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Glossary (words starting with P)

pace predicament

pace step, measurement or way of walking

pack luggage, a container for carrying items

pack up to put (goods or belongings) in a container, pack, or parcel; to put items of any kind into (a suitcase, bag, etc.); (in later use also) to assemble and stow (all the items in a particular place) preparatory to departure (OED pack v1)

packing penny ‘a penny given by way of dismissal, as to a beggar’ (OED packing n1, C3)

pageantry display, pomp (OED n. 2); show without substance (OED n. 3); OED’s earliest citations are from 1651 and 1662

paid injured; literally, satisfied or contented (OED adj. 1a)

pain suffering

pain effort, labour

pains efforts, endeavours (Poggio is being slightly sarcastic)

pains effort, trouble

pains efforts, endeavours

paint use cosmetics

painted used make-up

painting cosmetics

painting facial make-up

paintings facial make-up; deception

pair sets, or flights (OED n1. 6a) (nouns denoting quantity, as pound, shilling, etc., could be used in the singular as well as the plural without disturbing the meaning)

pales fences

pallet straw bed or mattress

palliate hide, conceal (OED v. 3)

palliate alleviate, relieve (OED v. 1)

pallid pale, faint (in colour)

pallisado a variant of pallisade; originally, a fence made of wooden pales or stakes fixed in the ground, forming an enclosure or defence; subsequently also, a fence made of metal railings (OED: 1a)

palmistry hand-reading

palpably noticeably; clearly (OED)

palsy paralysis

pan-puddings heavy savoury puddings baked in a pan

pander go-between, bawd

pander go-between, facilitating sexual relations

panderly characteristic of a pander, a pimp or 'go-between in clandestine love affairs' (OED cites this example)

panders bawds, go-betweens

panelled i.e. enrolled as jurors

pannier a container or basket, used for carrying fish to market

pannum bread, or food generally (cant)

pant ‘to long or wish with breathless eagerness; to gasp with desire; to yearn for, after, or to do something’ (OED v. 3)

pantler panter, formerly baker; servant in charge of the bread or pantry in a large household

pap pabulum, a watered down version of the porridge fed to the new mother; usually the word refers to the nipple of the nursing mother's breast

paragon model of quality, value or merit

parasite 'A person who lives at the expense of another' (OED n. 1a); flatterer

parcel part or portion, usually a piece or two at a time, a little bit

parcels parts, portions (OED n. 1a); small amounts of money (OED n. 4)

parley conversation

parlour a room for entertaining guests in a private house

Parnassus mountain in Phocia in Greece, sacred to Apollo (whose shrine of Delphos was at the base of Parnassus), to Dionysus and to the Muses, and thus a figure for art and literature

parricide father-murderer

part (in the plural) qualities of mind, intellectual abilities, gifts, or talents (OED n1 15)

part portion, share

part (n) actor’s part, i.e. lines

part the side of

part (v) depart

part (v) depart; take my leave

partake share

partial favouring one side over another; biased, prejudiced

particle a small part or portion of the whole (OED II 4a); also grammatically a minor part of speech

particular individual, specific

partisan a member of a small body of light or irregular troops operating independently and engaging in surprise attacks, etc.; a guerrilla (OED Partisan n1, 2)

partition division into parts, portions

partner associate, companion (i.e. those who suffer with Pedro)

partook shared

parts characteristics, attributes (OED n. 12); genitals

parts lands; characteristics, attributes (OED n. 12); genitals

parts attributes, qualities, abilities, gifts

party one side in a lawsuit

party (my) person, condition, social position

party lovers

party person, individual

party an individual concerned in a proceeding (sometimes legal)

pash probably a variant spelling of 'patch' or 'pache': a small piece of black velvet attached to the skin as an ornament or to cover an unsightly blemish; these pashes or patches were becoming popular and fashionable in England in the early seventeenth century

pass give

pass suffer

pass document giving permission to leave, enter, or travel somewhere; equivalent to 'passport'

pass be taken

pass go about one's business

pass in fencing, a lunge or thrust made with a sword or rapier (OED n4. 10a)

pass be taken as currency, good payment for

pass it act as the password

passable suitable, acceptable

passage event

passage means of access, way forward

passage exchange of blows between two combatants (OED n. 15)

passage progress, journey

passage channel, vagina

passages remarks or observations made in speaking or writing (OED passage n, 13b); episodes, events (OED passage n, 14); interchange of communications or negotiations (OED passage n, 16)

passages progresses, transitions from one state to another (OED passage n, 3a); episodes, events (OED passage n, 14)

passages movements (about a town or country); incidents; exchanges (verbal or physically violent); doings, goings-on

passed puns on the sense of both "past", "now over" (as in the phrase "a thing of the past"), and also of "passed" as meaning "trials (travails) endured"

passed suffered

passed surpassed, excelled, exceeded in quality (OED pass v, 1a)

passed a nautical term: to go beyond a defined point

passed on condemned, sentenced

passengers passers-by

passion suffering, emotion

passion expression of emotion; ‘A fit, outburst, or state marked by or of strong excitement, agitation, or other intense emotion’ (OED n. 6c)

passion suffering, affliction, disorder; overpowering emotion; fit of madness or anger

passionate sorrowful (OED adj and n, 5b)

past incapable of (the implication is that the King is impotent in military and sexual terms)

past exceeding, surpassing (OED prep, 2b)

past incapable of

pastime entertaining diversion

pastor minister in charge of a Christian church or congregation (OED n. 1a)

pat readily, opportunely

pate brains (OED pate n1, 2)

pate head

patents licences conferring the sole right to manufacture, sell, or deal in a product or commodity (OED nIII, 3), so called after the documents conferring such rights -- `letters patent', meaning `letters [which could be] shown'

patience forbearance (OED n. 1b)

patient forbearing; calm; passive

patrician a hereditary noble citizen of any of several Italian republics, such as Venice, Genoa, etc.

patrico hedge-priest, vagabond priest.

patron `a defender, a great friend that supporteth one' (John Bullokar, The English Expositor [1616]); protector

patron lord, master (sometimes providing financial support)

patrons protectors; supporters

pattern example, model

patterns samples (OED n. 5b)

paunch stomach (OED, n.)

