Theme: Shakespearian words



distrain


Glossary meaning:
confiscate.

Dictionary meanings:
[apparently now a legal term] seize and hold (property) to compel payment or reparation, as of debts.


The Tragedy of King Richard II http://www.fullbooks.com/The-Tragedy...chard-II1.html
Bolingbroke
My father's goods are all distrain'd and sold;
And these and all are all amiss employ'd.



Modern use:
Harry the Hound distrained Jerry the Jerk’s Jerkmobile at around noon yesterday. That was Harry’s ninth distrainee this month, so far.

Theme: Shakespearian words

[We hope you’ve enjoyed your cruise on the Great Sea of Dis, despite the news of the horrific Halloween happenings in which two body parts departed for the netherworld of Dis. I’m sorry it was not any more Disney–not as much that as you might have hoped for.]


divers


Glossary meaning:
* several; sundry; different.
* evil.

Dictionary meanings:
several; sundry.


The Tragedy of King Richard II http://www.fullbooks.com/The-Tragedy...chard-II1.html
SCENE VII. [Inverness, Macbeth’s castle.] A Lobby in the Castle.

[Hautboys and torches. Enter, and pass over, a Sewer and divers
Servants with dishes and service. Then enter Macbeth.]

Macbeth
If it were done when 'tis done, then 'twere well
It were done quickly. If the assassination
Could trammel up the consequence, and catch,
With his surcease, success; that but this blow
Might be the be-all and the end-all--here,
But here, upon this bank and shoal of time,--
We'd jump the life to come.

[I didn’t find any passage with the obvious connotation of evil.]


Modern use:
Divers divers searched in vain for the divers from the divers ships that were sunk by divers hurricanes this most divers year.

Theme: Shakespearian words

[An interesting candidate was dividual (meaning, separable). The word individual is in the dictionary, but not the other. Does that not make you want to scream, ‘One World, dividual!’]

dominical


Glossary meaning:
red letter used to mark Sundays in almanacs.

Dictionary meanings:
pertaining to Sunday (the Lord’s Day).


Love's Labour's Lost http://www.fullbooks.com/The-Complet...arex28422.html
Rosaline
Ware pencils, ho! Let me not die your debtor,
My red dominical, my golden letter:
O that your face were not so full of O's!




Modern use:
The distraught printer looked at the calendars again. The Sundays remained stubbornly black, instead of the dominical red.

Theme: Curtmudgeonian words

[In honor of the Curtmudgeon, I searched the glossary for any word marked ‘(Scots)’ or the like. Some words are marked ‘(dial),’ but I am going to forget the glossary and use my memory instead.]

haggis


Glossary meaning:
[not in the glossary]

Dictionary meanings:
a dish whose recipe is something like this:
* mince the heart, lungs, and liver of a sheep or calf;
* mix with suet, onions, oatmeal, and seasonings;
* (traditionally) and boil in the stomach from the same animal.


[I have no idea whether the Curtmudgeon ever uttered ‘Haggis!’--whether in exasperation or not.]




Modern use:
Have any of the Curtmudgeon’s friends ever seen him whale out on haggis? PM me if such a monstrous act was ever witnessed.

Theme: Shakespearian words


[Dog-apes, meaning baboons, is a term I wonder why we abandoned. Don’t they look a bit like dogs as they walk about?

Well! Won’t you know! Turns out that today’s word is of Scottish origin, even though the glossary does not indicate that. So more honor yet to the Curtmudgeon.]


dominie


Glossary meaning:
schoolmaster.

Dictionary meanings:
* schoolmaster, especially in Scotland.
* A Dutch Reformed Church clergyman.

[fullbooks.com does not seem to have that word in Shakespeare’s works!?]


Modern use:
The dominie was rather beloved by his pupils, both present and former, like Mr. Chips.

Theme: Shakespearian words


[Dotant = dotard Wow, why’d we change to the latter word? What’s so bad about the -nd ending?]


doublet and hose


Glossary meaning:
basic Elizabethan male dress consisting of hose with a kind of vest.

