Glossary (words starting with D)
dainties
delicacies
daintiest
best; most delightful (OED dainty a, 1); most delicately made (OED dainty a, 4)
daintily
excellent, finely, handsomely (OED adv. 1; now obsolete)
daintiness
preciousness, fastidiousness
daintrel
a dainty or delicacy (now obsolete)
dainty
choice (of a specimen), fastidious, exquisite
dainty
fine, excellent, delightful, rare
dainty
valuable, excellent; rare
dainty
fine, handsome; excellent; pleasant, delightful (OED adj. 1); having a palate for fine food (OED adj. 3)
dalliance
amorous toying or caressing, flirtation (OED dalliance n, 2)
dally
chat, flirt ; delay (OED v. 1, 2a and 4)
dally
are playing (with), toying, making light of
dally
to play with someone mockingly
dam
mother
dam
mother (of animals)
damask
rich silk fabric woven with elaborate designs and figures, often of a variety of colours (OED II 3), the wearing of which indicates wealth
damsel
alternative form of `damsel', here used as a mock-respectful term of address to a young, unmarried woman
damsel
young, unmarried woman
dandle
pamper, make much of; also, trifle or toy with
dandle
bounce (a child) lightly in one's arms or on one's knee
dandling
pet, fondling (OED n)
dangerous
hazardous, risky, unsafe
dangerous
perilous; hurtful, injurious
dapper
OED 1. Of persons: Neat, trim, smart, spruce in dress or appearance. (Formerly appreciative; now more or less depreciative, with associations of littleness or pettiness; cf. b.)
OED cites The Tatler No. 85 (1709): 'A distant Imitation of a forward Fop, and a Resolution to over-top him in his Way, are the distinguishing Marks of a Dapper'.
dare
will be so bold as to (OED v1. 1); will venture to (OED v1. 3)
dark-lanthorns
lanterns with slides or other arrangements by which light can be concealed (OED dark-lantern)
darkman
night (cant) (Haaker)
daub
to plaster over, whitewash; put on a false show, dissemble
daub
use make-up
daunt
overcome; tame
day
a fixed date (especially for a payment) (OED n. 9a)
day-work
work done by the day and by paid by daily wages (OED n. 3)
dead lift
a position or juncture in which one can do no more, an extremity (OED 2)
deal
behave (OED v. 19); act, proceed (OED v. 20); distribute or bestow (OED v. 4a); negotiate (OED v. 12)
deal
negotiate, do business
deal
behave; proceed
deals
trades (OED deal v, 13a), punning on ‘distributes cards to players’ (OED deal v, 7a); ‘deal’ is often used to refer to sex in mercenary terms and in terms of card-playing (Williams, 1: 370): see, for example, Edward Sharpham, Cupid’s Whirligig (King’s Revels, 1607; published London, 1607): ‘why thy husband is abroad in traffic for commodities [...] thou mayst deal at home for ready money’ (sig. L1v), and Brome’s own A Mad Couple Well Matched in which Lady Thrivewell notes that her husband has claimed to have ‘sat up with the three lady gamesters’ [MC 1.2.speech165] when he was actually carrying on his affair with Alicia Saleware, and when he confesses she comments, ‘Fair dealing still’ [MC 1.2.speech167]
deals
does business, trades (OED v. 13); behaves (OED v. 19); acts, proceeds (OED v. 20)
dear
precious
dear
serious, damaging
dear
the usage here embraces a pun on the meanings "costly" and "hard-won" (dear-bought experience)
dear
precious; expensive (to others)
dear
costly, expensive
dear
beloved
dearer
more important, more urgent
dearest
most affectionate, loving, fond; most precious; most earnest (anxious, fastidious)
dearly
very much
death-doing
fatal, as in 'the fatal blow'
death-doomed
sentenced to death
deathsman
executioner; the person who causes someone's death
debauchedness
‘Vicious indulgence in sensual pleasures’ (OED, debauchery, 1)
decayed
reduced, diminished
decayed
fallen into ruin through loss of prosperity, health, or fortune; impaired, or reduced in quality or condition (OED 1)
decease
death
decency
fitness, propriety (OED 1)
deceptio visus
delusion, false vision (Latin)
decipher
make known, represent
deck
array, adorn, decorate
decline
‘to fall morally or in dignity, to sink (to evil courses, etc., or to an unworthy object)’ (OED v. 9); ‘to fall off or fail in force, vigour, or vitality; to decay, wane, diminish, decrease; to fall from prosperity or excellence, to deteriorate.’ (OED v. 10)
decline
turn aside from; shun; avoid (OED v (trans), 12 and 13a)
declined
decayed, debased (OED ppl.)
