Glossary (words starting with O)
o'er night
in the course of the previous night (OED, over prep, 20)
o'erdoing
excessive, intrusive
o'erspreads
overspreads
o'erweening
exaggerated (OED adj. 2)
o'the hip
on or upon the hip, a phrase taken from wrestling: at a disadvantage, or likely to be overthrown or overcome (OED hip n1, 2b)
oaf
(literally) an elf-child, but widely used to mean 'simpleton'
oatbread
bread made of oatflour, characteristic of Scottish diet
oath
‘a solemn or formal declaration invoking God (or a god, or other object of reverence) as witness to the truth of a statement, or to the binding nature of a promise or undertaking’ (OED n. 1a)
obeisance
an act or gesture expressing submission or deferential respect, usually a bending or prostration of the body; a respectful salutation; a bow or curtsy (OED obeisance n, 3)
object
thing presented to the eyes
objects
persons or things to which something has been done, or towards which particular thoughts are directed (OED object n, 3); cf. Robert Johnson, The Second Part of the Famous History of the Seven Champions of Christendom (London, 1597): ‘My daughter, whose perfect image lyeth here carved in fine crystal as the continual object of my grief’ (sig. H1r)
oblique
aberrant (OED adj. 3c)
oblivion
forgetfulness
obotts
a corruption of 'A pox!' (OED Botts 2)
obscured
hidden, disguised
obscurity
darkness, indistinctness -- hence, concealment
obscurity
period of darkness
obsequies
funeral rites
obsequious
dutiful; appropriate after a death (OED adj, 1b)
obsequious
dutiful; fawning
obsequious
obedient
observance
giving of due respect, dutiful service (OED n. 5)
observe
obey someone's instructions
observe
act in accordance with, follow the instructions in
obstinacy
resistance to treatment (OED 2, where the earliest example given for this sense is from 1808)
occasion
the opportunity
occasions
circumstances, situations (OED occasion n1, 6a); the course of events (OED occasion n1, 6b); needs, necessities, requirements (OED occasion n1, 9)
occasions
opportunities
occurrents
events, incidents (OED occurrent n, 1a)
odd
'extraneous or additional to what is reckoned or taken into account' (OED adj. n1 and adv. 8a)
odd
remarkable (OED adj. 7a); singular (OED adj. 7b); peculiar, eccentric, unexpected (OED adj. 9a)
odd
peculiar, eccentric (OED adj. 9a)
odd
eccentric
odd-ceited
odd-conceited, eccentric
odours
substance emitting a sweet smell (OED 2)
ods fish
God's flesh [OED speculates this: see OED od n and int, 1)
Oedipus
'With allusion to Oedipus's deciphering of the riddle of the Sphinx: a person who is clever at solving riddles or puzzles' (OED n)
of
concerning, regarding, consequent on
of
since (I was)
of
by
of
from
of
for
of
to; with
of cheer
cheerful, happy, glad
of my hands
a man of valour, skill or practical ability (OED cites Sir Robert Naunton's account of the reign of Elizabeth, Fragmenta regalia (1641, posthumously published after his death in 1635), in his description of Lord Hudson: 'He loved sword and buckler men, and such as our Fathers were wont to call men of their hands')
of my standing
of the same condition, students of law
of your
of yours
off
leave (to twenty-first century ears this picks up the pun on ‘scene’, but OED’s earliest citation for the use of ‘off’ to mean ‘offstage’ dates from 1774)
off with it
drink it off
offer
make (such) a proposal, suggest (such a thing) (OED offer v, 3g)
offer at
make an attempt at; venture
offering
presuming, daring
offers
attempts (to do harm or injury)
office
job, function (that is, make an arrest)
office
duty; also possible reference to the sedan chair as a place of business, work space (see OED n. 6a)
office
job, function (for Cupid, making people fall in love: for Hymen, arranging marriages)
office
service
office
service, duty, employment, responsibility
office
position of status and (sometimes) responsibility
officers
persons who hold a particular office or post (OED officer n, 1)
offices
services; acts of kindness
officious
interfering, overzealous; diligent (the latter sense would be sarcastic here)
officious
eager to serve, help, or please; attentive, obliging, kind (OED 2)
officious
interfering, overzealous; diligent
officiously
with pompous authority; without being asked (OED 2)
offscum
that which is skimmed off, scum or dross; that which is rejected as vile or worthless, a contemptible person, scum
oft
often
oft as
every time that
oft-times
often
oft’ner
oftener
oil of vitriol
concentrated sulphuric acid
old
an earlier time
old
(a) practiced, experienced (OED adj. 5)
old wife
old woman
Olympus
Steep-sided mountain (9000+ feet), part of an identically-named chain in northwest Greece and home of the gods in Greek classical mythology
omen
event or phenomenon regarded as a portent of good or evil (OED n. 1)
ominous
ruinous, disastrous (OED 1c)
ominous
of bad omen, ill fortune
on
about
on
proceed, continue
on
at the risk of forfeiting (OED prep, 16)
on't
on it
on't
of it
once
at once
once
one day (OED 5)
one
one category
one of the devil's ape-leaders
proverbially, a spinster or old maid (The leading of apes in hell is the opposite of the married woman's leading children in heaven (Tilley M 37). In The Taming of the Shrew, Katherina complains of her father's preference for Bianca: 'She is your treasure, she must have a husband,/ I must dance bare-foot on her wedding-day,/ And for your love to her lead apes in hell' (2.1.32-34).)
