abstract | [unclear meaning] something removed, withdrawal; abridgement |
accosting | [unclear meaning] making of advances, coming on |
aglet-baby | [unclear meaning] small ornamental figure forming the tag of a lace |
arm-gaunt | [unclear meaning] in fine condition; with gaunt limbs; with armoured trappings |
bank | [unclear meaning] put in a bank, win; pass by [as in a boat] |
beguild | [unclear meaning] beguile |
betime | [unclear meaning] betide, befall, be appropriate |
braid | [unclear meaning] twisted, deceitful |
brief | [unclear meaning] rife, widespread; pressing, urgent |
brooded | [unclear meaning] full of brooding |
button | [unclear meaning] very plain, easy to see |
buzzard | [unclear meaning] night-flying insect; cockchafer |
Castalion | [unclear meaning] Castilian [Spanish]; Castalian [sacred spring on Mt Parnassus] |
Castiliano | [unclear meaning] in Christian tradition, possibly a name of a devil |
chopping | [unclear meaning] equivocating, chopping and changing |
coacher | [Q variant of torcher, unclear meaning] coach, chariot |
coasting | [unclear meaning] approachable, ready, friendly |
cock-a-hoop, set | [unclear meaning] abandon all restraint, put everything into disorder |
collection | deduction, inference, gathering of meaning |
condolement | [unclear meaning] share-out, tangible expression of thanks |
content | substance, matter, meaning |
corroborate | [unclear meaning; perhaps a malapropism] strengthened, fortified |
cruel | [unclear meaning] form of cruelty, cruel creature |
crush | force the sense of, strain a meaning from |
cuckoo-bud | [unclear meaning] type of flower, perhaps chosen because its name resembles 'cuckold'; or: buttercup |
default | [unclear meaning] absence, lack, want |
Dian's bud | [unclear meaning] herb associated with chastity |
directitude | [humorous nonsense word; unclear meaning] discredit |
disposer | [unclear meaning] one who makes arrangements, one who can handle [a person] |
distract | [unclear meaning] perplex, bewilder |
doubt | without clear meaning, ambiguous |
drawn | [unclear meaning] drawn from cover, hunted; disembowelled; dragged along |
ducdame | [unclear meaning] probably a nonsense word, explained later by Jaques to mean a ‘Greek invocation, to call fools into a circle’ |
dull | [unclear meaning] sleep-inducing, soothing, producing drowsiness |
equipage | [unclear meaning] small parts, instalments |
equivocation | ambiguous usage, double-meaning |
even | [unclear meaning] keep pace with; or: sort out, reach agreement over |
evil | [unclear meaning] hovel; privy; brothel |
extend | [unclear meaning] react to; evaluate; enlarge in scope |
forestalled | [unclear meaning] certain to be refused |
forfeit | [unclear meaning] list of penalties for bad behaviour |
form | substance, essence, true meaning |
free | [unclear meaning] not in formal marching order; quick |
fustilarian | [unclear meaning] smelly old woman |
generation | [unclear meaning] world, human race |
gibbet | [unclear meaning] hang [as on a gibbet] |
glassy | [unclear meaning] frail as glass, brittle; or: mirroring, reflecting [divinity] |
go | [unclear meaning] enjoy a sexual relationship |
good-years | [unclear meaning] good times to come |
ground-piece | [unclear meaning] painting used as a teaching-aid |
hack | [unclear meaning] be promiscuous, go whoring |
higher | [unclear meaning] upper, northern |
higher | [unclear meaning] further afield |
hood | [unclear meaning] head-covering, bonnet, mask |
imbar | [unclear meaning] bar, exclude; reveal, demonstrate |
impair | [unclear meaning] unworthy, dishonourable; harmful, injurious |
imperceiverant | [unclear meaning] unperceptive, undiscerning |
imperseverant | [unclear meaning] stubborn, obstinate |
importment | [unclear meaning] importance, significance |
inequality | [unclear meaning] difference of rank, social disparity; injustice, partiality |
ingenious | [unclear meaning] lacking all ability, stupid |
insisture | [unclear meaning] steady continuance, constancy, regularity |
inteemable | [debated meaning] unable to be poured out |
intellect | purport, meaning, contents |
intenable | [debated meaning] unable to retain |
jar | [unclear meaning] make tick; strike; make discordant |
jealous-hood | [unclear meaning] state of being jealous |
jew | [unclear meaning] jewel; juvenal; Jew |
joy | [unclear meaning] delight, bliss [for Mary, as the mother of Jesus]; or: darling, pet |
lam-damn | [unclear meaning] beat the hell out of, thrash without pity |
land-damn | [unclear meaning] beat the hell out of, thrash without pity |
leg | [unclear meaning] supporting member |
levy | [unclear meaning] level, purpose, intend |
Lipsbury | [unclear meaning; perhaps: ‘lips-town’] space between the lips, jaws |
little-seeming | [difficult meaning] of no account; or: who refuses to acknowledge appearances |
