Macbeth, Retold by Lamb
Charles and Mary Lamb · Pre-Reading Vocabulary · prepared by Vocabularium
Match guide. Of this book’s 3,937 words of running text, a reader who knows the 3,000 most common English words can already read 86% — one who knows 6,000 reads 92%. The lists below close most of the remaining gap.
Words Worth Knowing Anywhere
High School (77 words)
groom ×7 Webster 1828
Gally-worm
Germ
Gram
Grim
Grime
Grimy
Gromwell
Grum
Grume
“The king being tired with his journey, went early to bed, and in his state-room two grooms of his chamber (as was the custom) slept beside him.”
dagger ×7 Webster 1828
noun
1. A short sword; a poniard.
2. In fencing schools, a blunt blade of iron with a basket hilt, used for defense.
3.
“So with her own hands armed with a dagger, she approached the king's bed; having taken care to ply the grooms of his chamber so with wine, that they slept intoxicated, and careless of their charge.”
deed ×6 Webster 1828
noun
1. That which is done, acted or effected; an act; a fact; a word of extensive application, including whatever is done, good or bad, great or small.
And Joseph said to them, what deed is this which ye have done? Gen.
“She would not have undertaken a deed so abhorrent to her sex, but that she feared her husband's nature, that it was too full of the milk of human kindness, to do a contrived murder.”
dreadful ×5 Webster 1828
adjective
1. Impressing great fear; terrible; formidable; as a dreadful storm, or dreadful night.
The great and dreadful day of the Lord. Malachi 4:5.
2. Awful; venerable.
How dreadful is this place. Genesis 48:1.
“To such dreadful fancies Macbeth was subject.”
arose ×4 Webster 1828
The past or preterit tense of the verb, to arise.
“Thou shalt not live; that I may tell pale-hearted Fear it lies, and sleep in spite of thunder.' That spirit being dismissed, a third arose in the form of a child crowned, with a tree in his hand.”
murderer ×4 Webster 1828
noun A person who in possession of his reason, unlawfully kills a human being with premeditated malice.
1. A small piece of ordnance.
“Now was the middle of night, when over half the world nature seems dead, and wicked dreams abuse men's minds asleep, and none but the wolf and the murderer is abroad.”
stain ×3 Webster 1828
verb transitive [Latin , a sprinkle, a spread, a layer; to spread, expand, sprinkle, or be scattered. Gr.]
1.
“Besides, by the favours of the king, Macbeth stood high in the opinion of all sorts of men, and how would those honours be stained by the reputation of so foul a murder!”
heath ×2 Webster 1828
noun
1. A plant of the genus Erica, of many species. It is a shrub which is used in Great Britain for brooms, thatch, beds for the poor, and for heating ovens. Its leaves are small and continue green all the year.
salute ×2 Webster 1828
verb transitive [Latin saluto; salus or salvus.]
1. To greet; to hail; to address with expressions of kind wishes.
If ye salute your brethren only, what do ye more than others? Matthew 5:47.
2. To please; to gratify.
“Macbeth first addressed them, when they, seemingly offended, laid each one her choppy finger upon her skinny lips, in token of silence; and the first of them saluted Macbeth with the title of thane of Glamis.”
greeting ×2 Webster 1828
participle present tense Addressing with kind wishes or expressions of joy; complimenting; congratulating; saluting.
GREE'TING, noun Expression of kindness or joy; salutation at meeting; compliment addressed from one absent.
“king that shalt be hereafter!' Such a prophetic greeting might well amaze him, who knew that while the king's sons lived he could not hope to succeed to the throne.”
accomplishment ×2 Webster 1828
noun
1. Completion; fulfillment; entire performance; as the accomplishment of a prophecy.
2. The act of carrying into effect, or obtaining an object designed; attainment; as the accomplishment of our desires or ends.
3.
“Macbeth had a wife, to whom he communicated the strange prediction of the weird sisters, and its partial accomplishment.”
deeds ×2 Modern
1. (noun) performance of moral or religious acts
“These and such-like deeds alienated the minds of all his chief nobility from him.”
prophecy ×2 Webster 1828
noun [Gr. to foretell, before and to tell. This ought to be written prophesy.]