pause the while take an interval (such was the practice at the indoor or hall theatres of Brome’s day)

pavanes grave and stately court dances, danced to slow music

pawn pledge

Pax Peace! (the use of Latin may suggest that the Seely family is Roman Catholic, not unusual in the north)

Pax an interjection, a shortened form of 'a pox on it!' (OED pax n2, with further examples)

pay beat, flog

pay-all someone who pays for everyone (OED gives this as the earliest citation, and I have been unable to trace any other seventeenth-century examples)

peace (int.) be quiet; keep calm

peak languish, become sickly (OED v1. 3)

peasantry peasants collectively (OED n. 1); rusticity, vulgarity (OED n. 2)

pease-porridge porridge made with peas; Flavello is implying the poverty or low social status of his accusers

pease-porridge porridge made with peas

peased made peace, reconciled

peck / And booze meat and drink (cant)

pedagogue teacher, schoolmaster

pedant teacher, tutor

pedigree genealogical tree, one’s line of ancestors

peerless unequalled

peevish perverse, obstinate; coy (OED adj. 1)

peevish Jack (as a common noun) a man of the common people, a lad, fellow, chap; especially a low-bred or ill-mannered fellow, a 'knave' (OED n1. 2a)

peevishly perversely

peg-top a children's game in which a player tries to knock down an opponent's pegs with a spinning 'top'

pell-mell in hand-to-hand fighting

penance act of atonement; sentence, punishment

penny costing a penny

penny-father man who is careful with money; also OED notes, it is often used in a derogatory sense to mean a miser

pension tavern (OED n. 7c)

pension regular payment, fee

pensive melancholy, ‘sorrowfully thoughtful’ (OED adj. 1); anxious (OED adj. 4)

pensive gloomy, sad, melancholy

pent closely confined; imprisoned

pent-up enclosed within narrow limits; closely confined; held in check or held back under pressure (OED 2)

Penthesilea Queen of the Amazons, who was slain by Achilles at the siege of Troy.

penthouse structure attached to a building providing shelter or covering, often constructed to protect a shop stall (OED n. 1a and 2a)

pepper stimulate, inflame, provoke to anger (OED v, 4a)

peppered seasoned, sprinkled; (figuratively) infected with venereal disease

per annum annually, by the year

per praesentes by these [people who are] present

peradventure perhaps, maybe

perambulations verbal digressions (from the subject)

perceived seen, detected

perceives sees, realises

perch ‘to push oneself forward, esp. in a presumptuous or conceited manner’ (OED v.2 intr.); ‘to be standing or seated in any elevated or somewhat precarious place’ (OED v.1 5. trans.)

perched pushed forward, especially ‘in a presumptuous or conceited manner’ (OED, perch v2. intr.); stood or seated ‘in any elevated or somewhat precarious place’ (OED, perch v1. 5; trans.)

peremptorily decisively, conclusively (OED adv 5)

peremptory conclusive, decisive

perfect a term usually used of actors who know their lines

perfect fully prepared, completely rehearsed

perfect in a state of complete satisfaction; satisfied, contented (OED adj, 8)

perfect with their lines completely learned, memorized

perfect render complete and accurate

perfectly fully, completely

perfidious treacherous

perfidious guilty of breaking faith or violating a confidence

perforce forcibly, violently; by force or threat of force

performed brought about, produced (OED perform, 3)

perfumes fumigants, incense

pericranion pericranium (OED 2) the skull, brain or mind

peril risk (OED n. 1a)

periwig a stylish wig

perjury the action of making a false oath, or swearing to something that you know is not true

pernicious harmful

perpend ponder, reflect upon, investigate

perpetrate (v) produce, cause, provoke

perplexes confuses, baffles, troubles (renders anxious)

perplexities troubles, complicated circumstances

perplexity puzzlement, bewilderment (OED 1a)

perplexity confusion, uncertainty, distress

person the body, often with its clothing and accoutrements; its physical appearance (OED person 4a)

person distinction of character; also rank and a name

person the king’s self as opposed to his rank; also used as a way of referring respectfully to a monarch, as in the use of ‘the king’s person’ for ‘the king’ (OED n, 3a)

personate to play a role in a play (OED v. 3a)

persuade induce, entreat, urge (OED v. II 5b)

peruke a skull-cap wig, periwig, false hair-piece

perukes wigs

perusal act of reading through or over something, whether thorough or cursory reading

peruse scrutinised, considered

peruse examine

perverseness wickedness; obstinacy

pervert overturn; change for the worse; destroy (OED v. 2)

pervert corrupt, lead astray

pesters obstructs (OED pester v1, 1); overcrowds (OED pester v1, 2); infests (OED pester v1, 3); bothers, annoys (OED pester v1, 4)

petard a small bomb made of a metal or wooden box filled with powder, used to blow in a door, gate, etc., or to make a hole in a wall (OED 1a)

petty subordinate, minor (OED adj. 1a); little (OED adj. 3); also means trivial (OED adj. 2a)

petty little

petty little, subordinate (i.e. to the royal court); there is probably a deliberate choice of ‘petty’ because it sounds like the French petit (little)

petty trivial

petulant impudent, insolent, rude

peugh an expression of disgust or contempt (OED pew, int.)

phantasms illusions, visions

Phew exclamation expressive of disgust, weariness, discomfort

Philoblathici philo=lover; blathici=version of bladei; but there may also be a connection with 'blether', nonsense

Philosophaster Pseudo-philosopher, whose phoniness is a matter of shallowness and/or pretentiousness.

phlegm one of the four humours, an excess of which in the body was supposed to induce apathy

Phoebean poetic or witty (from Phoebus [Apollo], the god of the sun, poetry and music in classical mythology): compare Jonson, ‘Over the Door at the Entrance into the Apollo’: ‘’Tis the true Phoebeian liquor, / Cheers the brains, makes wit the quicker’ (Ian Donaldson, ed., Poems [London: Oxford University Press, 1975], 372)