declined
averted, turned (away) from; shrugged away
declined
recited in a specific order (as with grammatical inflection of words through their cases)
declining
bending down, drooping (with fatigue and age)
decoction
'liquor in which a substance, usually animal or vegetable, has been boiled, and in which the principles thus extracted are dissolved; specifically as a medicinal agent' (OED 4)
dedicate
dedicated (obsolete past participle)
dee
do ye
deed
the sexual act
deep
profound, earnest
deep
low (in the grave); learned, profound
deeply
extremely; seriously
defamed
dishonoured, disgraced
defeat
to deprive of (something one already possesses); to dispossess (OED v. 7b)
defendant
person being sued in a court of law, defending himself against the plaintiff
defiance
a challenge (OED 2); an declaration of hostility or of hatred (OED 4 and 5)
deflowered
ravaged, despoiled (OED deflower 2)
deft
handsome (Dialect)(OED 3)
defy
renounce or disawow the marriage contract as binding
degenerate
a person of debased breeding, one who has fallen on hard times
degree
class, social rank
dehort
discourage
Delicate
delicious, exquisite
Delicate
synonym for dainty, with the same food associations; also, 'wanton, blunt, foolish, which knoweth not howe to discerne things, and boasteth vainelie of himselfe' (see Thomas Thomas, Dictionarium Linguae Latinae et Anglicanae (1587) on LEME)
delicates
dainties, delights, sensual pleasures
delicious
highly pleasing, delightful, affording sensuous pleasure
delinquency
failure in, or neglect of, duty or violation of a duty (OED 1)
delinquent
offender
delinquents
defaulters, or those who fail to pay their debts
delivered
divested, rid (OED v1. 2a)
delivery
deliverance
delivery
action of setting free, deliverance (OED 1a)
dell
young virgin (cant)
delude
cheat, disappoint or mock (the hopes of someone)
delve
dig with a spade, especially preparing for crops (in northern dialects, more specific than ‘dig’); in conjunction with ‘hedge’, used of maintaining hedges and ditches along country roads (Barber)
demeans
probably a form of 'demesne', meaning land possessed by the owner and not held by any subordinate tenant (Fried)
demeans
(v) behaves, conducts
demerit
ill-desert
demoiselle
young woman (Valentine deliberately uses the French word, picking up Oliver’s ‘damsel’)
demoiselle
young woman; as elsewhere in the play, the French word is used deliberately
demoiselle
young woman (French)
demur
delay, stall for time
demur
delay, lingering, waiting (OED 1; now obsolete)
demure
sober, grave, serious; reserved or composed in demeanour (OED 2)
demure
proper
demurely
with an affected gravity or modesty
denier
French coin, made of copper from the 16th century and worth a twelfth of a sou: hence, a tiny sum in any currency
denomination
title (OED 2)
denouncing
declaring: 'laying down the law'
dentifrices
substance for cleaning teeth
depending on
connected with, belonging to (see OED, dependence, 4a)
depopulation
reduction of population (OED 2); the term had a political charge in the early seventeenth century because it was often used to describe the effects of the enclosure of commmon land. See, for instance, Francis Trigg, To the Kings Most Excellent Majesty. The Humble Petition of Two Sisters the Church and Commonwealth: For the Restoring of their Ancient Commons and Liberties, which Late Enclosure with Depopulation, Uncharitably hath Taken Away (London, 1604) and the petitions and proclamations surrounding the Midlands anti-enclosure riots of 1607. This debate was still alive in the 1630s; see Robert Powell, Depopulation Arraigned, Convicted and Condemned, by the Laws of God and Man a Treatise Necessary in These Times (London, 1636)
deport
behave
deporting
behaving
deprave
defame
depraving
defaming
depusilated
i.e. unmaidened, robbed of her virginity (see also depucelate deriving from the French for virgin: 'la pucelle')
derogate
detract from
descent
lineage (blood and parentage)
descents
generations
descried
made known, disclosed, revealed
desert
deserving, merit
desert
wilderness (OED n2. 1))
deserve
be entitled to, be worthy of
deserved
rightfully earned, merited (OED ppl. a. 1)
deservedly
with desert, with good cause
deservings
deserts, merits
design