1. A foretelling; prediction; a declaration of something to come.
“She spurred on the reluctant purpose of Macbeth, who felt compunction at the thoughts of blood, and did not cease to represent the murder of the king as a step absolutely necessary to the fulfilment of the flattering prophecy.”
careless ×2 Webster 1828
adjective [care and less. See Loose.]
1. Having no care; heedless; negligent; unthinking; inattentive; regardless; unmindful; followed by of or about; as a careless mother; a mother careless of or about her children, is an unnatu…
“So with her own hands armed with a dagger, she approached the king's bed; having taken care to ply the grooms of his chamber so with wine, that they slept intoxicated, and careless of their charge.”
bind ×2 Webster 1828
verb transitive
1. To tie together, or confine with a cord, or any thing that is flexible; to fasten as with a band, fillet or ligature.
2.
“By these charms they bound the infernal spirits to answer their questions.”
crowned ×2 Webster 1828
participle passive Invested with a crown, or with regal power and dignity; honored; dignified; rewarded with a crown, wreath, garland or distinction; recompensed; terminated; completed; perfected.
“The king's sons, who should have succeeded him, having thus vacated the throne, Macbeth as next heir was crowned king, and thus the prediction of the weird sisters was literally accomplished.”
supper ×2 Webster 1828
noun The evening meal. People who dine late, eat no supper The dinner of fashionable people would be the supper of rustics.
“For this purpose they made a great supper, to which they invited all the chief thanes; and, among the rest, with marks of particular respect, Banquo and his son Fleance were invited.”
despair ×2 Webster 1828
noun
1. Hopelessness; a hopeless state; a destitution of hope or expectation.
We are perplexed, but not in despair 2 Corinthians 4:8.
All safety in despair of safety placed.
2.
troop ×1 Webster 1828
noun
1. A collection of people; a company; a number; a multitude. Genesis 49:19. 2 Samuel 23:11. Hosea 7.
That which should accompany old age,
As honor, love, obedience, troops of friends,
I must not look to have.
2.
“This Macbeth was a near kinsman to the king, and in great esteem at court for his velour and conduct in the wars; an example of which he had lately given, in defeating a rebel army assisted by the troops of Norway in terrible numbers.”
victorious ×1 Webster 1828
adjective
1. Having conquered in battle or contest; having overcome an enemy or antagonist; conquering; vanquishing; as a victorious general; victorious troops; a victorious admiral or navy.
2.
token ×1 Webster 1828
noun to'kn. [Latin signum, dialetically varied, or from the same radix.]
1. A sign; something intended to represent or indicate another thing or an event. Thus the rainbow is a token of God's covenant established with Noah.
“Macbeth first addressed them, when they, seemingly offended, laid each one her choppy finger upon her skinny lips, in token of silence; and the first of them saluted Macbeth with the title of thane of Glamis.”
empowered ×1 Webster 1828
participle passive Authorized; having legal or moral right.
swelling ×1 Webster 1828
participle present tense Growing or enlarging in its dimensions; growing tumid; inflating; growing tumid; inflating; growing or making louder.
SWELL'ING, noun A tumor, or any morbid enlargement of the natural size; as a swelling…
wonderfully ×1 Webster 1828
adverb In a manner to excite wonder or surprise.
I will praise thee, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Psalms 139:14.
compass ×1 Webster 1828
noun
1. Stretch; reach; extent; the limit or boundary of a space, and the space included; applied to time, space, sound, etc.
“From that time he bent all his thoughts how to compass the throne of Scotland.”
greatness ×1 Webster 1828
noun Largeness of bulk, dimensions, number or quantity; as the greatness of a mountain, of an edifice, of a multitude, or of a sum of money.
“She was a bad, ambitious woman, and so as her husband and herself could arrive at greatness, she cared not much by what means.”
spur ×1 Webster 1828
noun
1. An instrument having a rowel or little wheel with sharp points, worn on horsemens heels, to prick the horses for hastening their pace.