Phoebus’ the sun’s

phrase manner of expression (OED n. 1); choice of words (OED n. 3)

phrase style

phrenetic insane, delirious (frantic)

physic medical science (OED n. 4)

physic (n) medicine

physic (v) treat with medicine, especially a purgative

physiognomists persons who read faces or other physical features to discern character and/or to foretell destiny (OED)

physiognomy facial features (OED 3a)

piazza a public square or marketplace in an Italian town; any similar open public space surrounded by buildings

picked gathered, plucked (OED v1. 12a)

pickle situation, condition, state (OED n1. 4a); also with the sense of being soaked in a preserving fluid (as for pickled vegetables or fruit), usually alcohol for persons (see The Tempest, 5.1)

picture-drawer painter, at this time usually of portraits (OED)

piddle nibble; mess about (OED v. 1c and 1a)

piddled with messed about or around with (OED v. 1a)

piece example

piece coin (possibly a Charles I sovereign worth 20 shillings)

piece form of action (bequest), function, quality (OED n. 5)

piece coin

piece a woman, usually with the connotation of being a sexual object (OED II 9b)

piece (v) reconcile

piece coin, usually gold, and at this date the equal of twenty-two shillings (the spending worth in today's currency would be £94.38p.)

piece a person, an individual (generally understood to be male) (OED n. 9a); with the further sense as `firearm' (OED n. 15) here connoting an innuendo as `penis'

pieced united, in agreement (with sexual innuendo: ‘piece’ can refer to the genitals, or to a person, usually a woman, in a sexual context); ‘peased’ means ‘reconciled’ (OED pease v, 1a), and either spelling might be used here

pieced mended, e.g. garment, relationship

piecemeal in separate pieces

pieces coins, especially the unite of James I, a coin first issued in 1604, with a value of 20 shillings; OED says that these coins rose to a value of 22 shillings in 1611 (OED n.), but in 3.1 [DM 3.1.speech477] Wat assumes that a piece is worth 20 shillings

pieces of gold or silver, i.e. money (OED n. 1b)

pieces of eight each of these was a Spanish silver dollar, or peso, worth eight reals and marked with the figure 8

pied multicoloured, usually with patches of colour

piercing analysing, examining with a view to getting at the sense of (his papers)

pies savoury or meat pies

piety faithfulness to the duties naturally owed to one's parents (OED n. 3), and particularly those owed by a son to his father

piety compassion; ‘faithfulness to the duties naturally owed to one's relatives ... affectionate loyalty and respect’ (OED n. 3)

pig-haired coarse fabric, ill cut; an insult; OED cites, as well as this instance, Middleton's A Trick to Catch the Old One: 'Farewell and be hanged, you short-pig-haired, ram-headed rascalls' (1608: G3r)

pigeon-holes "an outdoor game, popular in the 17th and early 18th centuries, in which balls were bowled at targets"; these last were probably arched so appeared like the recesses for pigeons in a dovecote

pigwidgeon derogatory term for a small or insignificant person (OED 2)

pilfered stole

pill plays on pill as a word referring to solid forms of medication taken orally (OED n3. 1a), but is used figuratively (Flavello refers to the promises of promotion that he has used to intoxicate Alinda with dreams of royal favour and advancement); may also pun on the slang meanings of 'pills': testicles (with sexual innuendo), and nonsense (OED n3. 2b)

pill medicine

pill verb, to strip a person of money or goods; to rob or steal from a person (OED v1. II 7)

pillage plundering, theft

pillage robbery; usually, plundering, sacking, or looting a place, especially in war

pillar significant supporter of the weight (of the law)

pillar vertical structure as in a building; a column

pillory a device for punishment, usually consisting of a wooden framework mounted on a post, with holes or rings for trapping the head and hands, in which an offender was confined so as to be subjected to public ridicule, abuse, assault, etc.; punishment of this kind (OED 1)

pilot navigator of a ship

pilot navigator of a ship, guide

pimp procurer; go-between

pimping someone who acts as or like a pimp (OED a1)

pin the pin used to tune a stringed instrument, an analogy often used for mood or disposition

pin-buttock as in All's Well that Ends Well 2.2, refers to a thin-buttocked person

pinch crisis, emergency

pinched nipped, or bit (an obsolete term for an animal action, esp. a dog, which attacks or seizes (prey, etc.) with the teeth or jaws)

pinching mean, niggardly (OED adj.)

Pindus mountain in the Epirus in Greece, home of the centaurs (half human, half horse) in classical Greek mythology

pine become exhausted or wasted from physical or emotional suffering, especially from hunger; lose vitality or languish; frequently used with 'to death' (OED 4a)

pined wasted/exhausted by suffering (OED a)

pinnace small ship

pint pint (approx. half a litre) of ale or beer

pious faithful to family duties and obligations (OED 2)

pious devout, religious; well-intentioned; self-righteous, sanctimonious (OED adj, 5) (if Lollio is being sarcastic)

piper one who plays the bagpipes

pipes casks for storing wine with a capacity of 126 gallons (OED n2. 1)

pipkin a small pot

pipped description of a nutshell containing no kernel (OED adj, 1)

pish an interjection 'expressing contempt, impatience, or disgust' (OED)

piss-pot chamber pot

pistolet a Spanish gold escudo; also a Spanish double-escudo was termed a pistole; occasionally used of any of various other gold coins of the 16th and 17th centuries (an escudo was a gold or silver Portuguese coin to the value of an English crown, the value of which in the currency of 2009 would be £22.30)

pistolling action of shooting with a pistol

pitch decide, settle or fix on an objective

pitch aim; ‘To set in order for fighting’ (OED pitch v2, 18a); ‘To set at a particular rate or level (as high, low, etc.)’ (OED pitch v2, 21a); compare Mother in The Revenger’s Tragedy:

O see, I spoke those words, and now they poison me.
What will the deed do then?
Advancement? True — as high as shame can pitch!
For treasure, whoe’er knew a harlot rich? (4.4.136-9)

pitch bitumen or asphalt: sticky, resinous, black or dark brown substance, hard when cold and semi-liquid when hot

pitch height; summit (OED n2. 19a); height to which a bird rises in its flight (OED n2. 21)

pitch throw, toss a heavy object in competitive sport

pitch place, situate, establish (themselves)

pitched over the bar disbarred

pitchy pitch-black, intensely dark (OED adj, 2a)

piteous compassionate, merciful; Lollio may understand an alternative meaning: inadequate, pathetic, lamentable (OED adj. 2b; OED’s earliest citation is from 1667)

pitiful worthy of pity, moving

pitiful compassionate

pitiless unpitied (rather than the modern meaning, unpitying)

place rank, position, office

plague-spot a spot on the skin symptomatic of the bubonic plague or of another plague-like illness; often believed to show that the person concerned was about to die (OED 1a)

plain free from duplicity (OED a1, 12); simple, ordinary (OED a1, 15)

plain evident, obvious (OED a1, 7); unmistakeable, absolute (OED a1, 8)

plain evident, obvious (OED a1, 7); simple, clear, unambiguous (OED a1, 9); free from ambiguity, straightforward, direct, blunt (OED a1, 12)

plain simple, unpretentious (OED a1, 13); frugal, unostentatious (OED a1, 14); ordinary, unsophisticated (OED a1, 16); humble, not high-ranking (OED a1, 16); candid, frank, free from duplicity, blunt (OED a1, 11)

plain evident, obvious (OED a1, 7); simple, clear, unambiguous (OED a1, 9); straightforward, direct, blunt (OED a1, 12): Bumsey probably intends the first or second meaning, but Dryground interprets his behaviour as the third

plain clear

plain ‘free from ambiguity, evasion, or subterfuge; straightforward, direct, blunt’ (OED a1, 12)

plain simply dressed; but also open, frank

plain (n) unambiguousness

plainer more frank or straightforward, less cryptic

plainly candidly, openly; explicitly; bluntly

plainness openness, honesty, bluntness

plaintiff complainant bringing a suit in a court of law

planet-struck stricken or afflicted, as by paralysis as a result of the supposed malign influence of a planet (OED)

plantation a settlement, a colony, often in an overseas territory

plaster a solid medicinal or emollient substance applied to the skin (OED n. 1)

plate gold or silver vessels and utensils (OED n. 2a)

platform diagram, plan, map

plaudit a round of applause; clapping; an audible expression of praise or approval

play sometimes extended to mean sexual activity

play entertainment

play-games dicing; gambling; frivolous diversions

playfere playmate (Northern dialect term)

playmaker playwright (a deliberately down-to-earth term)

plead argue for, ask for

pleasant pleasing, favourable; giving of satisfaction

please think it proper, have the desire

pleased content, inclined

pledge redeem, ransom or bail a person out of a contract or set of conditions (Piso is still wanting to possess Victoria and thinks, if he had the required fee, he would bring her freedom from the terms of her advertisement)

pledge (v) drink a health to (OED 4b)

pledge (n) token, emblem

plied supplied repeatedly in order to tempt or induce

plight health

plight ... faith pledge faith as a binding part of betrothal or marriage

plighted promised, solemnly pledged

plough-chains chains used to pull a plough

ploughed up hard to parallel exactly from OED in this metaphorical sense, but clearly meaning 'stimulated'

ploughshare ‘the large pointed blade of a plough, which, following the coulter, cuts a slice of earth horizontally and passes it on to the mouldboard’ (OED)

plume feather

poaching tramping heavily, trampling (OED poach v2, 8); possibly puns on poaching as the illegal pursuit of fish, game, etc. (OED poach v2, 4a)

poesy poetry

poet-bounces poets who are boastful swaggerers (OED bounce, n 4b) or show-offs

point topic, issue in debate or under discussion, which is to be resolved (brought to a conclusion)

point issue, argument (OED n1. 10); puns on the meaning of ‘point’ in heraldry, where it refers to ‘One of nine recognized locations on a shield which serve to determine the position of a charge, etc.; a charge or device occupying such a location; also: one of a number of horizontal sections of different tinctures into which a shield may be divided, esp. a section at the base of a shield divided from the rest’ (OED point n1, 8d)

point proposition, idea (OED n1. 10a)

point proposition, idea (OED n1. 10a); main subject or focus of a discussion (OED n1. 10b); objective, aim (OED n1. 10c); conclusion (OED n1. 11)

point lace, usually made of leather and with a metal tip called an aglet, for tying one's clothing together (OED 23a): tying sleeve to doublet, breeches to doublet, or codpiece to breeches Codpieces were not worn in the 1630s, but points were still used to lace up the front opening of the hose or breeches.

point conclusion

point tagger a maker of point tags, the metal terminations of laces

pointmakers Points were laces used to tie articles of clothing together, such as bodices to skirts or doublets to hose; they were often skilfully decorated. Byplay, however, is punning on this sense of the word and "one given to making legal points".

points blades, e.g. knives, daggers etc.

points tagged laces (used as ties on garments, often securing breeches to a doublet)

points attributes, features, traits, or characteristics (OED n1. 13a)

poke pocket; but perhaps also carrying overtones of the further meaning, a beggar's bundle

polecat a wild, predatory cat (applied contemptuously to a prostitute)

police policy (OED n. 1)

policy cunning, craftiness, political nous (OED n1. 5a)

policy contrivance; stratagem, trick (OED n1. 3)

policy cunningness; a stratagem

politic cunning, scheming, crafty

politic expedient, sagacious

politic politician; crafty scheming person

politic cunning, scheming

politick shrewd; cunning

polluted sinful, tainted

Polonian a native or inhabitant of Poland, a Pole

poltroon an utter coward, a mean-spirited person, a worthless wretch (OED n. 1)

pomatums an ointment for the skin or hair (OED 1)

pomp magnificence, ceremony

pompions pumpkins

pomps splendid or showy ornaments, appurtenances etc. (OED n1. 3 notes this as a unique usage)

ponderous weighty, important

pooped fooled

poor insignificant

poor snake a poor, needy, or humble person, a drudge (OED snake n, 3a)

poorly spirited cowardly

popinjay a representation of a parrot, usually in tapestry (OED 1a)

poplars of yarrum milk pottage (Haaker)

popular of the common people

port style of living; rank, status, social standing; also behaviour, conduct (OED n4. 2a and 1c)

port dignified demeanour or manner (OED n4. 1)