Dictionary meanings:
[in this visual age, I suppose I ought to give a weblink to a picture–no, two pictures--scroll down to see]
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz...rean-turn.html


Much Ado About Nothing http://www.fullbooks.com/Much-Ado-About-Nothing2.html
Don Pedro
What a pretty thing man is when he goes in his doublet and hose
and leaves off his wit!


Modern use:
Augustine looked doubtfully at the mirror image of his doublet and hose. Dare he step onto the stage with such spindly-looking legs? Aha! He thought. He could wear inserts to make the legs look quite manly, fit for a giant. What a wit was he!

Theme: Shakespearian words


[ drab = strumpet, according to the glossary. Again I wonder if it’s reliable.]


drachma


Glossary meaning:
silver coin

Dictionary meanings:
unit of weight; silver coin; Greece’s official money unit.


The Tragedy of Coriolanus http://www.fullbooks.com/The-Tragedy...riolanus1.html
Marcius
See here these movers that do prize their hours
At a crack'd drachma!
. . .


Modern use:
Greece is now using the metric system and the euro, so the word ‘drachma’ has fallen out of use; but not entirely, because the silver coins called drachmas were money in Jesus’ time. [I guess! If you want to quote that, better check it first!]

Theme: Shakespearian words



draff


Glossary meaning:
pig swill

Dictionary meanings:
brewing/distilling refuse; dregs; lees of malt

The Merry Wives of Windsor http://www.fullbooks.com/The-Merry-W...-Windsor2.html
Mrs. Page
. . .
We do not act that often jest and laugh;
'Tis old but true: 'Still swine eats all the draff.'
. . .


Modern use:
I suppose even now draff is used to feed pigs. Pig riffraff, no? About Mrs. Page's words, Falstaff's the still animal. He deserves to be distilled, does he not, and made to float on the Great Sea of Dis.

Theme: Shakespearian words


[My apologies for drumbling (=being sluggish). Please stay your urge to dry-beat me (=beat me so as to bruise me).]

dudgeon


Glossary meaning:
haft, handle.

Dictionary meanings:
[Two meanings in addition to today’s usual meaning]
* obsolete A kind of wood used in making knife handles.
* archaic a dagger having a hilt made from this wood or the hilt of a dagger


The Tragedy of Macbeth http://www.fullbooks.com/The-Complet...earex2862.html
Macbeth
. . .
And on thy blade and dudgeon gouts of blood,
Which was not so before.
. . .


Modern use:
‘This is Macbeth’s dudgeon,’ Honeygorge said, holding up a dagger. Lady Dizzly looked at him narrowly, suspecting that he was pulling the wool over her eyes. For a moment she felt like stalking off in high dudgeon. He sensed her mood change and hastily lowered the dudgeon.

Theme: Shakespearian words



duello


Glossary meaning:
correct practice of duelling (Italian).

Dictionary meanings:
[code duello is not in my dictionary, but here’s the Wikipedia entry:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Code_duello ]


Love's Labour's Lost http://www.fullbooks.com/Love-s-Labour-s-Lost1.html
Armado
. . .
Yet was Samson so tempted, and he had an excellent
strength; yet was Solomon so seduced, and he had a very good wit.
Cupid's butt-shaft is too hard for Hercules' club, and therefore
too much odds for a Spaniard's rapier. The first and second cause
will not serve my turn; the passado he respects not, the duello
he regards not; his disgrace is to be called boy, but his glory
is to subdue men.
. . .


Modern use:
I thought Falstaff would say something about the code duello, like he said something about honor.
Note: passado is a attacking tactic in fencing.

Theme: Shakespearian words


[dumps was marked Informal in my dictionary, yet Shakespeare himself used that word to mean the same thing, according to the glossary! So, boys and girls, go ahead use the word in formal English. If challenged, say it’s a Shakespearean word. (Just kidding.)]


earnest


Glossary meaning:
initial payment of money as a deposit.