plan, scheme (OED n. 1a)
desire
wish, longing, lust
desolation
act of laying waste, destruction
desperate
hopeless; hazardous; reckless
desperate
irreclaimable, as in desperate debt, a ‘bad’ debt (OED 3)
desperate
driven to despair or reckless action
desperately
hopelessly, irretrievably, incurably
despite
anger, hatred
despite
scorn, contempt
despiteful
cruel, fierce
detect
expose, discover, reveal (secret guilt or shame)
detected
exposed, discovered, revealed (secret)
detection
discovery, the finding out of what had been concealed
determination
termination, bringing to an end (OED 1)
determines
is drawing to an end, is concluding
detract
take away (reputation)
detractors
enemies, those who defame (another's reputation)
device
devising, planning (OED 1)
device
scheme, project, often one of an underhand or evil character; a plot, stratagem, trick
devices
entertainments; especially devised or fancifully invented for dramatic representation; ‘a mask played by private persons’ or the like (OED 11)
Devil’s itch
venereal disease (itching is a symptom of scabies, which was often confused with syphilis)
devoir
duty, obligation
devoir
dutiful respect, courteous attention (OED 4)
devote
consecrate (OED v. 1)
devotion
devoted service (OED n. 6) -- in Anthynus' case, to his father Segebert
devotion
act of prayer (OED n. 2)
diadem
a resplendent crown
dialect
language, manner of speaking
did
had sex with
diet
feed
diet
prescribed course of food, restricted in kind or limited in quantity, especially for medical reasons (OED n1. 3)
difference
disagreement
dignities
positions, honours
dignity
position, honour, rank (OED n. 2)
diking
the act of making a dike
diligence
officiousness, assiduity, persistence (OED n. 1a and b)
dindle-dandle
'dandle or toss up and down, or to and fro' (OED, citing a usage from 1550)
dinner
the main meal of the day, eaten around midday
direction
addressee (of a letter)
directly
plainly, evidently (Crystal and Crystal, Shakespeare’s Words, s.v. directly); straightforwardly (OED adv. 1b); completely (OED adv. 4); without any intervention or intermediary (OED adv. 5)
direful
dreadful, terrible
disappoint
a) remove Quicksands's points; b) cheat (by seducing Millicent)
disbursed
paid out (that is in bribes)
disbursements
money paid out to cover bills of various kinds
discharge
pay (but often with accompanying sense of relieving a debt of gratitude)
discharged
exonerated, released, dismissed
discharmed
freed from the power of enchantment
disciplinary
of a person - someone given to enforcing discipline (OED 2b)
discipline
instruction (OED n. 1a and 3a)
disclose
reveal
discommend
express disapproval (disapprobation) of; speak dissuasively about; cause (anything) to be unfavourably viewed
discontent
feeling of dissatisfaction (OED n1. 1c); cause of discontent, grievance (OED n1. 2)
discountenanced
dismayed
discourse
discuss
discourse
talk about, discuss
discourse
(v) speak about
discourse
(n) conversation; or topic of conversation
discourse
talk, conversation
discourse of
talk about, discuss
discourteous
void of or lacking in courtesy; rude, uncivil (OED)
discover
uncover
discover
reveal the truth about, report or give evidence against
discovered
found out, revealed
discovers
reveals (the truth about)
discovery
disclosure, revelation, information
discovery
reconnaissance; viewing (OED 3b and 3c)
discovery
disclosure, revelation
discreet
prudent, cautious (OED adj. 1)
discreet
judicious, prudent; able to keep one’s silence (OED adj. 1)
discreet
judicious
discreetly
judiciously
discretion
discernment, judgement (OED 2, 3)
disease
ailment, malady (OED n. 2); morbid condition of the mind (OED n. 3)
disease
discomfort, distress
disengaged
set free from obligation, at liberty (OED ppl. a, a)
dishonest
to violate the honour or chastity of; to defile (OED dishonest v, 3)
dishonesty
dishonour, disgrace (OED 1); lewdness, unchastity (OED 2)
dishonour’t
dishonour it
disloyalty
want of faith; violation of a duty or allegiance (OED 1a and 1b)
dismal
disastrous, calamitous (OED dismal a, 3)
dismantle
uncloak (OED v. 1)
dismayedly
fearful, appalled
dismission
permission to go
disparagement
dishonour, disgrace, discredit
dispatch
make haste, get a move on
dispensation
