A

GLOSSARY TO
ΤΟ SHAKESPEARE.

A.

a, frequently omitted in exclamations: What fool is she, that knows, &c. i. 268; What dish o' poison has she dressed him! iii. 357; Cassius, what night is this! vi. 627; what thing is it that I never Did see man die! vii. 709.

abate, to lower, to depress, to cast down in spirit: as most Abated captives, vi. 199 (see note 162, vi. 262).

abate, to contract, to cut short: Abate thy hours, ii. 303.

abate, to blunt (equivalent to rebate): Abate the edge of traitors, v. 454 (see note 131, v. 478; to which note add, from Browne's Britannia's Pastorals,

"With plaints which might abate a Tyrants knife."
Book 1, Song 4, p. 87, ed. 1625

and from Milton's Paradise Regained,

"To slacken virtue, and abate her edge."

Book ii. 455);

Which once in him abated, iv. 318.

abate, to take away, to except: Abate throw at novum ("Except or put the chance of the dice out of the question," MALONE; and see novum), ii. 226.

Abcee-book-An, an A-B-C-book, a primer, which sometimes included a catechism, iv. 10.

("To learne the Horne-booke and the Abcee through."

Wither's Abuses Stript and Whipt,-Inconstancy, sig. P 2, ed. 1613.) abhominable, ii. 208: The old mode of spelling abominable: it appears to have been going out of use in the time of Shakespeare, who here ridicules it.

abhor, yea, from my soul Refuse you for my judge—I utterly, v. 520 : "These are not mere words of passion, but technical terms in the canon law. Detestor and Recuso. The former, in the language of

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canonists, signifies no more than-I protest against" (BLACKSTONE): "The words are Holinshed's; and therefore openly protested that she did utterly abhor, refuse, and forsake such a judge'” (MALONE).

abide, to sojourn, to tarry awhile and yet it will no more but abide, iii. 465; abide within, vii. 35.

abide, to answer for, to be accountable for, to stand the consequences of let no man abide this deed, But we the doers, vi. 649; some will dear abide it, vi. 658.

abjects-The queen's, "means the most servile of her subjects'" (MASON), v. 354.

able," to qualify or uphold" (WARBURTON), "to warrant or answer for" (Nares's Gloss.): I'll able 'em, vii. 326.

abode, to forebode, to portend: aboded, v. 487; aboding, v. 317. abodements, forebodements, omens, v. 301.

abortive pride, "pride that has had birth too soon, pride issuing before its time" (JOHNSON), v. 166.

abridgment have you for this evening? What, ii. 313; look, where my abridgment comes, vii. 142: In the first of these passages abridgment means a dramatic performance, and in the second it is applied to the players, as being, I presume, the persons who represent an abrilgment: "By abridgment our author may mean a dramatic performance, which crowds the events of years into a few hours.

.. It may be worth while, however, to observe, that in the North the word abatement had the same meaning as diversion or amusement. So, in the Prologue to the 5th Book of G. Douglas's version of the Eneid,

'Ful mony mery abaitmentis followis here'" (STEEVENS). abrook, to brook, to endure, v. 139.

absent time-To take advantage of the, To take advantage of the time of the king's absence, iv. 137.

absolute, highly accomplished, perfect: contends in skill With absolute Marina, viii. 45.

absolute, determined: Be absolute for death, i. 477.

absolute, positive, certain: I'm absolute 'twas very Cloten, vii. 698. abuse, deception: This is a strange abuse, i. 512; My strange and self-abuse, vii. 42.

abuse, to deceive, to impose upon: I'm mightily abus'd (“I am strangely imposed on by appearances, I am in a strange mist of uncertainty," JOHNSON), vii. 331; The Moor's abus'd by some most villanous knave, vii. 448; You are a great deal abused in too bold a persuasion, vii. 646; Abuses me to damn me, vii. 147.

aby, the same as to abide (see its second sense), ii. 296, 300.

