Esther M. Zimmer Lederberg: Glossary Sonnet Madrigall Sestine

small glossary of words that helps understand Elizabethan poetry. Often the poets contributions were limited by those that checked the writing, set type, etc. Thus final form of the words, spellings, etc. may not have been the choice of the poet. Furthermore, the poet often translaed words from Latin (creating new words in English, for example, "addoulce" or "ad doulce", meaning sweetly or softly). Thus not only were words new in the English language, the spellings were not yet standardized nor their meanings. Often letters of the alphabet were used differently, such as "u" and "v"(loue not love, Vlysses not Ulysses), or "e" and "c" (eome not come). Alphabetic forms were different (𝔊𝔬𝔱𝔥𝔦𝔠 𝔚𝔬𝔯𝔡𝔰 as an example), letters were "illuminated" (as in this paragraph of text), letters that looked like other letters ("f" and "ß") were used, common use of diphthongs, triphthongs, quadthongs ¹, Latin consonant clustres or blends ², Latin consonant clusters with "ct" were quite commonly employed. Accented letters were used such as è, é, Ô, etc. Different punctuation, different methods of abbreviations, different "standards" such as B^art for Baronet or y^e for "the". Archaic words also, such as "fraunching" ³, archaic expressions. One must recall that Johannes Gutenberg introduced the metal movable-type printing press in Europe at this time (c. 1450). Thus an abridged glossary might be found helpful? Sources for this glossary are easily found (and might not agree with each other). ⁴.

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a bate	debate
addoulce, ad doulce	sweetly, softly
aetions	actions
aetiue	active
affeetion	affection
again	against
alehouse-daggers	a short sword
appeach	impeach
anon	at once, soon
assise, assize	a civil or criminal court
assay	attempt, try, effort, endeavour
astart	escape
ay	continually, forever

babish	childish
backney	to amble or plod
bale	bitter experience (balefull experience)
ban	curse, chide
band	bond, fetter, state of bondage
Bare me in hand	encourage me to hope
beeause	because
bewray	to reveal oneself involuntarily
blaying	bleating
boot	advantage, use, relief, remedy, reward
bourd	game, jest, bantering
brabbling	squabbling, quarrelling noisily
brandon	torch
braunfalne	able to bear
brickle	brittle

caban	cabin
cative	slave (captive)
charge	fill, burden
chate	chat
cheer	face, facial expression
cleif	coast, shore (Scotts language)
clips	embraces
coltish gyres	struggle of the soul to control chariot horses (emotions), from Socrates' Phaedrus
conster'd	construed
cony-catcher	con man, swindler(cony or rabbit: soft mark)
courber	An angler: a petty thief that use a stick with a hook at the end to pilfer goods from shop windows
crisped	tightly curled
croslets, corsiets	armour
culver	dove, wood pigeon
cure	care, heed, remedy
cutted	concise

day-nets	glass to catch the sun's rays thus attract birds which are then snared in a net
denizen'd wit	foreign words or expressions naturalized into the language
diamantine	to make diamond-like; for example: "diamantine meadows of emeralds" (the Isle of Love in "Os Lusíades", by Camões)
dight	clothes
dirst	dare
ditty	song or poem
doom	judgement
doubt	fear, suspect
doulcely	sweetly
douty, dowty	full of doubt
dribbe'd shot	an arrow that falls short of or wide of mark (wasted shot)
dure	endure, last

eannot	cannot
earthy cates	choice food as opposed to spiritual food
eause	cause
ebane	ebony
eelebrated	celebrated
effects	affections
eftsoones	once again, soon, presently
ehange	change
eine	eyes
eke	comfort, also
eleare	clear
elouds	clouds
ensaffrons	to create the color of saffron, example: "the setting sun ensaffrons the purple sea"
eome	come
eonelude	conclude
eopy	copy
eould	could
error	wandering, mistake
erst	earlier, formerly
eure	ever

fain	gladly, willingly
fair level	good aim
fair Twin's	when the sun passes Gemini to Cancer
far-fet	far-fetched
fell	cruel, fierce, terrible
fievre	fever
flowere	decorate
foile	fall
foist	pick pocket
foyaltie	royalty tax revenues (from mines)
fret	gnaw, waste away
froward	having a tendency to act in a way contrary to reason, perverse
fur	far
futuo	sexual intercourse

gald	A tx for the killing of a deer in any private (enclosed) property
game	joke
gelsemine	jasmine
gladsome	pleasant, cheering
glistering	sparkling appearance
globe of weal	the sum total of happiness
gnar, gnarring	snarl, growl
graee	grace
grave	impress deeply
gripe	vulture
grutch	grudge
guerdon	reward
gutte	gout

