adoption tried friendship that has stood the test of time.
aery nest.
aim to guess or conjecture.
angle fishing line.
an't if it.
antique Roman The ancient Roman was ever ready to commit suicide when confronted with calamity.
apoplex'd paralyzed.
argal therefore.
arms a coat of arms, being a group of emblems and figures arranged on and around a shield and serving as the special insignia of a person, family, or institution.
arras a tapestry wall hanging.
assay of arms try to raise.
assays of bias This is a metaphor from the game of lawn bowling; the weight in the ball, which causes it to follow a curved line, is called the bias. Hence the meaning of the phrase is "indirect attempts."
assigns appurtenances.
assurance a pun on conveyance of property by deed and security.
batten to grow fat; thrive; to be well fed or wealthy at another's expense.
Be as ourself in Denmark Claudius is extending to Hamlet all the special privileges and prerogatives belonging to a crowned prince.
be idle seem crazy.
beetles o'er overhangs.
bend you incline yourself.
berattle abuse.
beteem permit.
bilboes long iron bars with sliding shackles, for fettering prisoners' feet.
bisson rheum blinding tears.
blank the center spot of a target; bull's-eye.
blench to shrink back, as in fear; flinch.
blood and judgment passion and reason.
bodkin a dagger or stiletto.
botch a badly patched place or part
bourn limit; boundary.
brainish apprehension mad notion (that he heard a rat).
bray out celebrate.
breathing time time of exercise.
broad blown in full blossom.
brokers people who act as agents or intermediaries in negotiating contracts, buying and selling, and so forth.
bruit proclaim.
bugs terrors, nightmares.
bung-hole a hole in a barrel or keg through which liquid can be poured in or drawn out.
the burning zone the sun.
buttons buds.
Buz, buz a slang expression for "tell me something I don't know."
buzzers gossipers.
Cain's jaw-bone the jawbone of an ass, with which Cain is supposed to have killed Abel.
candied sugared with hypocrisy.
carbuncles precious stones of fiery red color.
carve choose.
cast beyond ourselves look beyond what we know or understand.
cataplasm a poultice, often medicated.
cautel craft, deceit.
cease of majesty death of a king.
censure opinion
cerements cloths or sheets wrapped around a dead person; shrouds.
chameleon's dish The chameleon was supposed to feed on air.
changeling a child secretly put in the place of another; especially, in folk tales, one exchanged in this way by fairies.
chapfallen a pun; disheartened, depressed, or humiliated (literally, having one's lower jaw hanging down).
chapless jawless.
character a pun on character in the sense of personal qualities.
chariest most modest and virtuous.
chaste treasure precious chastity.
checking at swerving aside from; a term in hawking.
chopine a woman's shoe with a very thick sole, as of cork.
chorus in ancient Greek drama, a company of performers whose singing, dancing, and narration provide explanation and elaboration of the main action.
chough a chatterer.
cicatrice scar or wound.
clepe to call or address (a person).
clout a piece of cloth; a rag.
Clowns rustics. The word indicates that these roles were played by comic actors.
Cock corruption for God
cockle hat a hat adorned with cockle shells and worn by pilgrims.
collection inference.
compass the tonal range of a musical instrument.
compelled valour bravery that stems from necessity.
complete steel full armor.
compounded restored, mingled.
Confederate season suitable opportunity.
confine prison.
congruing agreeing.
conjunctive closely united.
contagious blastments destructive blights.
continent containing enough ground.
contraction the marriage contract.
contumely haughty and contemptuous rudeness; insulting and humiliating treatment or language.
conveyance the document by which real property is transferred from one person to another; deed.
convocation of politic worms a political assembly of worms; an allusion to the Diet of Worms (1521), a convocation held by the Catholic Church to allow Martin Luther to explain his reform of doctrine. He had first set his beliefs forth in Wittenberg, where Hamlet and Horatio have studied.
convoy is assistant a means of conveyance is available.
coronet weeds garlands of flowers.
corse corpse, dead body.
coted overtook.
couch lie concealed; to hide.
counsel secrets.
counter on the false trail (a hunting term); treason.
counterfeit presentment portrait.
cousin kinsman. This word was used for any near relation; here it would refer to nephew.
cozenage treachery.
cozen'd cheated.
crack the wind of overwork. The phrase comes from working a horse so hard that it becomes winded.
crants wreaths.
credent credulous.
crescent increasing, growing.
crowner coroner.
