The Oxford Shakespeare: The Complete Works

by William Shakespeare

  formality, decorum, regularity

  former, foremost

  forsake, refuse, reject, renounce

  forslow, delay

  forspent, exhausted

  fortitude, strength

  forwhy, because

  foutre, strong expression of contempt, a fuck (French)

  fox, kind of sword

  fracted, broken

  fraction, discord, quarrel, fragment

  frame, contriving, structure, plan; to prepare, go, bring to pass, perform

  frampold, disagreeable

  franchise, freedom, privilege

  franchised, free

  frank, unrestrained, generous, free; sty; to pen up in a sty

  franklin, yeoman

  fray, affray, skirmish; to frighten

  free, generous, magnanimous, innocent, untroubled; to absolve, banish

  French crown, French coin, baldness produced by venereal disease

  frequent, addicted, familiar

  friend, lover, mistress, relative

  frieze, coarse woollen cloth

  frippery, old-clothes’ shop

  front, forehead; face, foremost line of battle, beginning; to confront, oppose

  frontlet, band worn on forehead

  froward, perverse, wilful, rebellious

  frush, smash

  fullam, false dice

  fulsome, pregnant, loathsome, filthy

  furnishings, externals

  furniture, equipment, harness

  fury, rage, passion, poetic passion, goddess of vengeance

  fustian, coarse cloth, bombastic gibberish

  gaberdine, loose-fitting coat or cloak

  gag, prop open, or jerk open

  gage, pledge; to stake, bind, engage

  gain-giving, misgiving

  Galen, famous physician of second century

  gall, resentment, bitterness; to rub sore, chafe, graze, wound, harass, scoff

  galliard, lively dance

  galliass, large, heavy ship

  galloglasses, heavily-armed foot-soldiers of Ireland or the Western Isles

  gallow, frighten

  gallows, gallows-bird, one born (or deserving) to be hanged

  gamut, musical scale

  garboil, disturbance, quarrel

  Gargantua, large-mouthed giant in Rabelais

  garland, royal crown, glory

  garnish, dress; to adorn, equip

  gaskins, breeches

  gaud, plaything, showy ornament; to ornament

  gear, stuff, talk, matter, business

  geck, dupe

  gender, kind, sort, offspring; engender

  generosity, high birth

  generous, high-born

  genius, spirit, good or bad angel, embodied spirit

  gentle, of noble birth; to ennoble

  gentry, rank by birth, good breeding, courtesy

  George, jewel bearing figure of the saint, part of insignia of Order of the Garter

  germen, seed

  gest, deed, time allotted to stage of journey

  gesture, bearing

  ghasted, frightened

  ghastness, terror

  ghastly, spiritual

  gig, whipping-top

  giglet, wanton

  gimmaled, jointed, hinged

  ging, gang

  gird, gibe; taunt, besiege

  glance (at), hint at, cast a slight on

  glass, mirror, sand-glass

  glaze, stare

  gleek, gibe; to gibe, jest

  glib, castrate

  gloss, lustre

  glut, swallow

  go, walk

  God-a-mercy, thank God

  God’s me, God bless me

  go to! expression of disapproval, protest, or disbelief

  goatish, lustful

  good, financially sound, rich

  good-brother, brother-in-law

  goodman, husband, yeoman, master

  goose, smoothing iron

  goose of Winchester, prostitute

  gorbellied, fat-bellied

  gore, to defile, wound

  gorge, what has been swallowed

  gorget, piece of armour for the throat

  Gorgon, woman whose look turned the beholder to stone

  gossip, god-father or -mother, sponsor; make merry

  gourd, kind of false dice

  gout, drop

  government, control, self-command, evenness of temper

  grained, ingrained, showing grain of the wood, lined, forked

  gramercy, thank you

  grange, outlying farmhouse

  gratify, thank, reward, pay, do honour to

  gratulate, pleasing; greet, express joy at

  gravel, urinary crystals

  greasily, obscenely

  grece, step, stair, degree

  gree, agree

  grief, grievances

  grieve, vex, taunt

  groat, fourpenny piece

  groundlings, those who stood in the cheapest part of the theatre

  grow, be or become due

  guard, caution, border, trimming; to ornament

  guidon, pennant

  guiled, treacherous

  guinea-hen, prostitute

  guise, custom, habit

  gules, red (heraldry)

  gull, unfledged bird, dupe, fool, trick; to cheat

  gummed, stiffened with gum

  gust, taste, relish

  Guy, Guy of Warwick, slayer of the giant Colbrand

  gyve, fetter

  habit, dress, appearance

  habitude, temperament

  hackney, prostitute

  haggard, wild hawk

  haggle, to hack, gash

  hag-seed, child of a witch

  hai, home-thrust in fencing

  hair, kind, character

  halcyon, kingfisher

  half, partner

  half-blooded, of noble blood by one parent only

  half-cheek, profile

  half-cheeked, with a piece missing or broken on one side

  half-face, thin face

  half-faced, showing half the face

  half-sword, half a sword’s length

  halidom, holy relic

  Hallowmas, All Saints’ Day, I November

  handfast, firm hold, marriage contract

  handicrafts, artisans, workmen

  handy-dandy, choose which you please (in a children’s game)

