View words begining with: A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

Glossary (words starting with M)

mad (v) enrage, bewilder (OED v. 2)

mad madden, enrage

mad exuberant, chaotic (OED adj. 7a, where the earliest instance of this sense being predicated of an action -- rather than as earlier, of a person -- is dated inaccurately as from 1650)

mad-afflicted afflicted by madness

madam ‘a form of respectful or polite address (substituted for the name) originally used by servants in speaking to their mistress, and by people generally in speaking to a woman of high rank’ (OED n. 1a)

made away killed

made fast locked

made head advanced, pressed forward (OED head n1, 29 and 57a)

made man person whose success in life is assured (OED made a, 6a)

made-work i.e. home-made, therefore, good quality

madrigal A short lyrical love poem, usually one suitable for a musical setting such as is described above

madrigal an unaccompanied part-song for several voices, usually composed in elaborate counterpoint (English examples tend to have pastoral or romantic themes so the reference to the religious tenor of the Poet's offerings is ironic)

magnificence splendour, sumptuousness (with a suggestion of munificence too)

magnifico a great or noble person (generally deployed as an honorary title for any of the magnates of Venice who held high office)

magnified enlarged, increased, augmented

magnify glorify, extol (OED 1)

maidenhead virginity

maidenhead female virginities

maidenhead state or condition of being a virgin (OED n1. 1a)

maids girls

main overwhelming, complete, total

main great

main chief, principal (OED main n, 5a)

main the most important part of something (OED adj. II 3a)

maintain support, incite, protect

maintain support, uphold, defend

maintain encourage; defend; bear the expense of; continue

maintains sides with (in an argument)

maintains pays, usually including room and board

maintenance support, means of subsistence (OED n. 3a)

maint’nance maintenance: means of subsistence, financial resources

make engender, conceive, procreate

make 't make it

make ... good validate

make a fling dash off impulsively, rush away impetuously (OED 3)

make havoc pillage and rape (the term is usually applied to an army that has seized an enemy stronghold and is allowed to seize all spoils available)

make one join company, take part

make one rendezvous meet at one place (OED 4a; obsolete)

make prize take as a trophy, win

make up compose (does not yet refer to cosmetics)

Make up your face compose yourself

make vent for speak or talk of (OED vent n2, 1b; now obsolete)

makes shift endeavours, tries all means

makes to advances towards

making him ready getting himself dressed for the day (see a similar stage direction at the beginning of Jonson's Epicoene 1.1, in which Clerimont enters 'making himself ready'; indeed, he spends virtually all of act 1 putting on his clothes while his friends drop in for a chat)

malapert impudent, saucy

malapertest most saucy or impudent

malcontent discontented or disaffected person

malice ill-will, hatred; malicious action

malkin a servant or lower class young woman

Mamilion like Suckling, a small familiar that nurses at the breast (Latin mamilla, breast, nipple) allegedly the name of Margaret Johnson’s familiar (The witch called Meg or Peg represents the real accused witch Margaret Johnson, one of the four who was brought down from Lancaster to have her case reheard in London. In her examination she admits to keeping a familiar, although the other so-called witches did not support her claim, and possibly she testified out of fear or derangement.)

mammocks shreds and tatters

mammy's mother's (especially used by and to children)

man manservant

manacled fettered with handcuffs (OED manacle v, 1a)

manacles fetters for the hand (OED manacle n, 1a)

manage control, take charge of (originally refers to the training of horses: see OED v. 1a)

mandate command, order, injunction

manifest obvious, clear

manners polite behaviour

manners habits, conduct, rules of behaviour (morals)

manor estate, including not only land and principal dwelling, but also fees or rents payable to the owner of the property

manor-house mansion belonging to a lord, whom feudal law gave jurisdiction over his estate and, later, rights to fees and services from those who held land on it

mansion dwelling-place, home

mansion-house a large house whose impressive appearance implies that the owner is wealthy or of high social standing (OED 3)

mansion-house chief residence of a rural landowner

mantled covered, dressed

manufactors craftsmen: apparently a malapropism for malefactors

manumise to free from slavery

mar spoil, damage

Marathon plain in Attica in Greece, famous as site of battle at which, in 490 BC, the Greeks repulsed an invading army of Persians