port bearing, deportment (OED n4. 1a)

portends means, is signified by (OED v1. 2)

porter person employed to carry something (OED n2. 1b)

portholes small windows, usually circular, originally made for cannons on ships, but subsequently used of any similar apertures in a building

portion dowry (monies, goods or lands brought by the wife to augment her husband’s estate on their marriage)

portions inheritances

portmanteau case or bag used for travelling (OED n. 1)

posies poems, especially short ones

possess hold, enjoy (OED v. 1b); take possession of (OED v.,5a); have sexual intercourse with (OED v. 5b)

possess provide with knowledge, inform (OED v. 11)

possessed influenced, dominated

possession piece of property; in legal discourse, exclusive control of a piece of land (OED n. 1b)

posset bedtime drink made from hot milk curdled with ale, wine, or other liquor, flavoured with sugar, herbs, and spices; such were used medicinally, but were also commonly prepared for bridegrooms, or served to the whole wedding party in the seventeenth century (the posset pot used for weddings was generally a large two-handled jug with a lid and a spout, which was passed among the guests to toast the bridal pair); the posset settled into three layers after preparation: the milky foam at the top, a custard in the middle, and the alcohol mostly at the bottom (hence the spout for accessing it), the rest of the posset could be eaten with a spoon (several photographs of English posset pots are available on the internet)

possibility potential fortune, financial prospects

post dispatch, send in a hurry (OED post v2, 3a)

post travel with haste; hurry (OED v2. 2a)

post (as a verb) hasten, hurry

post rush, race

post in a hurry

post courier; messenger (OED n3. 2a and 2b)

post and pair 'a card game in which players are dealt three cards on which they place bets' (OED, post, n4. 2)

post-knight knight of the post: a perjurer or someone who earns a living by making false oaths (OED knight of the post)

posted disgraced by having shameful facts made known, even advertised upon a placard or notice (OED v1. 3a and 3b)

posterity future generations

posterity descendents

postilion ‘a person who rides the (leading) nearside (left-hand side) horse drawing a coach or carriage, esp. when one pair only is used and there is no coachman; also in extended use: an outrider for a carriage.’ (OED n. 3; the earliest example cited is from Massinger’s The City Madam [King’s Men, 1633; published London, 1658], and this usage appears in a number of Caroline texts)

posts messengers (on horseback)

posture demeanour; position

posy derived from poesy and meaning an inscription, usually in verse

pot-butter butter salted and stored in pots for long keeping

potation drink (usually alcoholic)

potshards a fragment of a broken earthenware pot; a broken piece of pottery

pottle a measure of capacity for liquids (also for corn and other dry goods, rarely for butter), equal to two quarts (four pints or half a gallon): now abolished (OED 1)

powdered wearing hair-powder, a marker of being fashionable

power authority, dominion

powers influential people, rulers (OED n1. 8a)

pox pox on/of (it): a plague on (an expletive)

pox chickenpox, smallpox, syphilis, any illness, such as plague, that manifests in pustules on the skin

pox venereal disease, usually refers to syphilis

pox disease characterised by pustules on the skin (OED 1a); syphilis (OED 1b)

pox pox on it (or her)

pox of a plague on (an expletive)

practice conspiracy, plot; treachery

practice in pejorative senses, to practice upon, to fool or deceive

practice rehearsal (of skills needed to work in one's chosen profession)

practice habit or exercise; carrying out of a profession (OED n. 1)

practice regularly exercise our skills in (OED v, 2); make use of our skills in (OED v. 4a)

practice stratagem, trick, treachery (OED n. 5a and 5b)

practise scheme, plot (OED v. 9a)

practised attempted, undertaken (OED practise v, 5b); conspired, planned (OED practise v, 9a); habitually performed (OED practise v, 3b)

praemunires writs served against individuals, usually professionals, suspected of illegal practice

praise object of praise (OED n. 3b)

prate tells tales against someone (OED prate v, 2a)

prate chatter, talk foolishly, gossip

prating idle talk; preaching

prating prattling, chattering

prats buttocks

prattle chatter at length (OED v. 2a)

prattle foolish, inconsequential, or incomprehensible talk; childish chattering

prattle (v) ‘bring or drive by prattling’ (OED v. 3)

prattling talking foolishly (OED v.)

pray a contraction of 'I pray you', or 'I ask you'

pre-contracts pre-existing contracts of marriage

pre-eminence primacy; superiority

pre-intended intended previously, ordained (OED: the earliest citation dates from 1636)

prea pray (dialect)

precedent model to be followed

precept rule for moral conduct (OED n. 1a): in this case the obligation on a son to honour his father

precepts commands, injunctions

precinct area of government, parish

precious common oath derived from 'By God’s precious blood!'

precious mild oath, meaning 'by God's precious body'

precious beloved (OED adj. 1a); costly (OED adj. 2) (the meaning could be shifted depending on the delivery of the line by the actor playing Alice)

precious fastidious (but used here also maybe with the force of an intensifier, meaning "out-and-out", "downright")

precious complete, utter, out-and-out (OED adj. 4a); worthless (OED adj. 4b)

precious costly, though it may also be used here as an intensifier, colloquially meaning out-and-out (OED a. 4a)

precise puritanical (from being scrupulous in religious observance)

preciseness puritanical behaviour

precisest highly punctilious, fastidious or puritanical (OED adj. 3a)

Precisian 'one who is rigidly precise or punctilious in the observance of rules or forms'; 'in the 16th and 17th centuries synonymous with Puritan' (OED)

precisianical rigidly precise, punctilious in the observance of rules or forms

precogitate consider in advance

precogitated thought over beforehand, premeditated (OED)

precogitation preliminary thinking, preparation

preeminence higher rank or distinction; priority of place

preface preamble, preliminary explanation

prefer advance, promote, favour

preferment advancement to an office or position, promotion (OED n. 4)

preferred recommended

prefixed appointed, arranged (beforehand)

pregnant (of an argument, proof, piece of evidence) compelling, cogent, convincing, clear, obvious

pregnant acute, imaginatively fertile; but also compelling, cogent; telling, significant

prejudice personal bias

prejudice (v) work to the disadvantage of

prejudicious a hybrid of prejudiced and judicious (as Lollio points out, Poggio means ‘judicious’)

prentice apprentices

prentice apprentice

preparative aperitif, or little something to stimulate the appetite before a meal

preparative a medicinal treatment administered before further medication or treatment

preposterous backwards, literally suggesting that the posterior has gone before; hence, ‘out of order, backward, arsiversie, cleane contrarie to all good order and due rule and formall fashion’(Florio, LEME)

prerogative a superiority, a pre-eminence, precedence

prerogative royal privilege

presage portend (OED 1a)

presage predict, foretell (OED 2a)