  haply, perhaps, by chance

  happiness, handsomeness, appropriateness, opportunity

  hardiment, bold exploit

  hardness, difficult, hardship

  harlot, man or woman of promiscuous life

  harlotry, harlot, silly wench

  hatch, engrave, inlay, lower half of a divided door

  hatchment, memorial tablet with coat of arms

  hautboy, shawm, woodwind instrument, ancestor of the oboe

  havoc, devastation; cry havoc, give the signal to an army to plunder

  hazard, game at dice, chance, venture

  head, headland, topic, army

  head borough, parish officer

  heap, crowd

  heavy, important, dull, sluggish, sleepy, grievous

  hectic, wasting fever

  Hector, Trojan hero

  Hecuba, Queen of Troy, wife of Priam and mother of Hector

  hedge-pig, hedgehog

  Helen, most beautiful woman of her world, wife of the Greek Menelaus, carried off to Troy by Paris

  Helicon, mountain of Greece sacred to the Muses

  hemp-seed, gallows-bird, one born (or deserving) to be hanged

  Hercules, as a baby strangled two serpents; performed twelve great labours, including the obtaining of the golden apples of the Hesperides and the overcoming of Cerberus, the three-headed dog of the underworld

  Hero, see LEANDER

  Hesperus, the evening star

  hest, command

  heyday, excitement

  high-crested, prou
d

  high-lone, quite alone, without support

  high-proof, in the highest degree

  high-stomached, haughty

  hight, called

  hilding, contemptible, good-for-nothing, baggage

  him, male (dog)

  hint, occasion, reason, opportunity

  hipped, lame in the hip

  hit, succeed, agree

  hive, hive-shaped hat

  hoar, grow mouldy

  hobby-horse, figure of a horse used in morris dances, etc., buffoon, prostitute

  holding, consistency, burden of a song

  holp, helped

  honest, worthy, virtuous, chaste

  honesty, honour, decency, chastity

  honour, chastity

  hoodman-blind, blind man’s buff

  horn, the mark of a cuckold

  horn-book, child’s first reader

  horn-mad, ready to gore the enemy, enraged at being cuckolded

  hose, stockings, breeches

  host, lodge

  hot-house, brothel

  housekeeper, householder, watch-dog, stay-at-home

  housekeeping, hospitable running of the household

  hox, hamstring

  hoy, a small vessel

  hugger-mugger, secrecy

  hull, float, drift with sails furled

  humorous, moist, capricious, moody

  humour, moisture; bodily fluid supposedly composed of blood, phlegm, choler, and melancholy, the proportions determining personal temperament; temperament, mood, whim, caprice, inclination

  Hungarian, hungry, needy

  hunt’s-up, morning-song to arouse huntsmen

  hurly, commotion, uproar

  hurricano, waterspout

  hurry, commotion, disorder

  hurtless, harmless, unhurting

  husband, one who keeps house; to farm, till

  husbandry, management, thrift

  Hybla, mountain in Sicily famous for fragrant flowers and honey

  Hydra, many-headed snake whose heads grew again as they were cut off

  Hymen, god ofmarriage

  Hyperion, sun god

  Icarus, see DAEDALUS

  idea, image

  Ides of March, according to the old Roman calendar, 15 March

  idle, empty, trifling, worthless, useless, foolish, out of one’s mind

  ignis fatuus, will-o’-the-wisp

  Ilion, Ilium, citadel of Troy

  image, likeness, copy, representation, sign, embodiment, idea

  imbecility, weakness

  imbrue, pierce, shed blood of

  immanity, cruelty

  imminence, impending evil

  immodest, arrogant, immoderate

  immoment, insignificant

  imp, young shoot, child; to engraft feathers into a bird’s wing

  impart, afford, make known

  impartment, communication

  impeach, accusation, reproach; to accuse, challenge, discredit

  impeachment, accusation, detriment, hindrance

  impertinency, irrelevancy, ramblings

  impertinent, irrelevant

  imply, involve

  import, involve, imply, express, be important, concern, portend

  importable, unbearable

  importance, matter, meaning, importunity

  importancy, significance

  important, importunate, urgent

  importless, meaningless, trivial

  imposition, imputation, accusation, command

  impostume, abscess

  impress, impression, to stamp

  imputation, reputation

  incapable, unable to receive or realize

  incident, about to happen

  inclining, compliant; party, inclination

  incomprehensible, boundless

  incontinently, immediately

  incorpsed, made one body

  incorrect, unchastened, rebellious

  incredulous, incredible

  index, table of contents, preface

  indifferency, impartiality, moderate size

  indifferent, impartial, ordinary; tolerably, fairly

  indigest, unformed, unformed mass

  indign, unworthy

  indirection, roundabout method, dishonest practice

  indirectly, wrongfully, evasively, by suggestion, inattentively

  indiscreet, lacking judgement

  indiscretion, want of judgement

  indisposition, disinclination

  indistinguishable, mongrel

  indrenched, waterlogged

  infect, affect with some feeling

  influence, supposed flowing from the heavens of an ethereal fluid acting on human character and destiny, inspiration