March beer a strong beer with good keeping qualities, brewed in the spring

margery-prater hen (cant)

mark target

mark pay attention

mark marks: gold or silver coins worth about thirteen shillings and four pence (OED n2. 2a)

mark target, object

mark (n) sign or brand that indicates ownership (possibly a glance at mark of the beast, a sign placed on followers or worshippers of the Antichrist as in Revelation 16:2 (OED n1. 12c)

mark (v) pay attention to, observe

mark a gold or silver coin equivalent to two-thirds of a pound (of silver or sterling), that is about thirteen shillings and four pence (OED mark, n2, 2a cites J. Norden in 1607 who spells out the equivalence); one such coin in terms of today's spending power would equal £57.20p

mark a target for shooting at (OED n1. VI 23a)

marked made mental note (of) (OED mark v, 25a)

marmoset a small monkey, usually used in a derogatory way for a contemptible male

marriage-triumph the joyful public celebration of a wedding, including spectacle or tournament

marrow bone marrow; the tissue of the bones; vitality and strength (OED n1. 3c)

marrow bone marrow; the tissue of the bones; vitality and strength (OED n1. 3c); semen (Williams, 2: 857-8)

marry a common intensifier or expletive, a contraction of 'By Mary', 'By Mary of God'

mart market, commercial gathering

martialist warrior

marts trade dealings (OED 4).

marvel wonder

marvelling wondering, surprised

masque symbolic courtly entertainment, usually involving elaborate music, dancing, costumes and scenery

mass an oath, referring to the Christian ceremony of the Eucharist

mass by the mass (eucharist), that is, an oath (OED n1. 4a)

massy solid and heavy; ‘wrought in solid pieces’ (OED adj. 1a)

massy solid, bulky

massy great, substantial, impressive

mastiff ‘a breed of large, powerful dog with a broad head, drooping ears, and pendulous lips, used as a guard dog and for fighting’ (OED n. 1a)

match deal

match marriage

match husband; marriage

match a (financially) advantageous wife

match advantageous marriage partner

match marry advantageously to someone

match marriage or marriage agreement (OED n1. 8a); bargain (OED n1. 9)

match (v) marry

match wife

matches contests on which Sir Amphilus has placed bets (see OED n1. 6b)

matches equals in a pair, implying equal strength and ability

matches pieces of cord, cloth, paper, wood, etc., dipped in melted sulphur so as to be readily ignited with a flint, and used to light a candle or lamp, or to light fuel (OED match n2, 2a)

matchless without a match; i.e. without a wife

matchless incomparable in a negative sense: there is no other knight like him

matchless peerless, incomparable

mates companions, comrades

matron a mature and respectable woman

matrona matron, or mature woman, mistress of the house

matter physical material of any kind (OED n1. 22a)

matter quantity, amount

matter grounds, reason, cause (OED n1. 11)

matter affair, concern

matter thing, affair

matter 'A thing, affair, concern' (OED)

matter material worth thinking about, or taking action on

matters things, concerns

maudlenize sobering or reforming

maudlin the stage of drunkenness in which the drinker is tearfully sentimental (OED adj. 2)

maugre despite

maund beg (thieves' cant) (OED v1. citing 1567 T. HARMAN Caueat for Commen Cursetors (new ed.) Peddelars Frenche sig. Giiiv, To maunde, to aske or requier)

maunders beggars

maw throat, usually used of a voracious animal (OED n. 1 3a)

maw throat or stomach

maw stomach (usually of an animal)

Mawsy something downy, soft, or furry, like a small mouse (regional, western, specifically Cheshire and Yorkshire)

may-games merry-making, foolery

may-games merry-making, foolery (with intimations of triviality and, in the context, licentiousness)

mazer drinking cup; but also used as a name for a drinker

meacock an effeminate person; a coward; a weakling (OED)

mean (n) mediator (OED n3)

meander circuitous journeys (OED n. 3)

meander winding or labyrinthine plan, concept, or course of action (OED n. 1b, citing this line)

meanest most inferior in rank

meaning intention, purpose

meanly indifferently, poorly (OED meanly adv, 1 and 3)

means resources (especially financial)

means ways, methods of action; opportunities (OED n3. 3a); resources

means money

means way, method

means bribes (OED n3. 2c)

means instruments (OED n3. 2a)

means contrivance (OED n3. 2c); opportunity

means ways

measure quantity, extent

measures tunes or melodies (OED measure n, 14); dances, especially grave or stately ones (OED measure n, 15a)

measures grave or stately dances; or dance steps (OED 15a)

meat Woman (as sexual object). Williams points out that meaning can refer both to 'person and sexual parts', but proverbially refers to women (rather than men).