Girt with rusty sword and spur
Hence, to set spurs to a horse, is to prick him and pu…
“She spurred on the reluctant purpose of Macbeth, who felt compunction at the thoughts of blood, and did not cease to represent the murder of the king as a step absolutely necessary to the fulfilment of the flattering prophecy.”
reluctant ×1 Webster 1828
adjective
1. Striving against; unwilling; much opposed in heart.
Reluctant now I touch'd the trembling string.
2. Unwilling; acting with slight repugnance; coy.
3.
“She spurred on the reluctant purpose of Macbeth, who felt compunction at the thoughts of blood, and did not cease to represent the murder of the king as a step absolutely necessary to the fulfilment of the flattering prophecy.”
gracious ×1 Webster 1828
adjective [Latin gratiosus.]
1. Favorable; kind; friendly; as, the envoy met with a gracious reception.
2.
attendant ×1 Webster 1828
adjective
1. Accompanying; being present, or in the train.
Other suns with their attendant moons.
2. Accompanying, connected with, or immediately following, as consequential; as, intemperance with all its attendant evils.
3.
wholesome ×1 Webster 1828
adjective [G.]
1. Tending to promote health; favoring health; salubrious; as wholesome air or diet; a wholesome climate.
2.
haunt ×1 Webster 1828
verb transitive
1. To frequent; to resort to much or often, or to be much about; to visit customarily.
Celestial Venus haunts Idalia's groves.
2.
unusually ×1 Webster 1828
adverb s as z. Not commonly; not frequently; rarely. This summer, 1828 has been unusually rainy.
“He had been unusually pleased with his reception, and had made presents before he retired to his principal officers; and among the rest, had sent a rich diamond to lady Macbeth, greeting her by the name of his most kind hostess.”
accompany ×1 Webster 1828
verb transitive [See Company.]
1. To go with or attend as a companion or associate on a journey, walk, etc.; as a man accompanies his friend to church, or on a tour.
2.
“She knew him to be ambitious, but withal to be scrupulous, and not yet prepared for that height of crime which commonly in the end accompanies inordinate ambition.”
humane ×1 Webster 1828
adjective [supra.] Having the feelings and dispositions proper to man; having tenderness, compassion, and a disposition to treat others with kindness; particularly in relieving them when in distress, or in captivity, when they ar…
“She had won him to consent to the murder, but she doubted his resolution; and she feared that the natural tenderness of his disposition (more humane than her own) would come between, and defeat the purpose.”
earnest ×1 Webster 1828
adjective ern'est.
1. Ardent in the pursuit of an object; eager to obtain; having a longing desire; warmly engaged or incited.
They are never more earnest to disturb us, than when they see us most earnest in this duty.
2.
“There lay Duncan in a sound sleep after the fatigues of his journey, and as she viewed him earnestly, there was something in his face, as he slept, which resembled her own father; and she had not the courage to proceed.”
resemble ×1 Webster 1828
verb transitive s as z. [See similar.]
1. To have the likeness of; to bear the similitude of something, either in form, figure or qualities.
“There lay Duncan in a sound sleep after the fatigues of his journey, and as she viewed him earnestly, there was something in his face, as he slept, which resembled her own father; and she had not the courage to proceed.”
peculiar ×1 Webster 1828
adjective [Latin peculiaris, from peculium, one's own property, from pecus, cattle.]
1. Appropriate; belonging to a person and to him only. Almost every writer has a peculiar style.
honours ×1 Modern
1. (noun) a university degree with honors
“Besides, by the favours of the king, Macbeth stood high in the opinion of all sorts of men, and how would those honours be stained by the reputation of so foul a murder!”
assign ×1 Webster 1828
verb transitive [Latin assigno, of ad and signo, to allot to mark out, signum, a mark. The primary sense of sign is to send, or to set.]
1.
shrink ×1 Webster 1828
verb intransitive preterit tense and participle passive shrunk. the old preterit tense shrank and participle passive shrunken are nearly obsolete.