only
but, the only thing to be added being (OED conj., 1)
only
sole
on’s
of (or for) us
on’s
of his
Oons
exclamation or oath, derived from 'zounds' (OED)
ope
open
ope'
open
open
free from obstruction; unrestricted; clear
open
patent, evident (OED adj. II 24)
open war
outright hostility, active contention
openness
open-handedness (Haaker)
operative
effective
operator
surgeon
opinion
fashionable taste (a snide use of the word as meaning an expert judgement)
opportunity
favourable circumstances (OED n. 1.b.; if this is meant Flavello is being sarcastic); time when there is need for something (OED n. 3: OED cites two examples, one from 1526 and the other from 1683); timeliness (OED n. 5)
opportunity
favourable circumstances (OED n. 1b); time when there is need for something (OED n. 3: OED cites two examples, one from 1526 and the other from 1683); timeliness (OED n. 5)
oppose
challenge
oppress
overcome; keep in subjection
oppression
cruel and exploitative treatment of others
optativa
in grammar, the optative form or ‘mood’ of a verb, which indicates that the speaker or writer is expressing a wish or desire (OED optative a, 1)
or
and
or
either
oracle
person (usually a priest or priestess) through which the gods were thought to speak in ancient Greece and Rome (OED n. 1a); in extended use, divine relevation or a message inspired by divine inspiration (OED n. 3)
oraculously
in the manner of an oracle (OED records the first usage as c. 1631 in Donne's Paradoxes)
oraculously
like an oracle; i.e. wisely
oratory
elegant, rhetorical language
oratory
professional advice, exercising eloquent rhetoric according to set rules, as in the legal code (OED n2. 1b)
orb
world, sphere (of activity)
orb
circle, ring (OED n1. 6a)
ordained
appointed, ordered
order
procedure, customary practice (OED n. 12a); customary mode of proceeding in conduct of bodies such as parliaments or in trials (OED n. 12b); possibly the King also intends overtones of ‘natural order’
order
course of action (OED n. 13a)
order
legal injunction or authorisation
order
procedure, customary practice (OED n. 12a); customary mode of proceeding in conduct of bodies such as parliaments or in trials (OED n. 12b)
order
to arrange, organise, set to rights
order
authoritative direction; an injunction, or mandate; in banking and finance, the word has a special sense (as `a written direction to pay money or deliver property, made by a person legally entitled to do so') which may also be current here, even though the earliest OED example of this sense is from 1673 (OED n. 22a and 23b)
order
action(s) to a particular end; measures or steps for the accomplishment of a purpose (OED n. 18)
orders
OED Order 2. Christian Church. a. A grade or rank in the Christian ministry, or in an ecclesiastical hierarchy.