the granting of a licence either exempting a person in special circumstances from some sacred obligation, or allowing a person to omit what is enjoined by ecclesiastical law or by any solemn obligation; also the licence so given (OED n. 8)
disple
discipline, correct
dispose
control, disposal (OED n. 3, where it is noted that the phrase `at one's dispose' is very common 1600-1730)
dispose
management
disposed
distributed, directed
disposed on
given in marriage to
disposition
inclination or humour of the mind as well as the constitution of the body (Cotgrave, in LEME)
dispraise
disparage, depreciate
disprove
invalidate
disputation
discussion, debate
disputations
controversies
disputed
considered
dissemble
put on an act, mimic
dissembler
deceiver
dissemblers
deceivers
dissentions
disagreements
dissevered
i.e. severed
dissimulation
dissembling; feigning
dissimulation
hypocrisy
Dissimulations
hypocrisies; dissembling acts that conceal the truth
dissipate
dispel. Brome here anticipates by half a century the earliest (1691) instance which the OED cites for usage as transitive verb in this figurative sense.
dissolute
debauched, wanton
dissolve
release (OED v. 5)
dissolved
disentangled
dissuasions
actions of dissuading someone from a course of action
distemper
ill health, disorder
distemper
disaffection, disorder
distemper
(v) caused disorder or illness in
distemperature
disorder, ailment of the body (OED 2)
distempered
disordered, ill, deluded
distich
a short couplet, often rhyming; these were engraved as posies or poesies on the inside of rings as love tokens
distilled
trickling, falling in drops
distilling
trickling; gently falling
distracted
maddened, deranged
distraction
agitation, frenzy; madness, insanity, derangement
distraction
madness, confusion caused by dissension and conflict
distraction
disorder or confusion, caused by internal conflict or dissension; disturbance of mind or feelings
distracts
maddens, deranges; confuses
ditty
the words of a song, as distinguished from the music or tune (OED n. 3)
divers
various, sundry
divers
several (OED 3)
divert
turn away (OED v. 3 and 5)
divination
clairvoyance, supernatural insight
divination
prophetic acts/ceremonies
divines
clergymen, priests
divining
prophesying, foretelling. soothsaying
divinity
theology (OED 4a)
do
have sex (or sexual activity) with
do
do it: have sex, impregnate
do
if
do
the sexual act
do
do
have sex with (OED doing vbl n, 1b: euphemism for copulation)
do out
extinguish
doatest on
art infatuated with
doctrine
lesson, piece of instruction (OED n. 1); knowledge (OED n. 2)
documents of
lessons about (note that 'document' does not yet carry the modern sense of 'piece of paper').
does
fares, is
dog
follow closely, pursue his scent like a dog
dog-cheap
very cheap (OED cheap a. and adv. 6)
dog-leech
ignorant medical practitioner; quack (OED n. 2)
dog-trick
low trick; ill turn (OED)
dogbolt
Applied to a person as a term of contempt or reproach. Perhaps originally the term meant a 'mere tool to be put to any use' or 'one at the command of another'; but generally defines a 'contemptible fellow, mean wretch'. Now obsolete.
dogged
malicious, spiteful
dogged
currish; in the most pejorative sense, malicious, spiteful, cruel
doing
having sexual relations
doit
‘a small Dutch coin formerly in use, the eighth part of a stiver, or the half of an English farthing; hence (chiefly in negative phrases) as the type of a very small or trifling sum.’ (OED 1)
dole
a portion to be dealt out or distributed as a gifts, especially of food or money given in charity (OED n1. 5a)
doleful
gloomy, dreary, dismal
dollars
(in the singular, dollar) the English name for the German thaler, a large silver coin, of varying value, current in the German states from the sixteenth century
domine
polite form of address to a schoolteacher or master, deriving from the latin, dominus (meaning "Master")
dominions
kingdom
don
put on (wear)
Don
a Spanish title, prefixed to a man's Christian name (still in the 1600s confined to men of high rank)
Don Skimmington
Master Skimmington (Don is a Spanish title), the role given to the (male) participant playing the unmanly husband in a skimmington. Skimmington's wife would also have been played by a local man.