To contract spontaneously; to draw or be drawn into less length, breadth or co…
sway ×1 Webster 1828
verb transitive
1. To move or wave; to wield with the hand; as, to sway the scepter.
2. To bias; to cause to lean or incline to one side. Let not temporal advantages sway you from the line of duty.
royalty ×1 Webster 1828
noun
1. Kingship; the character, state or office of a king.
Royalty by birth was the sweetest way of majesty.
2. Royalties, plural emblems of royalty; regalia.
3. Rights of a king; prerogatives.
contempt ×1 Webster 1828
noun [Latin See Contemn.]
1. The act of despising; the act of viewing or considering and treating as mean, vile and worthless; disdain; hatred of what is mean or deemed vile.
drunken ×1 Webster 1828
adjective Drunkn. [participle of drink, but now used chiefly as an adjective, and often contracted to drunk.]
1. Intoxicated; inebriated with strong liquor.
2. Given to drunkenness; as a drunken butler.
3.
“Then she added, how practicable it was to lay the guilt of the deed upon the drunken sleepy grooms.”
sleepy ×1 Webster 1828
adjective
1. Drowsy; inclined to sleep.
2. Not awake. She wak'd her sleep crew.
3. Tending to induce sleep; soporiferous; somniferous; as a sleepy drink or potion.
“Then she added, how practicable it was to lay the guilt of the deed upon the drunken sleepy grooms.”
summon ×1 Webster 1828
verb transitive [Latin submoneo; sub and moneo.]
1. To call, cite or notify by authority to appear at a place specified, or to attend in person to some public duty, or both; as, to summon a jury; to summon witnesses.
The parliam…
“And with the velour of her tongue she so chastised his sluggish resolutions, that he once more summoned up courage to the bloody business.”
softly ×1 Webster 1828
adverb
1. Without hardness.
2. Not with force or violence; gently; as, be softly pressed my hand.
3. Not loudly; without noise; as, speak softly; walk softly In this dark silence softly leave the town.
4. Gently; placidly.
proceeding ×1 Webster 1828
participle present tense Moving forward; passing on; issuing; transacting; carrying on.
PROCEE'DING, noun Process or movement from one thing to another; a measure or step taken in business; transaction; in the plural, a course o…
oppressed ×1 Webster 1828
participle passive burdened with unreasonable impositions; overpowered; overburdened; depressed.
pronounce ×1 Webster 1828
verb transitive pronouns'. [Latin pronuncio; pro and nuncio.]
1. To speak; to utter articulately. The child is not able to pronounce words composed of difficult combinations of letters.
“Macbeth, who stood listening to them, tried to say 'Amen,' when the fellow said 'God bless us!' but, though he had most need of a blessing, the word stuck in his throat, and he could not pronounce it.”
concealed ×1 Webster 1828
participle passive Kept close or secret; hid; withdrawn from sight; covered.
sufficiently ×1 Webster 1828
adverb To a sufficient degree; enough; to a degree that answers the purpose, or gives content; as, we are sufficiently supplied with food and clothing; a man sufficiently qualified for the discharge of his official duties.
remarkably ×1 Webster 1828
adverb
1. In a manner or degree worthy of notice; as, the winters of 1825, 1826 and 1828 were remarkably free from snow. The winter of 1827 was remarkable for a great quantity of snow.
2. In an extraordinary manner.
stab ×1 Webster 1828
verb transitive [This word contains the elements, and is probably from the primary sense, of the Latin , to point or prick, and a multitude of others in many languages.
“The way by which Banquo was to pass to the palace at night was beset by murderers appointed by Macbeth, who stabbed Banquo; but in the scuffle Fleance escaped.”
descend ×1 Webster 1828
verb intransitive [Latin To climb.]
1. To move or pass from a higher to a lower place; to move, come or go downwards; to fall; to sink; to run or flow down; applicable to any kind of motion or of body.
“From that Fleance descended a race of monarchs who afterwards filled the Scottish throne, ending with James the Sixth of Scotland and the First of England, under whom the two crowns of England and Scotland were united.”
monarch ×1 Webster 1828
noun [Gr. sole, and a chief.]