meat food of any kind, not necessarily just flesh, fowl, or fish

meazell of pig or pork, infected with measles

mechanic belonging to or characteristic of the lower part of the social scale or the lower classes; vulgar, coarse; among the exemplifying quotations in the OED is this from John Donne’s 'Satire 4': "He smacked, and cried, / He’s base, mechanic, coarse."(OED a and n, 3)

meddle have sex with (MCWM, 1.1)

meddle a punning instance, where meddle means both "to have dealings with", "engage or associate with (someone)" and "to have sex with" (OED v. 1b and 4)

meddle mix, mingle; interfere, concern (oneself) with

meddle with your own matters mind your own business

meddles interferes; ‘meddle’ can also mean ‘to have sex with’ (Williams, 2: 870), and the pun seems to bring Bumpsey on to that subject in his next accusation

meddles interferes

medium generally carries meaning "a middle or midway course between extremes", hence the appropriate meaning here is moderation

Medusa In classical Greek mythology, the ugliest of the three gorgons, Libyan monsters who had serpents instead of hair on their heads. Medusa was so hideous that the sight of her face turned the beholder to stone.

meed recompense

meed reward, wages (OED n. 1a)

meet suitable, fitting, proper

melancholy sadness; ‘melancholy’ can also refer to ‘sadness giving rise to or considered as a subject for poetry, sentimental reflection, etc.’ (OED n1. 3d), so Bumpsey may be teasing Sir Amphilus about his poetic vein of Act 3

melancholy a depressive illness, which in the seventeenth century was thought to be caused by an excess of ‘black bile’, one of the four humours controlling the well-being of the body and the mind

mell copulate, have sexual intercourse (OED v2. 3)

melt (slang) to spend or squander (money) (OED v1. 7a)

melting dissolving (OED adj. 1a); delicate, tender, sweet (OED adj. 1b); ‘Yielding to strong or tender emotion; feeling or expressing tenderness, pity’ (OED adj. 2); deeply touching or affecting (OED adj. 4)

member person (OED n. 9b)

member part of the body; penis

member citizen (OED n and a, 9a)

member OED (n, 1a) indicates that although 'member' in relation to the body most usually refers to the penis, it can also, as in The City Wit 3.1. refer to the vagina, the vulva, the female genitals

members parts of the body; sexual organs

menace threaten

menaces threatens

mend improve, supplement

mended improved

Mendicant person who lives by begging (OED n. 2)

mentiri non est meum literally, to lie is not for me (that is, I cannot tell a lie, I am incapable of lying)

mercadente a tradeswoman, (female) seller of goods (Italian)

mercenary one who works for (or is only motivated by) money or material reward

mercer a person who deals in textiles, especially silks, velvets, etc.

merceria generally the Italian term for a market, but to English ears this aptly suggests also "mercery" a market or shops given over to the sale of fine haberdashery and quality ornamental materials and wear

mercers merchants who deal in textiles, especially silks and velvets

merchant venturers ‘merchant[s] engaged in the organization and dispatch of trading expeditions overseas, and the establishment of factories and trading stations in foreign countries [...] member[s] of an association of such merchants incorporated by royal charter or other lawful authority.’ (OED merchant adventurer)

merchantable marketable, saleable

merciless unrelenting, pitiless

Mercury in classical Roman mythology, the wing-footed divinity who presided over messages and commerce

mere pure, complete

mere pure, absolute; ‘Having no greater extent, range, value, power, or importance than the designation implies’ (OED a2, 5a)

mere veritable (intensifier) (OED adj. 4)

