Shakespearean Vocabulary and Phrases: A Comprehensive List
Shakespearean Vocabulary
Vocabulary 1
- Collar: A hangman’s noose
- Marry: A short form of “by the Virgin Mary” and so a mild exclamation
- Drawn: With your sword out
- Pernicious: Destructive
- Adversary: Enemy
- Ere: Before
- Fray: Fight
- Drave: Drove
- Rootheth: Grows
- Made: Moved
- Covert: Hiding place
- Portentous: An indication of evil to come
- Importuned: Asked in an urgent way
- Shrift: Confession
- Cousin: Any relative or close friend
- Vexed: Troubled
- Gall: Something causing bitterness; hate
- Soft: Wait a minute
- Sadness: Seriousness
- Bound: Obligated
- Reckoning: Reputation
- Unattainted: Unbiased
Vocabulary 2
- Conjure: Use magic to call him
- Demesnes: Areas
- Medlar: A fruit that looks like a small brown apple
- Anon: Right away
- Mickle: Great
- Benedicite: God bless you
- Brine: Salt water
- Chid’st: Scolded
- Man: Servant
- Pump: Shoe
- Cheveril: Kidskin, which is flexible
- Confidence: The nurse means “conference”; she uses big words without understanding their meaning
- Endite: Benvolio makes fun of the nurse by using this word rather than “invite”
- Ropery: Roguery, jokes
- Clout: Old cloth
- Sententious: The nurse means “sentences”
- Apace: Quickly
- Bandy: Toss
- Simple: Foolish
- Coil: Fuss
- Countervail: Outweigh
Vocabulary 3
- Doublet: Jacket
- Riband: Ribbon or laces
- Consorted: Keep company with
- Boy: An insulting term of address
- Tender: Cherish
- Passado: A sword-fighting move
- Bandying: Fighting
- Aspired: Soared to
- Division: Melody
- Runagate: Runaway
- Dead: Could refer either to Romeo or to Juliet’s heart
- Conduit: Fountain
- Smatter: Chatter
- Matched: Well-matched
- Puling: Crying
- Mammet: Doll
- Beshrew: Curse
- Amen: I agree—that is, curse your heart and soul
- Fickle: Changeable in loyalty or affection
- Entertained: Thought of
- Phoebus: Apollo, the God of the sun
- The cords: The rope ladder
- Beguiled: Cheated
- Wot: Know
- Doom: Sentence
- Doomsday: Death
- Vanished: Came
- Fond: Foolish
- Dispute: Discuss
- Estate: Situation
Vocabulary 4
- Compass: Limit
- Prorogue: Postpone
- Vial: Small bottle
- Humor: Liquid
- No pulse: No sign of life
- Stay: Stop
- Beguiled: Tricked
- Pestilent: Bothersome; irritating
- Drift: Plan
- Unfurnished: Unprepared
- Behest: Orders
- Enjoined: Commanded
- Orisons: Prayers
- Pastry: The room where baking is done
- Lamentable: Filled with grief
- Pate: Top of the head
Vocabulary 5
- Penury: Poverty
- Ducats: Gold coins
- Bare: Carried (bier)
- Aloof: Some distance away
- Cross: Interfere
- Muffle: Hide
- Jealous: Curious
- Ensign: Sign
- Dateless: Eternal, never-ending
- Comfortable: Comforting
- Timeless: Happening before its proper time
- Churl: Miser
- Haply: Perhaps
- Attach: Arrest
- Kindred: Family
Date of birth: April 26 in Stratford-upon-Avon
Common Shakespearean Phrases
- Forever and a day: An indefinitely long period
- A foregone conclusion: An inevitable result
- A sorry sight: A regrettable and unwelcome aspect or feature
- All that glitters is not gold: Not everything that looks precious or true turns out to be so
- All’s well that ends well: A risky enterprise is justified as long as it turns out well
- As dead as a doornail: Not active at all
- At one fell swoop: Suddenly; in a single action
- The be-all and end-all: The most important part of something or the reason for its existence
- High time: The appropriate time or past the appropriate time
- In a pickle: In a quandary or some other difficult position