1. The prince or ruler of a nation, who exercises all the powers of government without control, or who is vested with absolute sovereign power; an emperor, king or prince invested with
an unlimited p…
“From that Fleance descended a race of monarchs who afterwards filled the Scottish throne, ending with James the Sixth of Scotland and the First of England, under whom the two crowns of England and Scotland were united.”
manners ×1 Webster 1828
noun plural Deportment; carriage; behavior; conduct; course of life; in a moral sense.
Evil communications corrupt good manners 1 Corinthians 15:33.
1.
discourse ×1 Webster 1828
noun Discors. [Latin , to run.]
1. The act of the undertaking, by which it passes from premises to consequences; the act which connects propositions, and deduces conclusions from them. [This sense is now obsolete.]
2.
neglect ×1 Webster 1828
verb transitive [G. To let, to leave, to suffer to pass. The sense of the latter words then is to leave behind, or permit to remain; I suspect the Latin To be composed of the same prefix, as n is not radical in the latter.
gaze ×1 Webster 1828
verb intransitive [Gr. to be astonished, and Heb. to see or look, that is, to fix the eye or to reach with the eye.]
To fix the eyes and look steadily and earnestly; to look with eagerness or curiosity; as in admiration, astonish…
distraction ×1 Webster 1828
noun [Latin]
1. The act of distracting; a drawing apart; separation.
2. Confusion from a multiplicity of objects crowding on the mind and calling the attention different ways; perturbation of mind; perplexity; as, the family was…
disclosed ×1 Webster 1828
participle passive Uncovered; opened to view; made known; revealed; told; uttered.
ingredient ×1 Webster 1828
noun [Latin ingrediens, entering into; ingredior; in and gradior. See Grade.]
That which enters into a compound, or is a component part of any compound or mixture.
bats ×1 Modern
1. (adjective) informal or slang terms for mentally irregular
lizard ×1 Webster 1828
noun [Latin lacertus, lacerta, there has been a change of c into z or s, which may be the fact.]
In zoology, a genus of amphibious animals, called Lacerta, and comprehending the crocodile, alligator, chameleon, salamander, etc.
mummy ×1 Webster 1828
noun
1. A dead human body embalmed and dried after the Egyptian manner; a name perhaps given to it from the substance used in preserving it. There are two kinds of mummies. The first are bodies dried by the heat of the sun.
poisonous ×1 Webster 1828
adjective Venomous; having the qualities of poison; corrupting; impairing soundness of purity.
boil ×1 Webster 1828
verb intransitive [Latin bullio, bulla, a bubble.]
1. To swell, heave, or be agitated by the action of heat; to bubble; to rise in bubbles; as, the water boils.
kettle ×1 Webster 1828
noun A vessel of iron or other metal, with a wide mouth, usually without a cover, used for heating and boiling water or other liquor.
Among the Tartars, a kettle represents a family, or as many as feed from one kettle
Among the…
cooled ×1 Webster 1828
participle passive Made less hot, or less ardent.
grease ×1 Webster 1828
noun
1. Animal fat in a soft state; oily or unctuous matter of any kind, as tallow, lard; but particularly the fatty matter of land animals, as distinguished from the oily matter of marine animals.
2.
beware ×1 Webster 1828
verb intransitive
1. Literally, to restrain or guard one's self from. Hence, to regard with caution; to restrain one's self from anything that may be dangerous, injurious or improper; to avoid; to take care; followed by of before…
“And the first arose in the likeness of an armed head, and he called Macbeth by name, and bid him beware of the thane of Fife; for which caution Macbeth thanked him; for Macbeth had entertained a jealousy of Macduff, the thane of Fife.”
entertained ×1 Webster 1828
participle passive Received with hospitality, as a guest; amused; pleased and engaged; kept in the mind; retained.