merited deserved

merry pleasing, jolly; ‘merry’ can also mean ‘boisterous or cheerful due to alcohol’ (OED adj. 4c), and a ‘merry bout’ was slang for a drinking session or sexual intercourse (OED adj. S2); OED’s earliest example dates from 1668, but this usage appears in Walter Mountfort’s The Launching of the Mary (auspices uncertain, 1633), in which the drawer declares, ‘Here’s your wine, gentlewomen. Your handsel hath ever been lucky; ’twas a merry bout last time -’ (The Launching of the Mary, ed. John Henry Walter [Oxford: Malone Society, 1933], ll. 1935-6)

merry pleasing, delightful (OED adj. 1a); happy (OED adj. 1b); witty (OED adj. 4d)

merry grigs extravagantly lively people, full of frolic and jest (OED grig n1, 5)

merry-go-down usually means strong ale (OED), but here may refer to alcohol in general

merry-go-down strong ale

mess dinner party, the usual number of guests at a table, as in the proverbial ‘Four make up a mess’ (Tilley F621)

mess a portion or serving of liquid or pulpy food (OED n1. I 2a)

messes large tables

met gathered

met with encountered and resisted or stopped in a fight (Cotgrave, 1611, LEME)

metamorphosis change, but drawing on the connection to Ovid's epic poem, Metamorphosis

methinks it seems to me

mettle character, disposition, temperament; can also pun on 'metal'

mettle sexual vigour; semen

mettle strength of character, vigour, feistiness (there are implications of sexual prowess in the context too)

mettle character, disposition, temperament

mettled spirited

meuse muset: gap in a hedge or fence through which hares, rabbits, or other animals may escape; also, the lair of a hare (now obsolete, but in the 16th and 17th centuries it frequently appeared in proverbial sayings, as 'a hare without a meuse', 'every hare has its meuse', etc. [OED 2]; rabbits, like foxes, sometimes took over badger setts or tunnels after the badger vacated the premises)

mew shut away, confine, imprison

mickle great or large in size, bulk etc. (OED notes that this is chiefly regional, used in Scottish dialect and in Northern English)

middle earth the world, worldly things (OED n. 1)

mildly without anger or severity (OED adv. 1a)

militaster a soldier without military skill or knowledge (OED cites only Brome's uses, here and in The Antipodes)

militasters would-be (or spare-time) soldiers, possessing little or no experience but a great deal of swagger

milk-sop an effeminate or immature boy

milliner seller of fancy goods and apparel, particularly hats

mimic comic actor

mind thought process (OED n. 6a); desire, purpose (OED n. 9); disposition (OED n. 13a); intention, way of thinking (OED n. 13b); ‘The direction or focus of a person’s thoughts, desires, inclinations, or energies’ (OED n. 14a)

mind (v) pay attention to

mind (n) intention

mind worry or trouble (about), be concerned with (OED mind v, 5b)

mine used metaphorically: 'an infinite amount'

mingle mix, blend

minims ‘single downstroke[s] of the pen; esp. the short downstroke used in the letters m, n, u, etc., in court hand or secretary hand’ (OED minim n, 2)

minion dependents, hangers-on (OED nI, 1a)

minion favourite (of the king or queen) (OED n. I 1a); popular favourite (OED n. I 1c)

minister to provide, supply, or impart (OED v. 2a)

minister attend to

minority period of life prior to attaining full age

mire bog

mirth Gaiety or lightness of mood or mind, especially as manifested in laughter; merriment, hilarity. In early use also: a jest (obsolete). In some early uses, mirth has a connotation of ridicule or mockery (OED 4a), as in the saucy singing and dancing games of Rachel and Meriel [JC 2.1.speech126], deliberately performed for the pleasure of hearing their father laugh. A good personification of such mirth,including song, is Merrythought, in Beaumont's The Knight of the Burning Pestle (1607), a play which had enjoyed a revival in the 1630s by Beeston's Boys, the same company for whom Brome wrote.

mirth entertainment, delight

mirth delight, joy, happiness

misbecome be unsuitable for

misbelief false belief; lack of trust (OED n. 2 and 3)

miscarry lose (message), fail (in duty)

mischance misfortune, mishap

mischance falling out or happening of events; in this context, mischance.