Presbyter An Elder or office-holder (whether cleric or layperson) in Presbyterianism, a mode of Protestantism in which churches are governed locally and without bishops

prescribed ordered, directed (in writing beforehand)

prescribed laid down, fixed (in writing beforehand)

presence place or space surrounding the king (OED 2a); presence-chamber (OED 2c)

presence place or space surrounding the king (OED 2a); ceremonial attendance (OED 2b); presence-chamber (OED 2c)

present present time, i.e. now

present available; remaining

present immediate, current

present (v) represent

present urgent, pressing, immediate

present (adj. and adv.) ready at hand, immediately accessible or available (OED 5)

present v. present yourself

presenter introducer, speaker of the prologue

presently immediately (OED adv. 3); without delay

presentment presentation

president head (OED n. 2b)

press squeeze, urge or compel (OED v1. 8a)

press push insistently, advance with eagerness, intrude

press (n) large cupboard, usually with shelves, often used for clothes (OED n. 15)

press importune [someone](OED v. 14b); express, extract [juice] by pressure (OED 3)

pressed eager

presto at once

presume to take liberties (OED 1b)

presume take upon ourselves; dare, take the liberty

presume undertake

presumes not takes no liberties; fears to take advantage of (eg, a family relationship) (see OED 6)

presuming relying on (OED v. 7); taking unscrupulous advantage (OED v. 6)

presumption overly forward behaviour

presumption grounds for believing (OED n. 4); ‘belief based on available evidence’ (OED n. 3a)

presumption taking more than one's right; arrogance (OED 2)

presumptuous arrogant, ‘unduly confident or bold’, usurping (OED adj, 1)

pretence intention, aim, design (OED n. 6)

pretend intends, plans (OED pretend v, 10c)

pretend intending, planning (OED pretend v, 10c)

pretend lay claim to, profess to have (OED v. 3); intend, plan (OED v. 10); aspire to, have pretensions to (OED v. 12)

prettiest cleverest, most able (OED adj. 1a); most attractive (OED adj. 2a); most pleasing (OED adj. 3b); boldest, most gallant, most admirable (OED adj. 3a)

prettily puns on ‘ingeniously, skilfully’ (OED adv. 1a), ‘attractively, charmingly’ (OED adv. 2a) and ‘considerably’ (OED adv. 3)

prettily wittily, artfully

pretty cunning, clever, artful

pretty artful, ingenious; childish

pretty considerable, abundant (OED adj. 4a)

pretty clever, crafty, ingenious (OED adj. 1); fairly, very (OED adv. 1a)

pretty skilful, artful (OED adj. 1); charming (OED adj. 2b)

pretty pleasing; good, excellent

prevail succeed in persuading, inducing, influencing

prevailed succeeded

prevailed succeeded, been victorious

prevailed been victorious

prevalent effective, influential (OED prevalent a, 1a)

prevent outstrips, anticipates, acts in advance (OED v. 1 and 5a)

prevent outrun, forestall (OED v. 5a and 8)

prevent hinder, thwart, forestall, frustrate (OED v. II 8)

prevented outstripped (OED v. 5a); hindered, precluded (OED v. 8); deprived of a purpose, cut off (OED v. 10); frustrated (OED v. 11)

prevented hindered, thwarted, frustrated (OED prevent v, II 8)

prevented came before, anticipated

prevention the hindering, frustrating or forestalling of a scheme

pre’ ye pray ye: I ask you (said with a strong French accent)

price cost (OED n. 7)

price esteem

prick height, acme, highest point (OED n. 14), with an innuendo on prick = penis (OED n. 12b)

prick goad or prompt to memory

pricked selected from a list by marking beside the name

pricks drives or urges (as with a spur) (OED prick v, II 9a)

pride-money tax on ostentation (OED pride n1, Compound C1c) (this instance is the only example which the OED gives for this `obsolete humorous nonce-use')

prigged stolen (OED v1. I)

prime foremost, most important

primero a variant name for Primiera, a card game related to poker

primofistula one of the names of primo visto or primofisto, a card game (This version of the name is perhaps unique to The New Academy; a fistula is, anatomically, a pipe-like ulcer and Rachel's term perhaps shows her inexperience and is another mortification for Matchil)

prince ruler, monarch (i.e. the King)

prince ruler, monarch

princely suitable for a prince; sumptuous, magnificent, bountiful (OED adj. 3)

principal first, most important, best

pristine of or relating to the earliest period or state, primitive, ancient (OED adj, 1)

prithee pray thee: please

prithee (I) pray thee: (I) ask you; please

private secretive, away from public view (and hearing)

private discreet; ‘dependable in confidential matters’ (OED private a1, 13)

private alone, undisturbed by others (OED a1, 11)

private not holding public office or official position; not officially recognized (OED a1, 4b)

private retiring, reticent, not in the public eye

privilege special licence or right (in this case, to speak as he likes in his own house)

privilege licence, authority

privily privately, punning on privy: toilet

privity secret matter (OED n. 1b)

privity secret, privacy

privy familiar, acquainted, privately aware of

privy personal

privy party

privy (to) intimately familiar with private or secret knowledge; private

privy houses small buildings or rooms used for privies (lavatories) (OED privy house n)

prize value, hold in high esteem

prize a contest in which a trophy or money (prize) is awarded the victor

prized valued

probability outcome; likelihood of this happening

probation the examination or testing of a person or thing

probatum a thing proved (see OED probatum n, 1)