Cyclops in Greek mythology, any of a race of giants who have only one eye, in the middle of the forehead; they assisted Vulcan, the god of fire.
Damon a perfect friend; in classical legend, Damon and Pythias were friends so devoted to each other that when Pythias, who had been condemned to death, wanted time to arrange his affairs, Damon pledged his life that his friend would return. Pythias returned and both were pardoned.
Danskers Danes.
delated articles detailed provisions set forth in their instructions.
Deliberate pause a deliberate step, taken after due consideration.
digested organized.
distemper mental disturbance.
divide distinguish.
doublet a man's close-fitting jacket, with or without sleeves, worn chiefly from the 14th to the 16th centuries. The coat that was fastened (braced) to the hose (short breeches) by laces. When a man was relaxing or careless of appearance, he "unbrac'd," much like a man today loosens his tie or takes off his suit jacket.
douts extinguishes; literally, do out.
down gyved fallen, like fetters, about his ankles.
drabbing associating with prostitutes.
The dram of evil / Doth all the noble substance of a doubt, / To his own scandal a much-disputed passage. Perhaps a line is missing. The general meaning seems to be that it takes only a small portion of evil to bring a scandal on the entire substance, however noble it may otherwise be.
drift of conference roundabout methods.
drossy frivolous; worthless stuff; rubbish.
dug a female animal's nipple or teat; vulgarly, a woman's breast.
dupp'd opened.
ecstasy madness
eisel vinegar.
enginer engineer.
enseam'd greasy, with a pun on semen.
envious silver malicious branch.
escoted paid.
expectancy and rose bright hope ( as future king).
extravagant and erring vagrant and wandering (both used in their original Latin sense — a common device used by Shakespeare).
eyases unfledged birds, especially young hawks taken from the nest for training in falconry.
fain wish.
fantasy an odd notion; whim.
fardels burdens; misfortune.
fat out of condition, sweaty.
fay faith, used in oaths (by my fay!); with a pun on fairy.
fear me not don't be afraid for me.
fell out occurred.
fellies the segments forming the rim of a spoked wheel.
Fie for shame! an interjection expressing a sense of outraged propriety.
first mout'd put into the mouth first in order that all the goodness may be extracted before swallowing.
fishmonger a dealer in fish, or someone who sells women.
flaw a sudden, brief gust of wind, often with rain or snow; a squall.
flood sea. Elsinore is situated on the Danish coast.
foil and target fencing rapier and small shield.
foils long, thin swords with a button on the point to prevent injury, used in fencing.
fordo destroy.
fordoes destroys.
forest of feathers plumed hat much worn by players.
formal ostentation public ceremony.
fretted having an ornamental pattern of small, straight bars intersecting or joining one another, usually at right angles, to form a regular design, as for a border or in an architectural relief; decorated like the painted ceiling over the stage at The Globe.
from occasion by chance.
fust grow moldy.
gaged pledged.
gain-giving misgiving.
gait progress.
gall scratch, draw blood.
galled jade a worn-out horse with sores from the rubbing and chafing of a saddle.
galls his kibe scrapes his heel.
gambol wander; frolic.
general censure public's judgment.
gentry courtesy.
gib tomcat; a male cat, especially a castrated male cat.
gibes jests.
Gis corruption for Jesus.
goblin damn'd damned agent of the devil. Hamlet, from the very first, seems to question the authenticity of the ghost as the true spirit of his father.
gorge stomach (literally, throat or gullet).
grace to bring honor to, dignify; with a pun on the prayer before meals.
gross and scope general meaning.
groundings the poorer and less critical section of the audience who stood in the pit.
half limp.
hangers straps by which the rapier was hung from the girdle.
harbingers persons or things that come before to announce or give an indication of what follorws; heralds
hatchment a diamond-shaped panel bearing the coat of arms of a person who has died.
hautboys oboes.
hearsed buried.
Hecate's ban the curse of Hecate, the Greek goddess of the moon, earth, and underground realm of the dead, later regarded as the goddess of sorcery and witchcraft.
hectic fever; red or flushed , as with fever.
Hecuba in Homer's Iliad, the wife of Priam and mother of Hector, Troilus, Paris, and Cassandra.
heedful note careful observation.
hent to grasp; in this case, a time for action.