  inform, take shape, inspire, instruct

  infuse, shed, imbue

  ingenious, talented, intelligent, discerning, skilfully contrived

  ingling, engaging in sexual play

  inhabitable, uninhabitable

  inherit, possess

  inhibit, prohibit

  inhibition, prohibition

  injurious, insulting, malicious

  inkle, linen tape, thread, or yarn

  inland, of the central, more cultured, part of a country

  innocent, idiot, half-wit

  innovation, insurrection

  inoculate, engraft by budding

  insensible, imperceptible to senses

  insinuate, ingratiate, suggest

  insinuation, ingratiation, hint

  instance, cause, detail, proof, mark, presence

  intellect, meaning, content

  intelligence, communication, information, news, obtaining of secret information, spy; to pass information

  intelligencer, agent

  intelligencing, informative

  intelligent, giving information, open, informative

  intemperature, wildness, intemperance

  intenable, unretentive

  intendment, purpose, intention

  intercept, interrupt

  intercourse, commerce, business

  interest, right, title, share

  interressed, invested right or share

  interlude, entertainment, play

  intrenchant, invulnerable

  intrinse, intrinsicate, closely entwined

  investments, vestments, clothes

  irreconciled, unexpiated

  irregular, irregulous, lawless

  iterance, repetition

  iwis, indeed, certainly

  Jack, jack, fellow, scoundrel, figure striking the hall on a clock; key of a virginal, smaller bowl aimed at, quarter of a pint

  Jack-a-lent, puppet set up as target during Lent

  jade, horse of poor condition or vicious temper, term of contempt; to wear out, make a fool of

  jakes, privy

  jaunce, prance, trudge up and down

  jay, a flashy whore

  jealous, suspicious, afraid, apprehensive, doubtful

  jealousy, suspicion, apprehension, mistrust

  jennet, small Spanish horse

  jess, strap attached to the leg of a trained hawk

  jet, strut, encroach

  jig, quick lively dance, short lively comic entertainment

  jointress, dowager

  jollity, finery

  jolthead, block-head

  jordan, chamber-pot

  journal, daily

  journey-bated, exhausted with travel

  Jove, poetic form of JUPITER

  jowl, strike, knock

  jump, just, precisely; hazard; to hazard, agree, coincide

  junket, sweetmeat, delicacy

  Juno, queen of the gods and wife of Jupiter; goddess ofmarriage

  Jupiter, ruler of the gods. He was thought to hurl thunderbolts at mortals who displeased him, but otherwise was best known for his many amorous adventures.

  just, true, honourable, exact

  justicer, judge

  justify, maintain the innocence of, vindicate,
prove, corroborate

  justly, with good reason

  jut, encroach

  keech, fat of slaughtered animal rolled into a lump

  keel, skim

  ken, range of sight; to see, recognize, know

  kennel, pack, gutter

  kern, light-armed Irish foot-soldier

  kersey, homely; coarse woollen material

  kibe, chilblain

  kind, natural, tender, courteous, affectionate; nature, way, race, sort

  kindle, bring forth

  kindly, naturally, properly, exactly

  knack, trifle, knick-knack

  knap, nibble, strike

  knot, fancifully laid-out flower bed or garden plot

  laager, camp

  label, slip of paper, strip of paper or parchment by which a seal is attached; to

  add as a codicil

  laboured, worn out, highly finished

  laboursome, elaborate

  lace, to ornament

  lading, cargo, merchandise

  lag, last, late

  lampass, disease of the horse in which flesh swells behind front teeth

  land-damn, damn in this world

  lank, become thin

  lantern, window-turret

  lard, fatten, garnish

  large, generous, lavish, free, improper

  latch, strike, catch, receive, bewitch

  laund, glade

  lavolt, lavolta, high-leaping dance

  lay, wager

  lazar, leper, sick beggar

  leading, command, direction, generalship

  leaguer, camp

  lean, depend

  Leander, lover of Hero of Sestos, he swam the Hellespont nightly to visit her in her tower, and was drowned in a storm

  learn, teach

  leasing, lying

  leather-coat, russet apple

  lecture, lesson, instruction

  leer, appearance, complexion

  leese, lose

  leet, court held by lord of the manor

  leman, sweetheart, lover

  lengthen, delay, postpone

  lenity, gentleness

  leno, pimp, pander

  lenten, meagre

  let, hindrance; to binder, forbear, cause

  Lethe, river in Hades; to drink its waters gave forgetfulness

  level, aim, line of fire, range; to aim, guess

  liable, subject, suitable

  liberal, accomplished, humane, abundant, free in speech, unrestrained, gross

  lie, to lodge, stay, be still, in prison or in defensive posture

  lief, dear

  liege, sovereign lord

  light, frivolous, unchaste, swift, easy, merry, trivial, delirious

  like, please, be in good condition

  liking, bodily condition

  limbeck, distilling vessel

  limber, flexible

  lime, cement, catch with birdlime

  limit, prescribed time, time of rest after childbearing, region; to appoint