done
hoaxed, cheated, swindled (OED v. 11f citing 1641 as first usage)
doom
sentence
dormitaries
a sleep-producing medicine, a narcotic (OED n. citing The City Wit 3.4)
dormouse
small nocturnal European rodent, able to hibernate in cool weather for up to six months; hence the name, from Anglo-Norman dormeus, sleepy one, and the reputation for dullness
dorp
village (OED)
dotage
senility, feeblemindedness caused by old age (OED 1)
dotage
folly; excessive love, infatuation; senility
dote
bestow excessive fondness on (OED v1. 3); talk or act foolishly (OED v1. 1)
dote
be overly fond
doted
became infatuated with
dotes upon
is excessively fond of
doting
foolish
double
twice as much
double
act deceitfully, be duplicitous (by finding a cunning way to start complaining again)
double walls
paired or coupled walls (OED double a, 1a), often used in fortifications; walls of twice the normal size or strength (OED double a, 4a)
doubles
a term in dancing to describe moving four steps forward or back which concluded with bringing the feet together
doublets
old game, similar to backgammon (often with pun on copulation)
doubt
(as a verb) to dread, fear, be afraid of (OED v. II 5 trans.)
doubt
a matter or point involved in uncertainty; a doubtful question; a difficulty (OED 2)
doubt
fear
doubt
suspect (OED v. 6b)
doubt
apprehension; hesitation
doubtful
uncertain, indistinct
doubtful
ambiguous, equivocal, indeterminate
doubtful
ambiguous, indistinct; giving cause for apprehension
doubtful
uncertain, questionable
doubtful
giving cause for apprehension; dreaded
doubtful
apprehensive
doubtless
without doubt, unquestionably, certainly
Doughty
intrepid, fearless; hardy, valorous
douke
a variant of 'duck': an instantaneous lowering of head and body; a rapid jerky bow or obeisance (OED duck n2, 2)
down
soft (usually breast) feathers; a feather-filled mattress
down
to be depressed or in low spirits (OED down adv, 18)
downlooked
having downcast looks
downright
plain, outright
downright
plain; mere (OED adj, 2a and 2b)
downright
plainly, absolutely
dowry
the money or property which the wife brings to her husband; the portion given with the wife (OED dowry n, 2; dower n2, 2)
dowry
as used here, dowry means the same as ‘jointure’: a piece of a husband’s estate left to the wife to sustain her during her widowhood (OED dowry n, 1; and dower n2, 1); ‘dowry’ can also mean a present or gift given by the husband to the wife (OED n. 3)
doxy
the mistress of a beggar or rogue
do’t
do it
drab
a prostitute
drabbing
engaging in prostitution
dram
A weight (originally the ancient Greek drachma).
draper
one who made woolen cloth
draught
drink, draught of liquid
draught
a quantity of liquid to be consumed, often in a single mouthful
drave
drove (dialect form)
draw
withdraw
draw
select from a flock or heap (OED v. 35)
draw
drag, pull; lure
draw
persuaded, induced (OED v. 26a)
draw
draw swords; pull weapons from scabbards
draw
attract, entice, lure
draw
bring (but the OED also cites another meaning which may underlie the usage here: "to drag (a criminal) at a horse's tail or on a hurdle", which was in England in the 1600s a punishment along with whipping for prostitution and pimping)
draw stakes
withdraw what is staked as a wager
drawn
delineated, depicted
drawn
forced
draymen
men who drive 'drays' or carts (sometimes with wheels, otherwise like sleds) for carrying heavy loads
dread
honoured, held in awe; fearful
dreamt
(literally) hovered over drowsily; (in context) spun out, drawled out words affectedly
dress
treat (a person) ‘properly’, esp. (in ironical use) with deserved severity; hence, give a thrashing or beating, chastise; reprimand severely, scold (OED 9)
dress
prepare (food).