Hercules in Greek and Roman mythology, the son of Zeus, renowned for his strength and courage, especially as shown in his performance of twelve labors imposed on him.
Hic et ubique Latin for here and everywhere.
his greatness weigh'd considering his high position.
his sables and his weeds dignified robes.
His virtues else his other virtues.
hoar gray.
hoodman-blind blindman's bluff.
Hugger-mugger secret haste.
Humorous Man the player of character parts.
humour behavior.
husbandry thrift.
Hymen in Greek mythology, the god of marriage.
Hyperion a Titan often identified with the sun god.
Hyrcanian beast tiger from Hyrcania, mentioned in the Aeneid.
Ilium Latin name for Troy
impart behave.
impasted made into a paste (the slain, not Pyrrhus).
imponed staked; wagered.
importing concerning.
imposthume abscess or festering sore.
imputation reputation.
in fee outright.
in fine in the end.
in one brow of woe Everyone in the kingdom ought to mourn.
in the full bent completely. Like a bow that is bent as far as it can be bent.
incontinency without self-restraint, especially in regard to sexual activity.
incorps'd and demi-natur'd an integral part of the body.
index prologue.
indu'd endowed, belonging to.
inexplicable dumb-shows the unintelligible pantomime preceding the play proper.
Intil into.
inurn'd buried; entombed (literally, put the ashes of a dead person into an urn).
investments garments.
jealousy suspicion.
Jephthah a judge in the Bible who sacrificed his daughter in fulfillment of a vow ( Judg. 11:30-40).
jointress a woman who has been given an interest for life in her deceased husband's estate; here, a partner.
jowls bumps.
jump precisely.
keep lodge.
knotted and combined locks hair lying together in a mass.
Larded garnished.
lauds hymns of praise.
law of writ classical plays.
lawful espials spies who are justified in their action.
lawless resolutes desperadoes.
lay song.
lay you home to him tell him what's what.
lets hinders.
liberty modern plays.
liegemen loyal subjects.
life-rendering pelican The pelican was supposed to feed its young with its own blood.
livery the characteristic clothing worn by members of a particular group or trade.
loggats skittles or ninepins, a British game in which a ball is bowled at nine wooden pins.
maiden strewments flowers strewn on a girl's grave.
mark take notice of; heed.
Marry a Common Elizabethan expletive for Mary, referring to the Virgin Mary.
mazzard slang for head (literally, drinking bowl).
meed a merited recompense or reward.
Mercury in Roman mythology, the messenger of the gods; god of commerce, manual skill, eloquence, cleverness, travel, and thievery.
merely entirely, absolutely, altogether.
miching mallecho slinking mischief.
milch milky, moist.
mobled wearing ruffled collars popular in Elizabethan England.
moiety competent sufficient portion.
moist star moon.
mole blemish.
more above moreover.
mortis'd firmly joined.
most carefully upon your hour exactly when you were expected.
mote speck of dust.
mould of form pattern of manly beauty and behavior.
mountebank quack doctor.
mouse a common term of endearment.
mows grimaces (twistings or distortions of the face.
muddy-mettled dull-spirited.
Murdering-piece cannon loaded with grapeshot.
mutes or audience silent spectators.
mutines mutineers.
nature's livery, or fortune's star inborn or the result of bad luck.
nave rim; the hub of a wheel.
Nemean in Greek mythology, a reference to a fierce lion from Nemea killed by Hercules as the first of his twelve labors.
Neptune's belonging to Neptune, the Roman god of the sea.
Nero (A.D. 37-68); notoriously cruel and depraved emperor of Rome (54-68) who killed his own mother.
nighted black, signifying deep mourning.
Niobe in Greek mythology, a queen of Thebes who, weeping for her slain children, is turned into a stone from which tears continue to flow; hence, an inconsolable woman.
no fairy takes Medieval Europeans believed that fairies stole children.
nonce occasion.
Norway king of Norway.
noyance harm.
obstinate condolement grief that is contrary to the will of heaven.
occulted hidden.
o'er-leavens ferments.
of by.
of general assault common to all men.
operant powers bodily strength.
orb the earth.
ordinant provident.
ourself royal plural, used throughout the King's speeches.
out of haunt away from others.
out of thy star beyond your station in life. Stars were believed to govern men's lives.
outstretched aspiring.
paddock toad.
pair of indentures agreements in duplicate.
pajock peacock.
palmy flourishing.
pardon permission.
partisan a broad-bladed weapon with a long shaft carried by foot soldiers, used especially in the 16ty century.
pass of practice a treacherous thrust or a warming-up exercise.
passages of proof proven by events.
peak mope.