“And the first arose in the likeness of an armed head, and he called Macbeth by name, and bid him beware of the thane of Fife; for which caution Macbeth thanked him; for Macbeth had entertained a jealousy of Macduff, the thane of Fife.”
jealousy ×1 Webster 1828
noun jel'usy.
1. That passion of peculiar uneasiness which arises from the fear that a rival may rob us of the affection of one whom we love, or the suspicion that he has already done it; or it is the uneasiness which arises from…
“And the first arose in the likeness of an armed head, and he called Macbeth by name, and bid him beware of the thane of Fife; for which caution Macbeth thanked him; for Macbeth had entertained a jealousy of Macduff, the thane of Fife.”
assurance ×1 Webster 1828
noun ashu'rance. [Latin verus; or securus, contracted.]
1. The act of assuring, or of making a declaration in terms that furnish ground of confidence; as, I trusted to his assurances; or the act of furnishing any ground of full…
“but yet I will make assurance doubly sure.”
sting ×1 Webster 1828
verb transitive preterit tense and participle passive stung. Stang is obsolete. [G., to stick, to sting We see that sting is stick altered in orthography and pronunciation.]
1.
“Macbeth, stung with rage, set upon the castle of Macduff, and put his wife and children, whom the thane had left behind, to the sword, and extended the slaughter to all who claimed the least relationship to Macduff.”
College (33 words)
tyrant ×4 Webster 1828
noun [Latin tyrannus.]
nobility ×3 Webster 1828
noun
1. Dignity of mind; greatness; grandeur; that elevation of soul which comprehends bravery, generosity, magnamimity, intrepidity, and contempt of every thing that dishonors character.
Though she hated Amphialus, yet the nobil…
“These and such-like deeds alienated the minds of all his chief nobility from him.”
hostess ×3 Webster 1828
noun A female host; a woman who entertains guests at her house.
1. A woman who keeps an inn.
vanish ×2 Webster 1828
verb intransitive [Latin vanesco, vanus, vain, or its root; Eng. to wane. The primary sense is to withdraw or depart.
1.
“They then turned into air, and vanished: by which the generals knew them to be the weird sisters, or witches.”
serpent ×2 Webster 1828
noun [Latin serpens, creeping; serpo, to creep.]
1. An animal of the order of Serpentes, [creepers, crawlers, ] Of the class of Amphibia.
trembling ×2 Webster 1828
participle present tense Shaking, as with fear, cold or weakness; quaking; shivering.
“Though Macbeth was a bold man, and one that could have faced the devil without trembling, at this horrible sight his cheeks turned white with fear, and he stood quite unmanned with his eyes fixed upon the ghost.”
afflicted ×2 Webster 1828
participle passive Affected with continued or often repeated pain, either of body or mind; suffering grief or distress, of any kind; followed by at, by or with; as, afflicted at the loss of a child, by the rheumatism, or with los…
“His queen and he had their sleeps afflicted with terrible dreams, and the blood of Banquo troubled them not more than the escape of Fleance, whom now they looked upon as father to a line of kings who should keep their posterity out of the throne.”
likeness ×2 Webster 1828
noun
1. Resemblance in form; similitude. The picture is a good likeness of the original.
2. Resemblance; form; external appearance. Guard against an enemy in the likeness of a friend.
3.
“And the first arose in the likeness of an armed head, and he called Macbeth by name, and bid him beware of the thane of Fife; for which caution Macbeth thanked him; for Macbeth had entertained a jealousy of Macduff, the thane of Fife.”
blasted ×1 Webster 1828
participle passive Affected by some cause that checks growth, injures, impairs, destroys, or renders abortive; split by an explosion of gunpowder.
attire ×1 Webster 1828
verb transitive
To dress; to array; to adorn with elegant or splendid garments.
With the linen miter shall Aaron be attired. Leviticus 16:4.
ATTI'RE, noun
1.
earthly ×1 Webster 1828
adjective Pertaining to the earth, or to this world.
Our earthly house of this tabernacle. 2 Corinthians 5:1.
1. Not heavenly; vile; mean,
This earthly load
Of death called life.
2.
riddle ×1 Webster 1828
noun [See Cradle.]