lackeyes	one that waits upon someone, a servant
leech	physician
leese	lose, destroy
let	hinder, prevent, hinderance
lever	dearest
limned, limn'd	to describe or paint with words
lin'd	backed, supported
list	pleases, hence, desire, choose
loofe	to leap
lookt'st babies	Small reflected images of oneself in the pupils of another's eyes (amorously)
Love, born in Greece	reference to gynamede art found in Cyprus (sodomy)
lust	pleases, desire
lustre	5-years (trice-lustre is 15 years)

manchet, mancheate	fine wheaten bread
Manège	display of skilled horsemanship
marish	marsh
Maugre	in spite of
mearles	blackbirds
mentery	lying
met	measure
methinks, methought	it seems to me
moe	more
moone	moon
most	greatest
mueh	much
mukle	a large amount
muse	wonder, ponder
musters	showes
myche	play truant

paranymph	bridesmaid
pecorious	rich
perdie	by God!
pies	magpies
pitfold	a concealed trap (bo-peep or couching lies)
plain	complain
plaint	complaint, grieving
prease	press
press	oppress
prest	priest
prinees	prince
prinke	showy dress
prize	estimate the worth of
proof	experience, trial (attempt to prove valid), evidence
put out	cancel

raise	rays
rakehell	an immoral or dissolute man, a blaggard
ramage	birdsong
reck	care, acknowledge
recure	remedy, help
redress	help, compensation
resty	to balk, or refuse to advance
resveryes	reveries
rhubarb words	words of cleansing bitterness
roaveres	rovers, robbers
rost	an attitude of humility
runaway	apostate

salse	without
seienee	science
seorne	scorne
shade out	to faintly sketch
shright	shout, cry out
shut	shit
sinople	brown-yellow color
skill	"it skills not" or it makes no difference
secret stay	hidden ambush
shent	punished
sib	sibling
sith	since
smart	physical or mental pain, sorrow
snary	entrap
sore	severely, harshly, deeply
soryle	sail
steed	like (instead)
sowne	swoon
speed	cause one to succeed, prosper
spill	ruin, destroy, kill, degenerate, perish
staineth	to take the shine out of
standing	a station from which to shoot game
stay	sustain, support
sterve	starve, die in lingering death
still	always, unceasingly, now as formerly
stint	cut short, stop, cease
stoupes hir pitch	hawking (as in falcons) terminology: pitch is the height a falcon rises to before attacking prey
strowes	strew, scatter
sueh	such
sunne	sun
supercheries	frauds
sure	certainly, securely
swayne	a youth, a young lover
sweaven	to dream
sylvans	wood-spirits, forest-spirits

take time	act in time
Tantal's smart	Myth: stand in water but can't drink, starve but can't reach fruit
taper-flye	moth
tapper	candle
tewed	fatigued, worn from hardship
thorough	through
thrife, thryfe	thrift, to lie, shrew
tiller	a beam
toueh	touch
tunder	tinder
touch	a touchstone of beauty, to touch powder (start a conflagration)
trace	former life
train	draw, persuade, convert, lead astray, deceive, deceit, guile, lure, bait
trow	believe
truce-men, truchmen	interpreter
truth	troth, fidelity, plain speech, pledge, consistent and upright behaviour
try	distinguish, separate, refine, ascertain
tyle	toil

wanhope	hopelessness, despair
want	lack, fail, lack, absence
ware	take care, wary, prudent
weedes	dress
ween	expect, think
welkin	sky or heaven
weltering	vacillation
whenee	whence
whieh	which
wie	weigh
wight	person of a specific king (unlucky wight, fat wight, etc.)
windlass	to ensnare circuitously
wist	and, know
wont	to be accustomed
wot	know
wracke'd	ruined
wreak, wreck	give vent to, gratify, avenge, harm

hap	chance occurrence, change in fortune
hatch	close
hie	to go quickly, hasten
huff-snuffes	to take offense, evasion

ingine	intellectual inventiveness
innes	colleges
irrotulate	enroll
iwis	certainly

Napenthe	a drug that banishes grief
ne	not, nor
nips	cut purse
not	ne wot, know not

unbitted	unrestrained, unbridled
use	become or be accustomed, usage, custom, habit

vade	fade, disappear
vaileth	avails, profits, accomplishes

Esther M. Zimmer Lederberg
Glossary: Sonnets, Madrigalls, Sestines

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Esther M. Zimmer Lederberg Glossary: Sonnets, Madrigalls, Sestines

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Esther M. Zimmer Lederberg
Glossary: Sonnets, Madrigalls, Sestines

Click letters to browse this Glossary:
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