ordinance
that which is ordained or decreed by God
ordinaries
regular portions of anything (e.g. food or sex); also, meals
ordinaries
dining places, much favoured by city gallants, who also used the rooms for gambling and other nefarious activities (Caroline dramatist William Cartwright wrote a play called The Ordinary)
ordinary
an inn, public house, tavern, etc., where meals are provided at a fixed price; also the room in such a building where this type of meal is provided (OED ordinary n, 12c, which notes that these had their own hierarchy: 'In the 17th-18th centuries the more expensive ordinaries were frequented by men of fashion, and the dinner was usually followed by gambling; hence the term was often used as synonymous with "gambling-house"')
ordinary
puns on two meanings of ordinary: the eating/drinking establishment, and the meal served there
ordinary
an establishment where meals were provided at a set price; OED notes that in the seventeenth century ‘the more expensive ordinaries were frequented by men of fashion, and the dinner was usually followed by gambling; hence the term was often used as synonymous with “gambling-house”’ (OED n. 11c)
ordinary
a meal at a fixed price in a tavern
ordinary
an inn or tavern at which a meal (usually also called an ordinary) was served
ordnance
artillery for discharging missiles (OED n. 2)
ord’nary
ordinary: an establishment where meals were provided at a set price; OED notes that in the seventeenth century ‘the more expensive ordinaries were frequented by men of fashion, and the dinner was usually followed by gambling; hence the term was often used as synonymous with “gambling-house”’ (OED n. 11.c)
ore
precious metal, gold
ornament
that which confers or adds distinction; embellishment
orthographical
relating to correct spelling
orthography
correct spelling
Ossa
mountain in Thessaly in Greece, in classical Greek mythology used by the Titans in an unsuccessful attempt to scale neighbouring Mount Olympus, home of the gods
otherwhere
anywhere, in any other place
Othrys
mountain in Thessaly in Greece, in classical Greek mythology, home of the Titans
ought
owed
out
(out of) countenance, but also with the sense of put out of one's intended role (just as an actor is "out", who forgets his lines)
out
leave
out
disrupts my part (role) as written, disturbs my concentration so that I forget my lines
out
an exclamation expressing grief, abhorrence, or indignant reproach: alas!, woe is me!; get out!, curses upon you! (OED out int, 1)
out of
beyond, after (that), further (to that)
(OED prep, 2)
out of countenance
into shamed confusion
out of countenance
disconcert, discomfit
out of his function
at his leisure
out of repair
in bad condition, requiring repairs (OED n2. 3b)
out on
curses upon (OED int. 2)
out upon
curses upon (in modern-day English this would mean something like ‘to hell with’)
out upon him!
expression of anger or disgust
Out, alas!
exclamation indicating indignant reproach or outrage (OED int. 1)
out-flights
release; lashing out (see OED out-, prefix 7)
outbraved
defied
outfaced
defied; defeated by face-to-face confrontation or a display of confidence, arrogance (OED 2, 1)
outleaps
destination of excursions; places of assignation
outrage
violent behaviour; insolence (OED n. 1a)
outrage
violent injury, indignity, affront (OED n. 2a); excessively proud, foolish or presumptuous action (OED n. 3b)
outrageous
wicked, evil; violent, furious; immoderate
outrecuidance
‘excessive self-esteem ... conceit’ (OED, which cites this example); the pronunciation (as directed by the OED) seems to reflect the word's French origins
outright
openly, blatantly (OED adv. 1); immediately, without delay (OED adv. 2); to ‘kill outright’ is ‘to kill in such a manner that the victim dies on the spot’ (OED adv. 4a)
outstand
endure longer than (OED v. 2)
outstrip
overtaken, surpassed
outstrip
exceed, overstep
outvied
out-rivalled, beaten in competition
outways
ways; remote or inaccessible places (OED outway n. 1)
ouzel
blackbird
over
against
over-mickle
over-active sexually
over-old
very old
over-slipped
passed by, lapsed
overacted
overdone; performed in an exaggerated manner
overborne
oppressed, overcome
overbought
paid too much for
overcast
overestimated (OED v. 7, rare)
overcome
physically, overpowered or rendered helpless (with the added implication of rape)
overlook
despised, slighted (OED v. 2); scrutinised, examined (OED v. 3)
overlook
'To watch over officially, look after, oversee' (OED v. 5)
overmuch
excessive, immoderate
overreached
outdone; outwitted, cheated
oversee
keep watch over (OED v. 1)
overslip
pass over without notice; let slip; let pass
oversway
over-rule, control
overswayed
overridden; prevailed upon
overtake
catch up with someone travelling in the same direction (OED v. 2a)
overtop
overpower
overwatched
tired from too much watching
overwatching
exhausting himself with excessively late or all-night vigils
overween
presume, have unreasonably high expectations
overween
think too highly of or overrate something (OED v. 2)
overworn
‘worn by excessive use’, i.e. spoilt (OED a. 1a and b). Possible sexual connotations, i.e. sexually over-used.
overwrought
‘Exhausted by overwork; worked to excess’ (OED a. 1), with possible sexual connotations, i.e. sexually over-used
owes
owns, possesses (OED v. 1a)
own
acknowledge
owning
laying claim to (OED v. 3b)
ow’st
owe
oyez
hear ye (the traditional call of town criers)
o’er-hasty
over-hasty: rash, susceptible
o’erlaid
overlaid: overwhelmed, oppressed (OED v. 4)
o’ertake
overtake