Dictionary meanings:
* [this may be the better definition] money paid in advance as part payment to bind a contract.
* a token of something to come; a promise or assurance.


Macbeth http://www.fullbooks.com/Macbeth1.html
Ross
And, for an earnest of a greater honor,
He bade me, from him, call thee Thane of Cawdor:
In which addition, hail, most worthy thane,
For it is thine.



Modern use:
The prices for the wedding rings that Banquo saw were all too high. He wondered what earnest he could give his love.

Theme: Shakespearian words



earth’d


Glossary meaning:
buried in a grave.

Dictionary meanings:
[the meaning of ‘cover with earth’ is quite similar. Burrowing animals may also be said to earth (to burrow or hide in the earth). British electricians may say they earthed electrical systems but American ones say they grounded those critters.]


[H’m. How do I google “earth’d”? What follows is a fake.]
Macbeth http://www.fullbooks.com/Macbeth1.html
Ross
And, for earth’d Banquo,
He bade me, from him, call thee Thane of Cooquo:
In which addition, hail, most worthy thane,
For it is thine.



Modern use:
The body was improperly earthed: The wrong rite was used. So, the body unearthed itself and went about as a zombie. Hamlet had to consult with Banquo’s ghost and get its advice on the best way to get rid of the zombie.

Theme: Shakespearian words




ecstasy


Glossary meaning:
deranged mental state; unconsciousness

Dictionary meanings:
[Two meanings are quite similar:]
* The trance, frenzy, or rapture associated with mystic or prophetic exaltation.
* Psychology An emotional state, associated with religious or sexual experience or with drug taking, characterized by exuberant behavior and loss of self-control.



Hamlet http://www.fullbooks.com/Macbeth1.html
Ophelia
. . .
Blasted with ecstasy: O, woe is me,
To have seen what I have seen, see what I see!


Modern use:
Not only did the zombie seem unaffected by the spell, Banquo’s Ghost seemed to be in an ecstasy. Had the spell worked on the wrong entity? Hamlet uneasily reviewed the spell for any mistake or missing step.

Theme: Shakespearian words

[Today’s word is marked archaic in the dictionary. I’m taking a chance that will not o’erstrain your forbearance. PM me if it did, please.]


eftsoons


Glossary meaning:
afterwards.

Dictionary meanings:
* soon afterward.
* once again.


[Google didn’t come up with an instance from Shakespeare’s work!?]


Modern use:
Eftsoons Banquo’s Ghost cried out to Hamlet, “You idiot. You pronounced ‘ka ching’! It’s ‘kluck clink’! Sheesh, what a materialistic guy!”

Theme: Shakespearian words




elf-lock


Glossary meaning:
a tangled lock of hair.


Dictionary meanings:
[same meaning! Yea!]



Romeo and Juliet http://www.fullbooks.com/Romeo-and-Juliet1.html
Mercutio
. . .
This is that very Mab
That plats the manes of horses in the night;
And bakes the elf-locks in foul sluttish hairs,
Which, once untangled, much misfortune bodes:
This is the hag, when maids lie on their backs,
That presses them, and learns them first to bear,
Making them women of good carriage:
This is she,--



Modern use:
Upon seeing Dizzle’s locks, Augustine drew back as though they were elf-locks.

Theme: Shakespearian words




Elizium, Elysium


Glossary meaning:
abode of the virtuous after death in the ancient world.


Dictionary meanings:
[Greek Mythology]



The Two Gentlemen of Verona http://www.fullbooks.com/The-Two-Gen...onax29911.html
Julia
. . .
I'll be as patient as a gentle stream,
And make a pastime of each weary step,
Till the last step have brought me to my love;
And there I'll rest as, after much turmoil,
A blessed soul doth in Elysium.




Modern use:
Poor Augustine missed Elysium when Dizzle slugged him, because he’d recoiled from seeing what he thought were elf-locks.