dress
attire with head-dress
dressed
groomed or curried (OED v. 13e)
dressed
prepared (as in food)
dressed without sluttery
cooked or prepared for guests without drudgery (this is 'Land of Cockaigne' or 'Oleanna' thinking, in which the paradise of the working poor is dreamed of as a place where they lounge at ease, fed and housed without lifting a finger, since the streams run with wine or ale, and animals run around offering perfectly cooked slices of themselves for nourishment)
dresser
sideboard or table in a kitchen on which food was dressed before serving
dressing
getting dressed, or elaborately arranging the hair
dressing
the getting dressed (particularly in finery) or an elaborate arrangement of the hair (often employing jewels and hair extensions, wired shapes or veiling)
dressings
head-dresses
drew
withdrew
drew on
brought about, led to (OED v. 86b)
driblet
a small sum of money (OED n. 1a)
driblets
a small sum of money or petty debts (OED 1a and b); a small quantity (OED 3)
drift
purpose, meaning
dripping pan
a pan used to catch juices from roasting meat, a kitchen pan
droil
a menial servant, a drudge
drones
non-workers, lazy idlers, sluggards (derived from "drone" as the male of the honey-bee, a non-worker in the hive)
dross
impure matter, such as scum or extraneous matter thrown off from metals in the process of melting, as in alchemy, in which metals are heated and coolled several times until they are pure, free of all sediment or impurities
drove
herd
drovers
field hands who drive droves or herds of cattle, sheep, etc., to market
drudge
menial servant
drudges
serfs, slaves (those who employed in servile or distasteful work) (OED druge n)
drudges
those working hard, performing servile tasks
drum
someone playing a drum, a drummer (OED n. 1 and 3a)
drunk
intoxicated
dry
barren; withered; lacking sexual potency (see Williams, 1: 421-2: the majority of examples refer to men, but Thomas Dekker in The Owl’s Almanac [London, 1618] refers to ‘frozen-blooded bawds and dried up pandresses’ [33])
dry
causing thirst (OED adj. 3a); not accompanied by tears (OED adj. 11c); unfruitful (OED adj. 15); distasteful (OED adj. 17)
dry
thirsty
dry-beaten
to inflict 'dry blows' upon, to be soundly beaten
dry-fisted
i.e. without being paid (see OED dry-fist: a stingy person; OED defines dry-fisted as stingy, but the meaning in this context seems clear)
dry-nurse
a woman who takes care of a child but does not suckle it (as a wet-nurse does) (OED 1)
dry-throated
without being offered drink
dryfats
large vessels (casks, barrels, tubs, cases, boxes) used to hold dry things (as opposed to liquids) (OED)
dub
To award a knighthood, but with an additional sexual connotation in this context.
dub
to invest with a knighthood or a title
dubbed
usually 'given the title of knight', but here with the specific meaning of being given the title of cuckold
dubbed
given the title of (poet)
dubbed
given the title of knight
ducatoon
a silver coin formerly current in Italian and some other European states, worth in the 1600s from 5 to 6 shillings sterling (currently in 2009 the value would be between £22.00 and £26.00)
ducats
gold, sometimes silver, coins used in several European countries including Italy; an Italian ducat was worth around 3s. 6d in the 1600s (roughly £15.60 in currency in 2009)
dudgeon
dagger (the term actually refers to the wood from which the hilt or handle of a knife or dagger was fashioned but came to stand for the entire weapon)
due
proper, rightful, fitting
due
(n) that which is due or owed, or that someone has a right to (OED n. 2a); fee, payment (OED n. 4a)
due
necessary or requisite for some purpose; adequate, sufficient
duello
duel
duggy
breast (the diminutive form of 'dug', the pap or udder of female mammalia; also the teat or nipple; usually in reference to suckling; the use of the animal term is significant here in terms of the play's focus on unnatural sexuality)
dugs
breasts (by the early seventeenth century this term is becoming derogatory)
dull
tedious, insensitive, overly conventional, lacking in vivacity or panache
dull
slow, lacking wit
dull
stupid, insensitive
duns
pesters, importunes
durance
imprisonment
durst
would dare
durst
dared
dust
ashes, (decaying) corpse (OED n1. 3)
duster
despite this being used in a nonsense rhyme, it would appear to refer in context to the duster used to wipe clean writing slates or boards at school
duty
reverence (for you); moral obligation (to you)
duty
submission, deference, or respect to a superior
dwell
live
d’ye
do you