerk stroke, as of wit
jerkin jacket
jesses straps fastening a hawk’s legs to the falconer’s wrist
jet strut self-importantly; jut (see jut)
jig sb. merry tune or dance; v. sing or move in the manner of a jig
Jockey Jack (John)
John Drum’s entertainment a good beating
jointress widow who inherits her husband’s estate
joint-ring ring formed of two interlocking halves
joint-stool stool that has been properly crafted
jollity extravagant clothes
jolt-head, jolthead fool
jordan piss-pot
journal daily
Jove Jupiter (see Jupiter)
Jovial of Jupiter, hence kingly, liberal, etc.; Jovial star = the planet Jupiter
jowl strike, knock
Judas (Iscariot) apostle who betrayed Christ, identifying him to the authorities by kissing him; popular legend gave him red hair and says he hanged himself
Judas Maccabeus great Jewish warrior and freedom-fighter
Jug Joan
jump sb. risky move; adv. just, exactly; v. risk, chance; coincide, agree
junkets sweetmeats, dainties
Juno sister and wife of Jupiter, sometimes associated with marriage, otherwise imagined as formidably jealous and prone to anger
Jupiter principal god in classical mythology, brother and husband of Juno but given to affairs with mortals (see Europa, Leda)
just sb. jousting tournament; adj. precise; adv. precisely, indeed;just distance = half-way
justicer judge
justify verify; vindicate
jut overhang, encroach
jutty sb. part of a building that projects beyond the wall; v. overhang
kam awry, perverse
kecksies kexes, hollow stalks
keech rolled lump of fat
keel cool
ken sb. sight; v. see; know
Kendal green coarse cloth
kennel gutter, open drain
kern, Kerne Irish foot-soldier
kernel little seed
kersey plain, coarse cloth
kettle kettle-drum
key key for tuning a stringed instrument
kibe chilblain, sore on the heel
kickshaws fancy extra, trifle
kicky-wicky (?) wife
killen kill
kiln-hole opening of a kiln
kind sb. nature; lineage, family; way, manner; adj. natural; gracious
kindle incite; bring forth young
kindless unnatural
kindly adj. natural, in accordance with one’s nature; adv. naturally; graciously; exactly
kirtle gown consisting of a bodice and skirt
kiss (in bowls) brush (the jack) with one’s bowl
kissing-comfits sweetmeats (dried fruits, etc.) for sweetening the breath
kite bird of prey; whore
knack knick-knack, pretty artefact
knap knock; bite
knoll toll
knot gang, small group; folded arms; flower-bed
knot-grass plant supposed to inhibit growth
knotted laid with flower-beds (cf.knot)
knotty-pated block-headed
La fin couronne les oeuvres‘The end crowns the deeds’ (Fr., proverbial)
label append, as a codicil
labour’d, laboured employed in labour; accomplished with labour
laboursome finely worked; persistent
labras Pistol’s word for ‘labra’(Lat.= ‘lips’)
lace interlace, embroider; laced mutton see mutton
lackey sb. page, footman; v. run around after, like a page
lade drain, bale out
lady-smock (?) cuckoo-flower
lag late, behind
Lammas-tide 1 August, an old harvest festival
lampass a disease in horses
land-damn (?) thrash; (?) scold
lank become thin
lantern turret with windows
lap wrap, clad
lapse sb. fall; v. slip, hence sin
lapsed (?) fallen; (?) apprehended;laps’d in = (?) having let slip by
lard baste, enrich; garnish
large liberal, unrestrained; at large = in full; full-size
lark’s-heels larkspur
’larum, larum see alarum
latch catch, grasp; moisten
latest final
lath cheap wood
latten brass or tinplate
laud song of praise
laund cleared space in a wood
lavolt, lavolta dance involving high leaps
law-days court sessions
lay sb. wager; song; lay aboard = board (a ship); lay by the heels = put in fetters or stocks; lay for = waylay, beset
lazar leper
lead sb. lining of a wooden coffin; v. weight (a fishing line)
leading command
leads roof of a building
leaguer camp
Leander lover of Hero; every night he swam across the Hellespont and climbed up to her window to visit her
leaping-house brothel
learn teach
leash sb.(of hounds) group of three; v. keep (three hounds) on a
leash
leasing falsehood, lying
leather-coats russet apples
lecture lesson
Leda maiden loved by Jupiter, who turned himself into a swan to visit her, and the mother of Helen of Troy
leer cheek, complexion
lees sediment
leese loose
leet court held by a lord of the manor
Legion name of a host of evil spirits in the Bible (Mark v.9)
legitimation legitimacy
leiger resident ambassador
leman lover, sweetheart
lendings clothes; advance payment for soldiers
Lent in the Christian calendar, forty days before Easter marked by fasting and abstinence from meat (the slaughter of animals required a special licence)
lenten of Lent, hence thin, frugal
l’envoy epilogue of a poem
let sb. hindrance; v. hinder; forbear; (of blood) drain off; let slip = let (hounds) loose
Lethe a river of the underworld; its water caused drinkers to forget their past
letter, affect the resort to alliteration
lettered learned
level sb. line of fire, range; adj. unimpeded; v. aim; guess; by line and level see line; level with = equal
lewd base, wicked
lewdster rake, lecherous person
liable subject; suitable
liberal refined; unrestrained
liberty right, prerogative; licence, licentiousness
lie live, lodge; lie along = lie stretched out
lief dear; have as lief = hold as dear, be as willing
liege lord
lieger see leiger
lifter thief
light sb. inkling; v. alight, descend, fall
lighten flash, as lightning; enlighten
like adj. likely; adv. alike, identically; v. please; liken; thrive
liking physique
limbeck alembic, a gourd-shaped vessel used in distillation
limber limp, flabby
Limbo region occupied by the souls of the virtuous who died before Christ (Limbo Patrum) or of unbaptized babies; prison
lime sb. birdlime, a kind of glue used to trap small birds; v. flavour with lime; smear or catch with birdlime; bind with mortar
limit sb. territory, precinct; appointed time; v. appoint;strength of limit = recovery after childbirth
limitation time allotted
line sb. equator; category; v. picture, draw; strengthen;by line and level = according to rule
lined padded; financially provided for
line-grove grove of lime trees
linger protract
link torch, flare
linsey-woolsey mixture of wool and flax
linstock stick which held the lighted match for detonating a cannon
list sb. inclination; boundary; edge of a piece of cloth; see lists; v. desire; listen; hear
lists arena for a contest
lither unresisting
little, in in miniature
The Arden Shakespeare Complete Works Page 583