abroad out and about.
addle muddled and, perhaps, rotten.
ado fuss; trouble; excitement.
advance raise.
agate stone a hard, semiprecious stone.
all dissemblers all liars.
all naught all wicked.
ally relative, kinsman.
ambuscados ambushes.
amerce to punish by imposing a fine.
an ill-beseeming semblance an unfitting or inappropriate outward appearance or aspect.
answer it accept it.
antic face Romeo's face is still covered by his mask.
aqua vitae alcoholic spirits.
artificial night Romeo's behavior is unnatural (artificial).
As Phaeton . . . immediately Phaeton, the son of Apollo, was allowed to drive the chariot of the sun for a day. His reckless driving nearly set the earth on fire and Zeus, the king of the gods, struck him dead with a thunderbolt.
aspir'd to rise high; to tower.
atomi creatures as small as atoms.
baleful harmful or poisonous.
bandy to toss or hit back and forth, as a ball.
bandying to give and take; to exchange (words) in an angry or argumentative manner.
barefoot brother another friar.
bauble a jester's baton with an ornament at the end.
becomed befitting; becoming.
bedaubed smeared or stained with blood.
beggarly account of empty boxes empty boxes of little worth.
behoveful necessary or required.
benedicite Latin for "bless you!"
benefice an endowed church office providing a living for a vicar, rector, etc.
beshrew to curse: mainly in mild imprecations.
bills medieval weapons having a hook-shaped blade with a spike at the back, mounted on a long staff.
bitt'rest gall bitter feeling; rancor. Gall is another name for bile, one of the bodily humors (that is, bodily fluids thought to be responsible for one's health and disposition).
blaze proclaim in public.
blazen declare or celebrate.
bondage is hoarse and may not speak aloud at home, Juliet is under her father's strict discipline and must whisper as though she is hoarse to avoid detection.
bound obliged or indebted.
bow in the hams make a bow.
brine salt water; that is, tears.
broke her brow fell and cut her forehead.
by and by soon.
by my holidame from the Anglo-Saxon for holiness, here used by the Nurse to mean "holy dame," that is, the Virgin Mary.
by rote by memory alone, without understanding or thought.
by th'rood an oath by Christ's cross.
by the operation of the second cup by the time the second cup of liquor has taken effect upon him.
caitiff wretched.
cancell'd love Romeo thinks that his killing Tybalt will render his marriage to Juliet null and void.
captain of compliments in dueling, one who has mastered all the rules and moves.
care desire.
carry no crotchets put up with none of your notions or whims.
case mask.
catling a small lute or fiddle string made out of cat gut.
challenge claim.
chapless without the lower jaw.
charge important matters.
charnel house a building or place where corpses or bones are deposited.
chinks plenty of cash.
churl a surly, ill-bred person.
civil night sober, serious night.
closet a small room or cupboard for clothes.
clout any piece of cloth, esp. one for cleaning.
coil commotion; turmoil.
colliers coal miners.
common bound ordinary limit, with a pun on "bound," as bound to leap about and to be confined.
complain lament as a lover.
conceal'd lady Juliet, Romeo's secret wife.
conceit thought.
conceive understand.
conduct guide.
conduct that is, the poison.
confusion's . . . confusions the solution is not to be found in this uncontrollable grief.
conjuration solemn entreaty.
conjure to summon a demon or spirit as by a magic spell. Mercutio attempts to raise or draw Romeo from his hiding place.
consorted associated with.
cop'st is willing to face or encounter.
cordial an invigorating medicine that stimulates the heart.
cords the rope ladder so that Romeo can climb up to Juliet's balcony.
cot-quean a man who usurped the place of the housewife. The Nurse teases Capulet for the pride and concern he takes in household affairs.
countervail to match or equal.
cousin loosely, any relative by blood or marriage.
cross to thwart.
crow a crowbar.
crystal scales Romeo's eyes are like the pans on a set of crystal scales.
culled picked out; selected.
culling of simples gathering herbs.
curfew bell the bell used especially in the medieval and renaissance periods, which rang in the morning and evening to signal curfew.
Cynthia's brow the moon.