locust | [unclear meaning] fruit of the carob tree, locust-bean |
long purple | [unclear meaning] probably a type of wild orchis |
mainport | [unclear meaning] tribute, offering |
make | [unclear meaning] avoid, beware; or: let go, release |
mallecho | [unclear meaning] mischief, misdeed |
marry trap with you | [unclear meaning] insulting or contemptuous exclamation |
matter | significance, import, meaning |
meaning | design, intention, purpose |
mered | [unclear meaning] sole, entire; particular, specific |
miching | [unclear meaning] sneaking, skulking, lurking |
moral | hidden meaning, import, significance |
mose in the chine | [unclear meaning] be in the final stages of the glanders |
ne'er-offence | [unclear meaning] non-offence |
nick | [unclear meaning] cut through, maim; do out of, cheat of; mark with foolishness |
obliquy | [unclear meaning] oblique, obliquity; deviance, perversity |
obstruct | [debated meaning] obstruction, impediment, hindrance |
oneyer | [unclear meaning] officer with financial responsibility |
onyer, oneyer | [unclear meaning] officer with financial responsibility |
out | [unclear meaning] without |
overscutched | [unclear meaning] well-beaten, often whipped |
O-yea | [unclear meaning] public crier [who shouts Oyez, ‘Hear ye’] |
pajock | [unclear meaning] savage, degenerate; or: peacock |
parcel | [debated meaning] increase, add to the list of |
parti-eyed | [unclear meaning] with eyes of mixed colours; bleeding |
pass | [unclear meaning] trespass; course of action; trickery |
pass | [unclear meaning] jest at; impose on; pass judgement upon |
pensived | [unclear meaning] pensive, reflective; melancholic; apprehensive |
pheazar | [unclear meaning] vizier, person of great stature |
phoenix | [unclear meaning] rare, matchless, beautiful |
pill | [unclear meaning] plunder, rob; pile up, accumulate |
pioned | [unclear meaning] displaying wild orchises ('pionies'); trenched, furrowed, channelled |
pole | [unclear meaning] polestar, guiding star |
portage | [unclear meaning] life's voyage, journey through life |
prize | [unclear meaning] bargain, contest, valuation |
pugging | [unclear meaning] pulling, thieving, pilfering |
pur | [debated meaning] knave in a type of card game [post and pair] |
purport | meaning, expression, effect |
quatch | [unclear meaning] squat, fat, plump |
reference | [unclear meaning] designation, appointment, assignment |
relapse | [unclear meaning] falling back, return; rebound |
ribaudred | [unclear meaning] foul, obscene, wanton |
rivo | [unclear meaning] exclamation used while drinking |
rope-trick | [unclear meaning] possibly a malapropism of ‘rhetoric’ or ‘rope-rhetoric’ [i.e. bombastic rhetoric] |
saltness | [unclear meaning] maturing power; piquancy; vigour |
samingo | [unclear meaning] type of drinking refrain [Latin ‘mingo’ = urinate] |
scamel | [uncertain meaning] type of bird or fish |
scarfed | [unclear meaning] fully decked out; under full sail; [of the hull] well-jointed |
shake | [unclear meaning] nod, make a sign with [in approval] |
simulation | dissimulation, concealment, disguised meaning |
skains-mate | [unclear meaning] cut-throat fellow |
spy | [unclear meaning] opportunity to spy, watch-keeping |
Strachy | [unknown meaning] possibly a local house or institution |
strain | overstate, exaggerate, stretch the meaning |
strain | [unclear meaning] strand; extreme degree; pang, stress |
strange-achieved | [unclear meaning] specially obtained; procured abroad |
strike | [unclear meaning] tap the casks; fill the cups; clink the glasses; bang the drums |
subject | [unclear meaning] entity with a real-world existence |
talent | [unclear meaning] wealth, treasure, riches |
tallow-catch | [unclear meaning] dripping-pan [placed under roasting meat] |
tenor | meaning, purpose, intention |
traverse | [unclear meaning] take aim, about turn |
true | [unclear meaning] skilful, of high quality; honest, justified |
Turlygod | [unclear meaning] possibly an allusion to 'turlupin' for a person of no value, from the name of a medieval French heretical sect |
turn | [unclear meaning] turning-point; trick, game; occasion, proper time |
twilled | [unclear meaning] woven with osiers, tangled |
unsisting | [unclear meaning] unassisting; or: unshifting |
untrimmed | [unclear meaning] unbedded, virgin |
utter | [unclear meaning] commemorate, express, voice |
verge | [unclear meaning] limit, bound; rim of metal; sphere of jurisdiction |
vulgo | [unclear meaning] popularly, commonly; in everyday speech |
wappened | [unclear meaning] worn-out, weary, exhausted [perhaps sexually] |
watch-case | [unclear meaning] receptacle containing a watch; place for keeping watch |
wet | [unclear meaning] bequeath, bestow; suffuse, steep |
wheel | [unclear meaning] song refrain; or: spinning-wheel |
white | [unclear meaning] clearly, lacking colour |
wing-led | [unclear meaning] led on in organized formation |