procedendo Law Latin (in full: (de) proecedendo ad judicium): a writ which formerly issued out of the common law jurisdiction of the Court of Chancery, commanding a subordinate court to proceed to judgement, either when judgement had been wrongfully delayed, or when the action has been removed to a superior court by certiorari or other writ on insufficient grounds (OED)

procere tall, long (OED cites The Love-Sick Court, 4.2)

proclaim publicly declare (OED v. 1); show or prove (OED v. 4.a); Eulalia possibly also refers ironically to the proclamation against her

proclaim publicly declare (OED proclaim v, 1); show or prove (OED proclaim v, 4a); in The Queen and Concubine 3.1 Eulalia possibly also refers ironically to the proclamation against her

procrastination delay, postponement

proctors people employed to manage the affairs of another; agents, deputies, proxies, attornies (OED 2a)

procure obtain

prodigal extravagant, recklessly wasteful

prodigality wasteful and reckless extravagance

prodigies unnatural or monstrous events

prodigious astonishing, appalling (OED adj. 2a)

prodigious marvellous, extremely powerful

prodigy monstrous or extraordinary event; an anomaly; something abnormal or unnatural (OED 2)

profanation disrespect, desecration

profane not respectful of religious practice; irreverent (OED adj. 3)

profess undertake this task (OED 2a); declare (OED 2c)

profess declare, acknowledge

professeth is expert in, makes her business (OED profess v, 6)

profession occupation as courtesan (prostitution has been commonly termed "the oldest profession")

professors those who profess (as opposed to those who practice) something (OED n. 2a)

professors exponents (of)

profit personal advantage; financial gain

profoundly intensely, extremely (OED profoundly adv, 3)

progenitors ancestors

prognosticate predict or precede

prognosticating foretelling, predicting, or prophesying. Prognostications were often included in printed almanacks so that people could do their own horoscopes and work out good and bad days for special occasions

progress an expedition or travel, usually following a specific route and ending in a specific place (OED 6b).

progress a journey undertaken by the monarch and his/her court (usually during the summer months, as a kind of holiday; but often to avoid residing in London during a time of year when plague was prevalent)

progresses (n) official journeys or visits made by nobles (OED, progress, n. 5a)

project something projected or proposed for execution; a plan, scheme (OED n. 5a)

project planned or proposed undertaking; a scheme, a proposal

project scheme

project design or pattern according to which something is made (OED n. 1; now obsolete)

project plan or design a scheme for (OED v1. 1a) (often used by Brome to suggest a scam or cheat of some kind)

projected planned, designed

projective scheming, inventive (OED adj, 1 which cites Brome's use here and in SG 1.3 as being the earliest examples in this now-obsolete sense)

projector person who forms a project; one who plans or designs an enterprise or undertaking; a proposer or founder of some venture (OED `project' n, 1a)

projectors promoters of bogus or unsound business ventures; cheats, swindlers (OED n. 1b)

Prologus Latin: the actor who gives the Prologue to the play. On the early modern stage, he usually wore a black cloak to cover his costume for the role he performs next in the play proper.

promotion advancement in rank or position; preferment (OED n. 1a), here said sarcastically

promotion favoured position

promoved advanced to a higher grade or office; promoted

pronounce speak, declare

pronounced spoken; proclaimed

prop (v) hold, support

propagate multiply through procreation, spread

proper handsome, distinctive, really masculine (the modern equivalent would be 'sexy')

proper appropriate, usual

proper suited to, characteristic of, befitting

proper apt, fitting (here ironic)

proper admirable, excellent, serious, worthy of consideration (OED adj. 7a)

proper own (OED adj. 4)

proper exclusive, special, private (OED adj. 2a); appropriate

proper attractive, fair, elegant (OED adj. III, 7b) but also genuine or real (OED adj. III, 7c); a 'real' woman

properties characteristics (OED property n, 1b)

property a fabricated stage prop

prophanation desecration, sacrilege

propitiously graciously, mercifully (if God will grant a favourable outcome)

proportion form, shape, configuration (OED n. 5)

proportion quantity (OED n. 7)

proportionable correspondent, comparable

propound put forward, propose (OED v. 1a)

propounded proposed

propounded intended, suggested

propounding suggestion, putting forward a proposal

props holds, supports

prorogue defer, postpone

prosecute initiate, pursue

prosecute pursue, continue with (OED v. 1a)

prostitute sacrifice or debase for profit, defile, dishonour (OED 2b)

protection refers either to the action of protecting someone (OED n. 1a), or to a letter or other document that could give legal and other kinds of protection (OED n. 3)

protection a passport or document of safe conduct, traditionally issued by a monarch

protest I assure you (that), I declare (that)

protest 'protest' has many contemporary uses, but can be used in a commercial context: 'to make a formal written declaration of the non-acceptance or non-payment of (a bill of exchange) when duly presented' (OED v. 2a)

protest an asseveration or exclamation of surprise: I protest! (Well, I declare!)

protestation stated vow, assurance

protestation declaration or affirmation (of intent), "typically made in response to an explicit accusation" (OED n. 1)

protested publicly declared

proud vigorous (OED adj. 6)

prove to show oneself as or turn out to be something (OED v. 2d)

prove aver, avouch, call to witness (see Robert Cawdrey, A Table Alphabetical (1604) on LEME); also allegate or allege (Henry Cockeram, English Dictionary (1623) on LEME); give a demonstration of (OED v. 2)

provender fodder; food, provisions, esp. dry food, as corn or hay, for horses

provide supply the necessary resources for a thing to happen, arrange matters for a given purpose (OED v. 8b)

provided prepared

providence foresight; divine intervention (Bumpsey is probably being ironic)

providence prudent management or provision (OED 1a and 4)

providence two meanings are relevant in the context: "financial resources, supplies, provision of wealth", but also there is present in the usage the sense of "having the wealthy means to act providentially or beneficently (to others)"

Providence divine care or guidance (OED n. 3)

providence foresight, preparation for the future (OED n. 2); divine care or guidance (OED n. 3)