Pelion, Olympus, and Ossa mountains in Greece; in Greek mythology, the Titans (giant deities) piled Pelion on Ossa and both on Olympus in a futile attempt to reach and attack the gods in heaven.
Perpend ponder.
Phoebus' cart Phoebus' chariot. In Greek mythology, Phoebus is Apollo as god of the sun.
physic the art or science of healing.
pickers and stealers hands.
pipe a recorder or flute. The stops are the fingerholes.
pitch and moment height and importance.
pith marrow.
Plautus ( 254?-184 B.C.); Roman writer of comic dramas.
plurisy excess.
poem unlimited a play that observed none of the ancient rules.
pole Polaris, the North Star, long used by navigators as a reliable point of reference.
politician plotter, schemer.
poniards daggers.
porpentine porcupine.
posy of a ring as brief and silly as the inscription inside a ring.
precurse sign, indication.
present immediate; of or at this time.
Priam legendary king of Troy, who reigned during the Trojan War; he was the father of Hector and Paris.
prick'd spurred or urged on
primal eldest curse that is, the one pronounced upon Cain in for the murder of his brother. Primal here means original.
primy in its prime, youthful.
probation proof.
prodigal exceedingly or recklessly wasteful, spendthrift.
proof eterne everlasting protection.
Provincial roses rosettes for concealing the laces on shoes.
purgation the act of purging; Hamlet probably intends a pun — to administer a purgative to get rid of the bile and to purge him of his guilt. The word recalls Hamlet's father, who is in purgatory.
put on me reported to me.
Pyrrhus in Greek mythology, the son of Achilles; one of the Greeks concealed in the famous wooden horse.
quaintly skillfully, ingeniously.
quarry heap of slain.
question subject.
quick living.
quick o' the ulcer the heart of the matter.
quiddities trifling distinctions; quibbles.
quilets quibbles.
quit in answer score a return hit.
rack cloud formations, a broken mass of clouds blown by the wind.
ranker greater.
razed slashed for ornamentation.
recks not his own rede doesn't take his own advice.
recorders a wind instrument with finger holes and a wedgelike part (a fipple) near the mouthpiece; fipple flute.
recover the wind a hunting phrase — to get to windward.
reechy smoky, dirty, foul, or rancid.
the region kites the kites of the air. The kite is a bird of prey in the falcon family.
Rhenish Rhine wine.
rivals associates or companions in some duty.
robustious ranting.
rood a cross as used in crucifixion; specifically, the cross on which Jesus was crucified.
Roscius the most famous of ancient Roman actors.
round Polonius really means straight, but it is his nature to speak indirectly.
rouse a toast in which all glasses must be drained before lowering.
rouse draught of liquor, toast.
rub an obstacle hindrance, difficulty, or impediment.
russet Now, usually a reddish-brown color, but here the warm gray tone of homespun cloth.
Saint Valentine's Day February 14. The old belief was that the first man seen by a maid on that day was destined to be her husband, and vice versa.
sallets tasty bits.
sanctuarize give sanctuary to a murderer.
satyr in Greek mythology, a woodland diety usually represented as having pointed ears, short horns, the head and body of a man, and the legs of a goat, and as being fond of riotous merriment and lechery.
scene individable preserving the unities.
scholar a person with the necessary knowledge of Latin to exorcise a spirit. This was a common Elizabethan belief.
sconce a slang word for head (literally, blockhouse).
scrimers fencers.
scullion a servant doing the rough, dirty work in a kitchen.
se offendendo in self-defense.
sea-gown a skirted garment with short sleeves, worn by seamen.
season qualify.
season ripen.
seized of put in legal possession of a feudal holding; assigned ownership.
Seneca (c. 4? B.C.3A.D. 65); Roman philosopher, dramatist, and statesman.
sets a blister In Elizabethan England, prostitutes were sometimes branded with a hot iron.