mischiefs misfortunes

mischievous vicious, wicked

misconstrued misinterpreted

miscreant reprobate

misdeed offence, evil deed (OED 1)

misdoubt doubt

miserablest most miserly, hoarding his money

misericordially mercifully, compassionately (this is OED’s only citation; from misericord: compassion, pity, mercy)

misery destitution, beggary

misprision misconception, misunderstanding (OED n1. 2b); mistaken or unjust suspicion (OED misprision n1, 3: the earliest citation is John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition Upon the Books of Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther, Job and Psalms (London, 1657): ‘neither did he command her to the block, as Henry the Eighth did his Anne Bullen, upon a mere misprision of disloyalty’ [147])

misprize mistake, misunderstand (OED v1. 1)

miss observable lack (OED miss n, 1) noticeable absence

mistrust suspicion, distrust, doubt

mistrust suspect (OED v. 4a)

mistrustless free from mistrust or suspicion

mitigated moderated, alleviated, assuaged, tempered

mix have sexual intercourse (OED v. 3b)

mixture union, synthesis, integration

moan complaint, lamentation

mock insult, act of mockery

mocked tricked, deceived (OED, mock, v. 1a)

mocks insults, acts of mockery

modest ‘becomingly diffident and unassuming; not bold or forward’ (OED adj. 3a)

modicum small quantity of food or drink; OED notes that it can be used as a slang term for ‘something eaten in order to stimulate thirst’ (modicum n. 1.a)

mollify appease, soften

moment importance (OED n. 5)

monarchess female ruler, queen

money-master moneylender (OED money a, C2)

money-masters moneylenders (OED money a, C2)

monopolist person who holds, or seeks to acquire, exclusive rights over the manufacture or sale of something

monopoly exclusive privilege, conferred by the crown, of manufacturing or marketing a particular commodity

monsters mythical creatures which are part animal and part human, or combine elements of two or more animal forms (OED monster n, 1a)

monstrous unnatural, outrageous, horrible; the word in part carries the implication of the modern term, ‘outrageous’; but also in the seventeenth century as earlier, 'monstrous' carried distinct connotations of being 'against nature' (though ‘nature’ in this period was chiefly a masculinist and patriarchal construct)

month's mind a great or irresistible longing

monumental possible reference to the reputations of the knights in the Temple church(see OED 4)

monumental ‘Serving as a monument or memorial’ (OED 1a)

monuments funeral effigies

mood in grammar, one of a variety of forms that a verb can take in an inflected language (such as Latin); the mood of a verb indicates whether it expresses fact, command, wish, conditionality, etc. The principal moods are known as indicative (expressing fact), imperative (command), interrogative (question), optative (wish), and subjunctive (conditionality) (OED mood n2, 1a)

moon moons: figurative for ‘months’ but madness was believed formerly to be influenced by the waxing and waning of the moon, hence lunatic or moonstruck

moon month (since the new moon)

mooncalf a born fool; a congenital idiot; a simpleton (OED mooncalf n, 2c)

moonflaw disability attributed to the moon’s influence (this is OED’s only citation); flaw can also mean fragment or detached piece, so it could mean that Alinda has a piece of the moon in her brain (the moon was often associated with madness)

moor originally deployed with reference to a native or inhabitant of ancient Mauretania, a region of North Africa corresponding to parts of present-day Morocco and Algeria (in the Middle Ages, and as late as the seventeenth century, Moors were widely supposed to be mostly black or very dark-skinned, hence the recurrent reference to such peoples as "blackamoors")

moot to complain, argue, plead, discuss, dispute, esp. in a law case; to bring an action to court, to litigate (OED v. 1 and 2a); later, specifically to debate a hypothetical case, to take part in a moot (the OED cites this usage by Brome)

moot case an example of a legal issue suitable for discussion or debate; see also [GLOSS gg2784]

mopish 'given to or characterized by moping', looking melancholy all the time (OED 2)

mopsy familiar term for a woman, especially a young one

more rather; more precisely

more furthermore, moreover, in addition

more any more

morigerous obedient, compliant, submissive

morn morning

mortality loss of life, an abnormal frequency of death (OED n. 2a); the fact that living beings are mortal

mortgage loan secured against property (in this case, Dryground's estate)

mortified insensible or impervious

mortified to made dead to

mortify inhibit the vitality or potency, deaden (OED v. 2)

Mother Johnson Margaret Johnson was one of the four women of Pendle Forest found guilty and sent to London for the review of the case in 1633. Despite her confession, her stories of her familiar Mamilion and of flying and meeting with the devil, she was found not guilty. Nevertheless, she and the others were still detained in Lancaster Castle prison, apparently for their own safety.