Providence God (‘applied to the Deity as exercising prescient and beneficent power and direction’: OED n. 4); divine care or guidance (OED n. 3)

provident thoughtful; thrifty (OED adj. 1a)

provident characterised by foresight (OED 1a)

provident economical, frugal, thrifty

provident that exercises or is characterized by foresight; that makes provision for the future (OED 1a); that is careful

provocative exciting appetite or lust

provoke to stimulate to action; to rouse, prompt, spur on (OED v.2.)

provoked roused or spurred on (OED v. 2) in a neutral or positive sense, but not with the modern sense of being exasperated or irritated into action

pseugh an interjection, equivalent to 'pah' or 'pshaw' (used by Brome in both O and MS versions of The English Moor)

publish announce, proclaim

puckfist inedible fungus; puff-ball

Puckling a term of endearment for a small imp or hobgoblin, like the puck or pook, sometimes spelt pug, a spirit that may take the shape of any animal or even inanimate object, at will (see Jonson's The Devil is an Ass, in which the young devil is called Pug; Jonson's Pug takes two different human shapes, but Heywood and Brome's Puckling seems to appear either as an undefined spirit, or in animal form; see also 'pug' [GLOSS gg770] and 'puggy' [GLOSS 1176] [NOTE n952])

pudding-bag a bag or mould in which a pudding is boiled; figuratively (and in extended use), anything reminiscent of this in form or function (OED n. 1)

pug familiar spirit or hobgoblin

pug monkey (OED n2. 6; usage here is antecedent to OED’s earliest citation)

puggy term of endearment for children; but also an imp or hobgoblin, like Puck (also called Pook, Pug); possibly, a monkey (OED pug n2, 1, 5 and 6), as in The Queen and Concubine

puissant mighty, powerful

puled cried.

puling ailing, sickly; weak

puling whining, crying; a disdainful, pejorative term

pull bring down (misfortune or disaster) on (one's head) (OED v. 16b)

pullet a young hen but also figuratively a young or inexperienced person, especially a young woman (OED)

pump make a persistent effort or exert themselves with hard thinking

pump force up or out, especially rapidly and in great quantity, as if by means of a pump (OED v. II 6a)

pumped dunked under a water pump

pumped put under a stream of water from a pump; a common punishment for those perceived to be witches (see Induction to Ben Jonson's Bartholomew Fair, ll. 31-3: 'And a punk set under upon her head, with her stern upward, and ha' been soused by nmy witty young masters o' the Inns of Court?')

punctual punctilious; attentive to detail; formal, ceremonious (OED 7a)

punctual exact or precise

punctuality scrupulousness in regard to matters of conduct or etiquette; formality, ceremoniousness; precision in niceties of behaviour

punk prostitute

puppy derogatory term for an arrogant, undisciplined youth (colloquial)

purchase gain, financial advantage (OED n. 8a and 8c)

purgatory place of spiritual purging and purification; in Roman Catholic doctrine a place 'in which souls who depart this life in the grace of God suffer for a time, because they still need to be cleansed from venial sins, or have still to pay the temporal punishment due to mortal sins, the guilt and the eternal punishment of which have been remitted' (OED n. 1a)

purged cleansed, purified

purged to clear onself of an accusation (OED v.1 1a); but also, given that The City Wit includes a medical range of reference, to rid one's body of waste or harmful material; to vomit or to empty one's bowels, especially by taking a laxative (OED v1. 2b)

purling stimulating so as to flow smoothly (like a running stream)

purls threads or cords made of twisted loops, especially of gold or silver wire, used for bordering and embroidering (OED n. I 1)

purpose intention

purpose substance, objective

purposed planned

purposely on purpose, deliberately

purse as verb: to amass (wealth); to pocket

purse store of wealth

purses shortened form of 'cutpurses' [GLOSS gg3006]; thieves

pursing stealing purses, robbing

pursy flabby, puffed up (OED adj. 1; David Crystal and Ben Crystal, Shakespeare’s Words: A Glossary and Language Companion [London: Penguin, 2002], s.v. pursy). Compare The Weakest Goeth to the Wall (London, 1600): ‘to keep our hands in ure, / And breath our pursy bodies, which I fear, / Would have grown stiff for want of exercise’ (sig. C3v)

push an interjection expressing impatience, equivalent to 'pish' (OED push n3)

pusillage thing of no consequence or value, (derived from French)

puss generally a term, often of abuse, for a woman, but here specifically for a prostitute

put a gentleman to his trumps to force or drive (a person, etc.) to the performance of some action, e.g. of making a choice, playing a certain card (OED put v, 28a)

put away dismiss

put away dismissed

put by thrust (him) aside

put by put me off, make me give over

put by thrust aside, evaded

put by give over

put case suppose that (a legal metaphor)

put down i.e. improved on

put in enter, offer himself as a candidate (OED put in, 3b [in put, v]); ‘put in’ is also sexual slang: cf. Marston et al., The Insatiate Countess (Queen’s Revels, c. 1611), in which Abigail tells Mizaldus, referring to her husband’s absense and the opportunity for adultery it provides, ‘He shall not be long out, but you shall put in’ (Four Jacobean Sex Tragedies, ed. Martin Wiggins [Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1998], 2.1.121)

put in apparel dress, attire

put it up put up with it, suffer it

put out broadcasting, advertising

put out ‘lay out (money) to profit’ (The usage here relates to sponsoring trading expeditions to relatively safe venues or to the practice of betting on one's safe return from private journeys to equally safe destinations. Both were likely to be lucrative returns on one's money. The OED (put v, 43j) gives as an instance of 1599: 'I am determined to put forth some five thousand pound, to be paid me five for one, upon the return of myself, my wife, and my dog from the Turk's court'. [See Ben Jonson, Every Man Out Of His Humour in Wilkes, Volume 1, 2.3.219-222].)

put out to forget one's lines (or words); for further examples of this usage, see also Moth, 'They do not mark me, and that brings me out' (Love’s Labour’s Lost, 5.2.172); and Coriolanus, 5.3.40-2, 'Like a dull actor now/ I have forgot my part, and I am out/ Even to a full disgrace.'

put you to't test you, see if you mean what you say

put [him] back cause him to have a relapse, undo his cure

put...to apply, set someone to do something, test

putrefaction corruption

puts by thrusts aside

putter-forwards one who advances an action, moves matters along (OED cites this as the only known usage)