Shark'd gathered indiscriminately; got by fraud or stratagems.
sheeted shrouded.
shent rebuked.
shoon shoes.
shrewdly bitterly.
silence me hide myself.
simples medicinal herbs.
Sith since.
skirts the outer or bordering parts; outskirts, as of a city.
sledded Polacks the Polish army traveling on sleighs or sleds.
snuff accumulation of smoldering wick that caused the candle to smoke and burn less brightly.
so mope be so stupid.
solidity and compound mass the earth.
spirit of health There are two possible meanings. First, a saved (healthy) soul, not a lost one. Second, a healing or beneficent spirit.
splenetive full of spleen, hot-tempered.
springes snares consisting of a noose attached to something under tension, as a bent tree branch.
sterling true currency (with the value of an English silver penny).
Stick fiery off stand out brightly.
stoup a drinking cup; tankard.
sun a pun on son, again indicating Hamlet's dislike of the new relationship between himself and his uncle.
suppliance of a minute a minute's pastime.
supply and profit for the fulfillment and profitable conclusion of our hope.
Switzers Swiss mercenary soldiers; in this case, acting as the royal bodyguard.
swoopstake in a clean sweep.
tarre urge.
tax him home take him to task.
Tellus' in Roman mythology, the goddess of the earth.
temple body; the temple of the soul.
tend attend, wait.
tenures titles to property.
Termagant Herod favorite characters in the old miracle plays, who were always portrayed as blustering tyrants.
thieves of mercy merciful thieves.
this is for all to sum up.
this slave's offal the entrails of a butchered animal; here, the king's guts.
thy free awe your submission even after our armies have been withdrawn.
tickle sere made to laugh easily.
timber'd made of wood that is too light.
to the manner born accustomed to it since a child.
took the fruits of followed.
total gules completely red.
toy in blood trifling youthful passion.
toys of desperation desperate fancies or impulses — referring to the impulse to jump off a high place.
traduc'd and tax'd defamed and censored.
trick something trifling.
tristful sorrowful.
the triumph of his pledge his drinking ability.
Tropically the use of a word or words in a figurative sense; figuratively, a trope being a figure of speech.
truepenny honest fellow.
tune of the time fashionable jargon.
turn the beam overbalance the scale.
turn Turk turn bad.
Twas Aeneas' tale to Dido the story of the sack of Troy as told to Queen Dido by Aeneas. (Virgil's Aeneid contains the story.)
twelve for nine In a match of twelve bouts (instead of the usual nine), Laertes will win by at least three up.
unbated not blunted.
unction ointment, salve; used for the act of annointing as in medical treatment or a religious ceremony.
Under the moon To be most effective, herbs are gathered by moonlight.
unfellowed without equal.
unfledg'd immature (literally designating a young bird without feathers and thus not able to fly).
unfold yourself to make known or lay open to view, especially in stages or little by little.
Unhouseled, disappointed, unaneled without the sacraments of communion, penance, and extreme unction.
unimproved mettle untested strength, courage, or character
union a large pearl.
unmaster'd importunity uncontrolled and determined wooing.
unproportion'd overly emotional, excessive.
unreclaimed untamed.
unshaped incoherent.
unsinew'd weak.
Up-spring a high-kicking, wild German dance.
valanced bearded.
variable service different courses.
ventages small holes or openings; vents.
vice of kings caricature of a king. Vice, who represented sin, was a stock character in morality plays.
videlicet (Latin) that is; namely.
Vulcan's stithy the workshop of the Roman god of fire and metalworking.
wassail revelry, carousing.
watch sleeplessness.
waterfly an insect without apparent purpose.
weak supposal poor opinion.
weal a sound or prosperous state; well-being; welfare.
what means what their income is.
wheaten garland a garland made of stalks of wheat; a symbol of prosperity.
whoreson a scoundrel; knave; a general epithet of abuse (literally, bastard).
will desire.
will he, nill he willy-nilly, whether he wishes or not.
windlasses roundabout means.
with sight with an indifferent eye.
withers the highest part of a horse's back, located between the shoulder blades.
woodcocks birds thought of as being stupid because they are easily caught; hence, a person who is a fool or a dupe.
Woo't colloquial and familiar form of wilt thou.
wormwood bitterness. (Wormwood is a plant with bitter qualities.)
yesty collection frothy collection of catchwords.
your only jig-maker I am the funniest man alive (ironic).
