a’God’s name – free
Aeolus – the Greek god of winds
Anacreon – Greek poet supposed to have choked on a grape pip
Andromeda – in Greek mythology, Perseus rescued Andromeda from a dragon
answerable – appropriate
antic – grotesque performer, clown
Ars Amandi – The Art of Love, a work by the Roman poet Ovid (43 BC-AD 17)
aunt – prostitute
band – cuff or collar
bankers – people who repaired the banks of rivers or dikes
basilisk – mythical creature that killed by a look
bauble – penis (slang)
beadle – parish official (with connotations of stupidity)
behindhand with – indebted to
Belike – probably
Bucephalus – Alexander the Great’s horse; only he could ride it.
buckler – shield
by-bet – side bet
cabinets – safes
caparisons – clothes
capcase – wallet
casement – window
cast – throw of the dice
cast your water – examine your urine in order to diagnose an illness
catch the last couple in hell – a reference to the game of barley-brake, a form of tag in which there is an area called hell, with metaphorical connotations for both Isabella and Beatrice-Joanna
charge – gunpowder
charnel – charnel house, a place where bones are stored
chimes of Bedlam – the cries of madmen asking for food. Bedlam, meaning ‘madhouse’, derives from Bethlehem Hospital
clue (4.3) – the thread Ariadne gave to Theseus to help him escape from the labyrinth
commodious – successful
composition – drink of mixed ingredients
conceit – fancy
cousin – relative, sometimes with the sense of whore
cozened – betrayed
cuckoo (what you call’t) – wild arum or cuckoo-pintle, a plant of phallic appearance
cuckoo – (3.3) used to suggest Alibius may be about to be cuckolded
Cuds – a mild expletive, derived from ‘God’s’
Dedalus – the builder of the labyrinth on Crete and father of Icarus
Diomed – mythological king of Thrace who fed his horses on human flesh
Dog at – experienced in dealing with
drawing arctics – i. e. the magnetic pole
Dryades – wood nymphs
Endymion – in Greek mythology, the beloved of the moon goddess
Esculapius – Greek god of medicine
exceptious – prone to object
fag – end
favour – love token
figure – dance steps
folio – page
fox-skin – disguise
Galaxia – the Milky Way
Garden-bull – a bull from Paris Garden, used for baiting
habit – clothes
headborough – petty constable (with connotations of stupidity)
Hecate – goddess of witchcraft, often associated with the moon
Hie – go quickly
honest/y – chaste/chastity
honour – bow
humour – fancy
Icarus – in Greek mythology, the son of Dedalus, who flew too near the sun on wings his father had made out of wax and feathers and was drowned
impudence – lack of modesty
incontinently – at once
instruct two benefices – clergymen sometimes held office in two parishes
Iulan down – the first growth of a beard
journeyman – professional
Juno – the Latin name of the wife of the supreme god Zeus (Latin, Jupiter)
Justice – Justice of the Peace (with connotations of stupidity)
kick the dog…bush – the man in the moon had a dog and carried a bush
Lacedemonian – Spartan, possibly a reference to laconic speech, possibly a reference to Helen (of Troy) with connotations of promiscuity; possibly both.
Latona – the Latin form of the name of the mother of Diana (Greek, Artemis), moon goddess and hunter. Probably means Diana herself rather than her mother here.
laws of the Medes – unalterable laws (proverbial)
Lipsius – Justus Lipsius (1547-1606), a scholar whose name invites a pun on lips
list – listen
Luna – moon
lycanthropi – sufferers from lycanthropia, a disease associated with the moon. They believed they were wolves.
magnifico – someone of great legal authority
Mare Mortuum – the Dead Sea, here seen as the entrance to hell
Mercury – the messenger of the gods
munition – fortifications
murderers – small cannons
nigget – fool
Oberon – king of the fairies, particularly in A Midsummer Night’s Dream
opacous – opaque, ominous
orchard of the Hesperides – the Hesperides were nymphs who guarded an orchard that grew golden apples
ordnance – artillery
orisons – prayers
Orlando – the hero of the Italian poet Ariosto’s Orlando Furioso (1532), a belligerent fighter
parcels – items
parlous – dangerous
permasant – Parmesan cheese
Phosphorus – the Morning-star
physnomy – physiognomy, face
piece – gun
pinfold – animal pen
pit-hole – grave, with erotic connotations
pizzles – whips made from bulls’ penises
pluck a rose – urinate
poppy – medicinal preparation from poppies
presaging – prophetic
push-pin – a children’s game
put case – suppose
reach – plan
receipts – recipes
refulgent – reflecting
reversion – right to succeed to a position
sconce – fortification
scrutinous – searching
Secrets in Nature – De Arcanis Naturae by Antonius Mizaldus (1520-78) does not contain these tests but he includes similar ones in other works
several – different
simple – medicinal herb
‘Slid – a mild expletive, formed from ‘God’s [eye] lid’
sooth – truth
Strangely – miraculously
stultus, stulta, stultum – the male, female and neuter forms of the Latin word for foolish.
sutler – army trader
termagants – fierce women
tiara – a long-tailed
headdress
ticklish – lascivious
Tiresias – mythological Greek soothsayer who was a man and a woman at different times in his life. He was blinded by Juno.
Titania – queen of the fairies, particularly in A Midsummer Night’s Dream
to boot – into the bargain
touch’d – tainted
toy – silly notion
turtle – turtle dove
victuals – food and drink
ward (1.2.61) – defence
wild-geese – prostitutes
wire – whip
withal – as well
worm – conscience