| Vocabulary for Macbeth Glossary |
|---|
A | C | E | G | I | K | M | O | Q | S | U | W | Y |
 jocund - joyful |
| juggling - deceitful |
| jump - risk |
| just - exactly |
| jutty - projection |
| jutty, frieze, buttress, coign of vantage - places where birds nest |
| kerns - light-armed Irish troops |
| kerns and gallowglasses - Irish soldiers, gallowglasses carry axes |
| kingdom's pearl - nobles |
| kites - scavenging birds |
| knell - funeral bell |
| knolled - rung |
| knowings - knowledge |
| lack - requirment |
| lapp'd - wrapped |
| large - unrestrained |
| largess - gifts |
| latch - catch the sound of |
| lave - wash |
| lease of nature - term of natural life |
| leave - leave off |
| lechery - excessive sexual activity, lewdness |
| lees - the dregs left after the best part of wine is gone, and is compared
to what is left with the loss of the best part of life |
| lighted - descended |
| lily-liver'd - cowardly |
| a lembic - device used for distilling wine |
| lime - birdlime (a sticky substance used to catch birds by putting it on
branches) |
| limited - appointed |
| line - strenghten |
| list - place of combat, the lists |
| lodged - thrown down |
| look up clear - act normal, without troubles |
| loon - brute |
| Lord's annointed temple - this refers to the king's body, as the king was
though to be God's representative |
| luxurious - luxurious, lecherous |
| maggotpies and choughs and rooks - magpies and choughs and rooks are birds that can be taught to talk |
| mark - listen |
| Marry - an oath ("By the Virgin Mary") |
| martlet - a bird from the swallow family, a martin |
| mated - bewildered |
| maws - stomachs |
| meet - proper |
| memorize - make as memorable as |
| mere - absolutely |
| mettle - spirit |
| minion - favorite |
| minutely - every minute |
| missives - messengers |
| mockery - imitation |
| modern - ordinary |
| mortal - deadly |
| mortal thoughts - thoughts of death or murder |
| mortified - dead |
| mounch'd - munched, chewed with closed lips |
| murdering minister - evil agents |
| muse - wonder |
| must be - was destined to be |
| napkins enow - enough handkerschiefs to wipe sweat caused by the heat of
hell |
| naught - vile thing |
| nave - navel, middle |
| near'st - of life, inmost life, most vital parts |
| nice - inaccurate |
| niggard - stingy person |
| nightgown - dressing gown |
| noise - music |
| nonpareil - without equal |
| Norway himself - the Norwegian king |
| Norweyan - Norwegian |
| nose-painting - drink makes the nose red |
| note - notoriety |
| nothing - not at all |
| oblivious - causing forgetfulness |
| obscure bird - owl (see below), the bird of darkness |
| of - by |
| offices - duty, employment |
| on - of |
| on's - of his |
| on't - of it |
| open'd - unfolded |
| order - battle plan |
| or ere - before |
| other's - other man's |
| ourselves - one another |
| outrun - did outrun |
| overcome - overshadow |
| over-red - redden over |
| owe - own, possess |
| owed - owned |
| owl - an owl's screech was considered to portend death |
| Paddock - The second witch's familiar, a toad |
| pall - wrap, envelop |
| palter - trifle (deal dishonestly) |
| passed in probation - went over the evidence |
| passion - strong emotion |
| patch - fool |
| peak - dwindle away |
| penthouse lid - eyelid |
| perfect - well, perfectly acquainted |
| perturbation - disruption |
| pester'd - troubled |
| physics - cures |
| pitfall - snare |
| play the Roman fool - commit suicide the way way Roman officials to avoid
being captured |
| poor - feeble |
| poorly - dejectedly, unworthily |
| portable - endurable |
| possess - fill |
| posset - a hot drink of milk, wine, and spices |
| posters - speedy travelers |
| prate - chatter |
| predominance - superior power |
| present - present time |
| presently - immediately |
| pretend - intend |
| Prince of Cumberland - The title of the king's successor |
| prithee - pray thee (please) |
| proof - proved armour |
| proper - fine, excellent |
| proper stuff - nonsense |
| protest - show publicly, proclaim |
| pull in - rein in |
| purgative - cleansing (such as a laxative or cathartic) |
| purged - cleansed |
| purveyor - an officer of the king sent before to provide food for the king
and his retineu, as the harbinger provided lodging |
| push - attack, onset |
| quarry - a heap of slaughered game |
| quell - stop, (in context) murder |
| raveled sleave - yarn or thread that is tangled or twisted |
| ravin'd - ravenous |
| ravin up - devour greedily |
| rawness - hurry |
| raze - erase |
| receipt - receptacle |
| received - believed |
| recoil - swerve |
| relation - narrative |
| relish - smack |
| remorse - pity |
| rendered - surrendered |
| repose - rest |
| require - ask her to give |
| resolve yourselves - decide, make up your mind |
| rest - remain |
| return - give back, render |
| rhubarb - The dried, bitter-tasting rhizome and roots of Rheum
palmatum or R. officinale of eastern Asia, used as a laxative. |
| ronyon - a term of contempt |
| roof'd - gathered under one roof |
| rooky - gloomy |
| rubs - hindrances, impediments |
| rump-fed - well-fed, pampered |
| rump-fed ronyon - a creature that eats trash |
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© Margaret Stewart-Zimmerman
May 22, 1998 - 2008