ABYSM-ACHES.

abysm, abyss, i. 179; vii. 561; viii. 405.

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accept and peremptory answer-Pass our, iv. 501 : “Deliver our acceptation of these articles,-the opinion which we shall form upon them, and our peremptory answer to each particular" (MALONE): "Pass our acceptance of what we approve, and pass a peremptory answer to the rest" (TOLLET): See note 167, iv. 533.

accite, to call, to summon: we will accite.... all our state, iv. 393; He by the senate is accited home, vi. 284; what accites (moves, impels) your most worshipful thought to think so? iv. 335.

accommodated-Better, iv. 356 (twice); Accommodated!— it comes of accommodo, iv. 357; Accommodated; that is . . . accommodated.... thought to be accommodated, ibid.: Accommodate, which Bardolph so ludicrously attempts to define, was a fashionable word in Shakespeare's days, and often introduced with great impropriety: Jonson, as well as our poet, ridicules the use of it. accomplish'd with the number of thy hours, "when he was of thy age" (MALONE), iv. 127.

accordingly valiant, conformably, proportionably, valiant, iii. 240. account, accounted: account no sin, viii. 6.

accuse, an accusation: false accuse, v. 146.

Acheron, ii. 301; vi. 333; vii. 43: It is not a little amusing to find
Malone almost persuaded by a Mr. Plumptre that, in the last of
the passages just referred to, the poet was thinking of "Ekron" in
Scripture. Did these matter-of-fact commentators suppose that
Shakespeare himself, had they been able to call him up from the
dead, could have told them "all about it"? Not he;-
than Fairfax, who, in his translation of the Gerusalemme (published
before Macbeth was produced), has made Ismeno frequent "the
shores of Acheron," without any warrant from Tasso;

"A Christian once, Macon he now adores,
Nor could he quite his wonted faith forsake,
But in his wicked arts both oft implores
Helpe from the Lord and aide from Pluto blake;
He, from deepe caues by Acherons darke shores
(Where circles vaine and spels he vs'd to make),
T'aduise his king in these extremes is come;
Achitophell so counsell'd Absalome."

The original has merely

"Ed or dalle spelonche, ove lontano

Dal volgo esercitar suol l' arti ignote,

Vien," &c.:

-no more

B. ii. st. 2.

For instances how loosely the name Acheron is used by our early poets, see, in Sylvester's Du Bartas, ed. 1641, The Second Day of the First Week, p. 15, The Vocation, pp. 149, 155, and The Fathers, p. 162; also Hubert's Edward the Second, p. 161, ed. 1629. aches, make thee roar-Fill all thy bones with, i. 188; Aches contract

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ACHILLES-ADAM.

and starve your supple joints, vi. 514; Their fears of hostile strokes, their aches, losses, vi. 571: In the above lines aches is a dissyllable, according to the usage of the poets of Shakespeare's days and of those of a much later period (Boswell adduces an instance of this pronunciation from Swift; and here is one from Blackmore,

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Cripples, with aches and with age opprest,
Crawl on their crutches to the grave for rest."

Eliza, 1705, Book ix. p. 249).

Achilles' spear, Is able with the change to kill and cure,-Like to, v. 190: Telephus having been wounded by Achilles, could be cured only by the rust scraped from the spear which had caused the wound: the particulars of his story (related with some variations) may be found in the mythological writers.

("Così od' io che soleva la lancia

D' Achille, e del suo padre, esser cagione
Prima di trista, e poi di buona mancia."

Dante, Inferno, C. xxxi. 4.

"And fell in speche of Telephus the king,
And of Achilles for his queinte spere,
For he coude with it bothe hele and dere," &c.

Tasso has

Chaucer, The Squieres Tale, v. 10552, ed. Tyrwhitt.