Mother of the Maids a bawd

mother-side maternal descent; mother's side (Obs. from Old Frisian) (OED 27b)

mother-’law a contraction of mother-in-law

motion plan of action

motion show, entertainment (OED n. 8a)

motion movement (with sexual innuendo); step, gesture

motion formal proposal or request (OED n. 13b)

motions in a legal context, applications ‘made to a court or judge by a party to an action or his counsel, to obtain some ruling or order of court (esp. an interlocutory injunction) necessary to the progress of the action’ (OED n. 13c); with sexual innuendo

mould soil

mountebank an itinerant charlatan who sold supposed medicines and remedies, frequently using various entertainments to attract a crowd of potential customers (OED n. 1a); in Ben Jonson's Volpone the protagonist Volpone impersonates a mountebank in 2.1.

mourning of the chine ‘a disease of horses’ (OED chine, n2, 5) (chine: spine, back)

move arouse, stir

move provoke into action

move petition

move attempt to rouse compassion in (OED v. 25b)

move propose, suggest (OED v. 30a)

move excite, disquiet (OED v. 25a); anger, provoke (OED v. 25d)

move persuade, convince

move for intercede for

moved asked, provoked

moved persuaded

moved urged, asked

moved provoked, disturbed

moves stirs up, excites

moving arousing (but here used with sexual overtones)

moving persuasive, convincing

mowing a richly allusive term, since a complex range of meanings is possible: the relentless advancing of one with a scythe cutting down corn or hay, reaping; striking down men (in battle); making faces (that is, provocative, come-hitherish moues with the lips); being sexually available

muckhill heap of refuse, dung, filth

muffled wrapped up; with their faces concealed (OED adj. 1a)

muffled wrapped up

multiply increase, augment

multiply cause to increase

mum be silent

mumbledepeg a variant of 'mumble the peg' or 'mumblety-peg', a children's game in which a participant has to try to remove with his teeth a peg driven into the ground

mumbling babbling, making indiscriminate sounds, muttering (the term actually derives from the idea of eating tentatively with toothless gums, making masticating noises)

mumchance dice game; also a game of who can stay silent the longest

mumper a beggar, a mendicant; a person who sponges on others (OED), from the Dutch, Momper

mumping grumbling (OED 1c); grimacing (OED 1a); also chewing as if with toothless gums (OED 3a)

mumpings grimacing, grumbling

mumps grimaces

mun must (Yorkshire dialect)

murmer grumble, mutter in complaint

murrain plague-like disease afflicting domestic animals

murther murder

muscadel muscadel wine

muscadine a sweet wine made from the muscat grape

muse (n) poetic inspiration

muse (v) wonder, marvel, ponder

muses the nine Greek goddesses of the arts who inspired poets, musicians, artists etc.

Music a company of musicians (OED 5a)

musk-melon the aromatic, orange flesh of melons which, being but recent imports into England, were costly

muster roll an official list of the soldiers in an army or some particular division of it, from which the roll call was made to know if all the men were present on parade

mute a silent performer, one who mimes or makes up a scene as a non-speaking attendant

muttering rumour

mutton-mongership a man who is sexually promiscuous or who has dealings with prostitutes (the ironic inclusion of "-ship" gives the term the sound of a quasi-honorific title)

muttonship a mock-term of respect, usually for a woman (OED's only recorded usage is in Brome's The Northern Lass where it is in fact parodically applied to a male character)

my masters gentlemen (OED n. 20b)

mysteries religious truths (OED mystery n1, 2a); skills, techniques (OED mystery n1, 10)

mystery secret purpose (OED n1. 6); personal secret (OED n1. 8)

mystery craft, art; trade, profession(OED n2. 2a)

mystical mysterious