An instrument for cleaning grain, being a large sieve with a perforated button, which permits the grain to pass through it, but retains the chaff.
RID'DLE, verb transitive To separate, as grain from the chaff…
“Then turning to Banquo, they pronounced him, in a sort of riddling terms, to be lesser than Macbeth and greater!”
ponder ×1 Webster 1828
verb transitive [Latin pondero, from pondo, pondus, a pound; pendeo, pendo, to weigh.]
1. To weigh in the mind; to consider and compare the circumstances or consequences of an event, or the importance of the reasons for or again…
miraculous ×1 Webster 1828
adjective Performed supernaturally, or by a power beyond the ordinary agency of natural laws; effected by the direct agency of Almighty power, and not by natural causes; as the miraculous healing of the sick or raising the dead b…
betray ×1 Webster 1828
verb transitive [Latin traho.]
1. To deliver into the hands of an enemy by treachery or fraud, in violation of trust; as, an officer betrayed the city.
The son of man shall be betrayed into the hands of men. Matthew 17:22.
2.
flattering ×1 Webster 1828
participle present tense
1. Gratifying with praise; pleasing by applause; wheedling; coaxing.
2. adjective Pleasing to pride or vanity; gratifying to self-love; as a flattering eulogy.
“She spurred on the reluctant purpose of Macbeth, who felt compunction at the thoughts of blood, and did not cease to represent the murder of the king as a step absolutely necessary to the fulfilment of the flattering prophecy.”
pleasantly ×1 Webster 1828
adverb plez'antly. In such a manner as to please or gratify.
1. Gayly; merrily; in good humor.
2. Lightly; ludicrously.
treacherous ×1 Webster 1828
Treacherously
Treacherousness
disposition ×1 Webster 1828
noun [Latin]
1. The act of disposing, or state of being disposed.
2. Manner in which things or the parts of a complex body are placed or arranged; order; method; distribution; arrangement.
“She had won him to consent to the murder, but she doubted his resolution; and she feared that the natural tenderness of his disposition (more humane than her own) would come between, and defeat the purpose.”
intoxicated ×1 Webster 1828
participle passive Inebriated; made drunk; excited to frenzy.
“So with her own hands armed with a dagger, she approached the king's bed; having taken care to ply the grooms of his chamber so with wine, that they slept intoxicated, and careless of their charge.”
entertainer ×1 Webster 1828
noun He who entertains; he who received company with hospitality, or for reward.
1. He who retains others in his service.
2. He that amuses, pleases or diverts.
“In the first place, he was not only a subject, but a near kinsman to the king; and he had been his host and entertainer that day, whose duty, by the laws of hospitality, it was to shut the door against his murderers, not bear the knife himself.”
merciful ×1 Webster 1828
adjective [from mercy.] Having or exercising mercy; compassionate; tender; disposed to pity offenders and to forgive their offenses; unwilling to punish for injuries; applied appropriately to the Supreme being.
The Lord passed be…
dashed ×1 Webster 1828
participle passive Struck violently; driven against; bruised, broken or scattered by collision; besprinkled; mixed or adulterated; erased, blotted out; broken; cast down; confounded; abashed.
smear ×1 Webster 1828
verb transitive
1. To overspread with any thing unctuous, viscous or adhesive; to besmear; to daub; as, to smear any thing with oil, butter, pitch, etc.
2.
unmanned ×1 Webster 1828
participle passive Deprived of the qualities of a man.
“Though Macbeth was a bold man, and one that could have faced the devil without trembling, at this horrible sight his cheeks turned white with fear, and he stood quite unmanned with his eyes fixed upon the ghost.”
whispering ×1 Webster 1828
participle present tense Speaking in a low voice; telling secretly; backbiting.
WHISPERING, noun The act of speaking with a low voice; the telling of tales, and exciting of suspicions; a backbiting.
heed ×1 Webster 1828
verb transitive To mind; to regard with care; to take notice of; to attend to; to observe.
With pleasure Argus the musician heeds.
HEED, noun Care; attention.
