Shakespeare Dictionary - H


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Generate random Shakespearean insults

Shakespeare's word

Meaning (in the sample usage)

#

Reference(s)

Sample usage

halcyon

kingfisher

2

Lear 2.2

turn their halcyon beaks / With every gale . . .

hale

haul, drag

14

TN 3.3

I think oxen and wain-ropes cannot hale them together

halt

limp

19

Rich III 1.1

dogs bark at me as I halt by them

halter

a noose, a rope for hanging malefactors

9

Lear 3.4

TA 5.1

that hath laid knives under his pillow, and halters in his pew

A halter, soldiers! hang him on this tree.

heavy

sorrowful, (infrequently used in the sense of 'weight', and then usually with some pun on sorrow)

218

Rich III 1.3

1 HIV 1.1

1 HIV 5.3

Thou slander of thy mother's heavy womb!

A post from Wales loaden with heavy news

I am as hot as moulten lead, and as heavy too

hefted

furnished with a handle: thus, finished off, delicately formed

1

Lear 2.4

Regan ... thy tender-hefted nature shall not give thee over to harshness

high-cross

market cross in the center of town

1

Shrew 1.1

whipped at the high cross every morning.

honest chaste, pure many Oth 3.3 I do not think but Desdemona's honest
"Honest" is another value-laden, complex word, especially as used in Othello, with its many references to "Honest Iago".

housewife

hussy, prostitute

13

Oth 4.1

Bianca, a housewife, that by selling her desires

Shakespeare Dictionary A-MThe most comprehensive work on this topic is Alexander Schmidt's Shakespeare Lexicon, a typical turn-of-the-century tome, carried out with Teutonic thoroughness. I wonder how the pre-computer-era scholars tackled projects like this; lots of index cards and infinite patience, I suppose.

Incredibly, the book provides EVERY instance of EVERY word, in context, used by Shakespeare. In any event, for anyone who really enjoys Shakespeare, it's fun to pore over this "volume of forgotten lore," read all the occurrences of "housewife", for example, and ponder the subtle differences of meaning from one usage to the next.

You can order the Shakespeare Lexicon and Quotation Dictionary by Alexander Schmidt (a Dover re-print, 1985) from Amazon.com:

(Vol. 1 A-M)     (Vol. 2 N-Z)


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