N - Dictionary of Shakespeare

Shakespeare's word	Meaning (in the sample usage)	#	Reference(s)	Sample usage
natural	1) naturally loyal, and 2) illegitimate; pun on Latin for male member	many	Lear 2.1	Loyal and natural boy,
nature	Physical constitution or existence; the vital powers; the natural life creative world force	329	Lear 3.4; Lear 3.6 Rich III 1.1	The tyranny of the open night's too rough For nature to endure. Oppressed nature sleeps Cheated of feature by dissembling nature,
"Nature" is one of those words in Shakespeare that one could write a whole dictionary about. The two different meanings shown here just scratch the surface of Shakespeare's use of the word.
noddle	head	2	Shrew 1.1	comb your noddle with a three-legg'd stool
note	memory musical element notice (usual modern sense) bill, invoice; list	166	Lear 3.1 2 HVI 4.6 2 HVI 3.1 2 HIV 5.1	upon the warrant of my note by notes of household harmony First note that he is near you ... ... the smith's note for shoeing
nuncio	messenger	1	TN 1.4	She will attend it better in thy youth / Than in a nuncio's of more grave aspect.

The 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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Shakespeare Dictionary - N

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