"Ahi crudo Amor! ch' egualmente n' ancide
L'assenzio e 'l mel che tu fra noi dispensi;
E d'ogni tempo egualmente mortali
Vengon da te le medicine e i mali."

which Fairfax chooses to render thus,

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'Cupids deepe riuers haue their shallow fordes ;
His griefes bring ioyes, his losses recompences;

Gerus. C. iv. 92;

He breedes the sore, and cures vs of the paine :
Achilles' lance that wounds and heales againe.")

acknown on't-Be not you, Do not you confess to any knowledge of the matter, be not acquainted with it, vii. 425.

aconitum, aconite, monkshood or wolf's-bane, iv. 378.

acquittance, to acquit: Your mere enforcement shall acquittance

me, v. 415.

across--Good faith. See break cross.

action-taking

....

rogue, "A fellow who, if you beat him, would bring an action for the assault, instead of resenting it like a man of courage" (MASON), vii. 278.

acture, explained by Malone as "synonymous with action," viii. 444. Adam-And called, ii. 81. An allusion to one of the three noted out

laws, famous for their skill in archery, who figure in the spirited and picturesque ballad entitled Adam Bel, Clym of the Cloughe, and Wyllyam of Cloudesle: see it in Ritson's one-volume collection, Anc. Pop. Poetry, and in Percy's Rel. of A. E. Poetry, vol. i. p. 154, ed. 1794.

ADAM-ADONIS.

Adam Cupid, vi. 409: see note 39, vi. 481.

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Adam was a gardener, v. 172: An allusion most probably to the old rhyme, "When Adam delv'd, and Eve span," &c.

adamant, the magnet, the loadstone: hard-hearted adamant, ii. 279; As iron to adamant, vi. 52.

addiction, inclination: to what sport and revels his addiction leads him, vii. 403.

addiction, the being addicted or given to: Since his addiction was to courses vain, iv. 423.

addition, title, mark of distinction: Bull-bearing Milo his addition yield, vi. 42; his addition shall be humble, vi. 50; A great addition earned in thy death, vi. 76; Bear Th' addition nobly ever, vi. 157; In which addition, hail, vii. 11; whereby he does receive Particular addition, vii. 34; with swinish phrase Soil our addition (“disparage us by using, as characteristic of us, terms that imply or impute swinish properties, that fix a swinish addition or title to our names" (CALDECOTT), vii. 120; the least syllable of thy addition, vii. 279; no addition, nor my wish, vii. 435; the addition Whose want even kills me, vii. 439; they are devils' additions, i. 372; Where great additions swell's, iii. 233; hath robbed many beasts of their particular additions ("their peculiar and characteristic qualities or denominations," MALONE), vi. 9; all th' additions to a king, vii. 253. addition, exaggeration: Truly to speak, sir, and with no addition, vii. 178.

address, to prepare, to make ready: address me to my appointment,

i. 392; he does address himself unto, iii. 254; address yourself to entertain them, iii. 467; address thee instantly, v. 194; Let us address to tend on Hector's heels, vi. 71; address Itself to motion, vii. 114; Were all address'd to meet you, ii. 177; the Prologue is address'd, ii. 315; have I address'd me, ii. 374; Address'd a mighty power, iii. 76; Our navy is address'd, iv. 376; for the march are we addrest, iv. 456; He is address'd, vi. 647; address'd them Again to sleep, vii. 23; Even in your armours, as you are address'd, viii. 29; address'd to answer his desire, viii. 333.

admiral, the chief ship of a fleet (if not that which carried the admiral): thou art our admiral, iv. 259; Th' Antoniad, the Egyptian admiral, vii. 551.

admittance, fashion: of great admittance (admitted into the best company,-of high fashion), i. 370; of Venetian admittance, i. 382. Adonis' gardens, That one day bloom'd, and fruitful were the next, v. 21: "The proverb alluded to seems always to have been used in a bad sense, for things which make a fair show for a few days, and then wither away: but the [unknown] author of this play, desirous of making a show of his learning, without considering its propriety, has made the Dauphin apply it as an encomium. There is a very good account of it in Erasmus's Adagia" (BLAKEWAY).

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