With wanton heed and giddy cunning.
1.
haste ×1 Webster 1828
noun
1. Celerity of motion; speed; swiftness; dispatch; expedition; applied only to voluntary beings, as men and other animals; never to other bodies.
horrid ×1 Webster 1828
adjective [Latin horridus. See Horror.]
1. That does or may excite horror; dreadful; hideous; shocking; as a horrid spectacle or sight; horrid sympathy.
2. Rough; rugged.
toad ×1 Webster 1828
noun A paddoc, an animal of the genus Rana, the Rana Bufo of Linne; a small clumsy animal, the body warty, thick and disgusting to the sight, but perfectly harmless, and indeed it is said to be useful in gardens by feeding on nox…
gall ×1 Webster 1828
noun [Gr. probably from its color.]
1. In the animal economy, the bile, a bitter, a yellowish green fluid, secreted in the glandular substance of the liver. It is glutinous or imperfectly fluid, like oil.
2.
sow ×1 Webster 1828
noun
1. The female of the hog kind or of swine.
2. An oblong piece of lead.
3. An insect; a milleped.
SOW'-BREAD, noun A plant of the genus Cyclamen.
SOW'-BUG, noun An insect; a milleped.
boldly ×1 Webster 1828
adverb In a bold matter; courageously; intrepidly; without timidity or fear; with confidence. Sometimes, perhaps, in a bad sense, for impudently.
“He, nothing daunted by the dreadful ceremonies which he saw, boldly answered: 'Where are they?”
Rare & Period Words
thane ×8 Webster 1828
noun The thanes in England were formerly persons of some dignity; of these there were two orders, the king's thanes, who attended the Saxon and Danish kings in their courts, and held lands immediately of them; and the ordinary th…
“MACBETH When Duncan the Meek reigned king of Scotland, there lived a great thane, or lord, called Macbeth.”
velour ×3 Modern
1. (noun) heavy fabric that resembles velvet
“And with the velour of her tongue she so chastised his sluggish resolutions, that he once more summoned up courage to the bloody business.”
posterity ×3 Webster 1828
noun [Latin posteritas, from posterus, from post, after.]
1. Descendants; children, children's children, etc. indefinitely; the race that proceeds from a progenitor. The whole human race are the posterity of Adam.
2.
kinsman ×2 Webster 1828
noun [kin and man.] A man of the same race or family; one related by blood.
“This Macbeth was a near kinsman to the king, and in great esteem at court for his velour and conduct in the wars; an example of which he had lately given, in defeating a rebel army assisted by the troops of Norway in terrible numbers.”
confer ×2 Webster 1828
verb intransitive [Latin , to bear, to bring forth, to show, to declare. See Bear.] To discourse; to converse; to consult together; implying conversation on some serious or important subject, in distinction from mere talk or ligh…
oftentimes ×2 Webster 1828
adverb of'ntimes. [often and times.] Frequently; often; many times.
undertaken ×2 Webster 1828
participle passive of undertake. The work was undertaken at his own expense.
“She would not have undertaken a deed so abhorrent to her sex, but that she feared her husband's nature, that it was too full of the milk of human kindness, to do a contrived murder.”
doubly ×2 Webster 1828
adverb In twice the quantity; to twice the degree; as doubly wise or good; to be doubly sensible of an obligation.
reproached ×2 Webster 1828
participle passive Censured in terms of contempt; upbraided.
infernal ×2 Webster 1828
adjective [Latin infernus.]
1. Properly, pertaining to the lower regions, or regions of the dead, the Tartarus of the ancients. Hence,
2. Pertaining to hell; inhabiting hell; as infernal spirits.
3.
“By these charms they bound the infernal spirits to answer their questions.”
cauldron ×2 Modern
1. (noun) a very large pot that is used for boiling
vanquished ×2 Webster 1828
participle passive Overcome in battle; subdued; defeated.
“He called Macbeth by name, and comforted him against conspiracies, saying, that he should never be vanquished, until the wood of Birnam to Dunsinane Hill should come against him.”