The Odysseys of Homer
Homer, tr. George Chapman (1615) · Pre-Reading Vocabulary · prepared by Vocabularium
Match guide. Of this book’s 160,271 words of running text, a reader who knows the 3,000 most common English words can already read 84% — one who knows 6,000 reads 89%. The lists below close most of the remaining gap.
Words Worth Knowing Anywhere
High School (80 words)
vow ×75 Webster 1828
noun
1. A solemn promisemade to God, or by a pagan to his deity. The Roman generals when they went to war, sometimes made a vow that they would build a temple to some favorite deity, if he would give them victory.
“But divide we now The sacrifices’ tongues, mix wines, and vow To Neptune, and the other Ever-Blest, That, having sacrific’d, we may to rest.”
lest ×74 Webster 1828
conjunction That not; for fear that.
Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die. Genesis 3:3.
The phrase may be thus explained. Ye shall not touch it; that separated or dismissed, ye die.
“The most grave and divine poet, teaching therein, that not so much for the necessary chewing of our sustenance our teeth are given us, as for their stay of our words, lest we utter them rashly.”
isle ×61 Webster 1828
ISLE
ILE, noun ile. [Latin insula.]
1. A tract of land surrounded by water, or a detached portion of land embosomed in the ocean, in a lake or river.
The isles shall wait for his law. Isaiah 42:4.
2. A passage in a church.
“ And many more this mischief menaceth Of us inhabiting this famous isle.”
deity ×59 Webster 1828
noun
1. Godhead; divinity; the nature and essence of the Supreme Being; as, the deity of the Supreme Being is manifest in his works.
2. God; the Supreme Being, or infinite self-existing Spirit.
3.
“Beyond the height of phrase You raise expression; but ’twill never be, That I shall move in any Deity So blest an honour.”
herd ×57 Webster 1828
noun
1. A collection or assemblage; applied to beasts when feeding or driven together. We say, a herd of horses, oxen, cattle, camels, elephants, bucks, harts, and in Scripture, a herd of swine.
“The common herd, I assure myself, ready to receive it on their horns.”
bind ×51 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.
“When from the vulgar taking glorious bound Up to the mountain where the Muse is crown’d, He sits and laughs to see the jaded rabble Toil to his hard heights, t’ all access unable, etc.”
slaughter ×50 Webster 1828
noun slaw'ter [See Slay.]
1. In a general sense, a killing. Applied to men, slaughter usually denotes great destruction of life by violent means; as the slaughter of men in battle.
2.
“ Poor dame, she dreams not, what design we make Upon the life and slaughter of her son.””
hid ×47 Webster 1828
HID
HI'DAGE, noun [from hide, a quantity of land.] An extraordinary tax formerly paid to the kings of England for every hide of land.
“The nerves of all things hid in nature lie Naked before him; all their harmony Tun’d to his accents, that in beasts breathe minds.”
muse ×40 Webster 1828
Please check your spelling.
Try unpluralized words or use a root word.
For further assistance visit our Facebook page.
“What fowls, what floods, what earth, what air, what winds, What fires ethereal, what the Gods conclude In all their counsels, his Muse makes indued With varied voices that ev’n rocks have mov’d.”
utmost ×38 Webster 1828
adjective
1. Extreme; being at the furthest point or extremity; as the utmost limit of North America; the utmost limits of the land; the utmost extent of human knowledge.
2.
“ They summon’d; th’ other came in utmost haste.”
slain ×38 Webster 1828
participle passive of slay; so written for slayen. Killed.
“ There found she those proud wooers, that were then Set on those ox-hides that themselves had slain, Before the gates, and all at dice were playing.”
spoil ×38 Webster 1828
verb transitive [Latin , to pull asunder, to tear, to strip, to peel.]
1. To plunder; to strip by violence; to rob; with of; as, to spoil one of his goods or possessions.
My sons their old unhappy sire despise, Spoild of his king…
“ Or from thy subjects’ hate, that wish thy spoil, And will not aid thee, since their spirits rely, Against thy rule, on some grave augury?”
rite ×38 Webster 1828
noun [Latin ritus.]
The manner of performing divine or solemn service as established by law, precept or custom; formal act of religion, or other solemn duty.
“ Whose state when Nestor doth perceive, With sacrifice he makes it known, Where many a pleasing rite is shown.”
amidst ×37 Webster 1828
Please check your spelling.
Try unpluralized words or use a root word.
For further assistance visit our Facebook page.
“ Thick’ning the hapless vapour--then truth’s light Glimmer’d about his poem; the pinch’d soul (Amidst the mysteries it did enrol) Brake pow’rfully abroad.”
sorrow ×36 Webster 1828
noun The uneasiness or pain of mind which is produced by the loss of any good. or of frustrated hopes of good, or expected loss of happiness; to grieve; to be sad.
“said he, “let’s dwell no more on this, Although in us the sorrow pious is.”
flock ×36 Webster 1828
noun [Latin floccus. It is the same radically as flake, and applied to wool or hair, we write it lock. See Flake.]
1. A company or collection; applied to sheep and other small animals.
“ When having view’d, and told them forth by fives, He takes place in their midst, and there doth sleep, Like to a shepherd midst his flock of sheep.”
banquet ×35 Webster 1828
noun A feast; a rich entertainment of meat and drink. Esther 5:4. Job xli. Amos 6:7.
BAN'QUET, verb transitive To treat with a feast, or rich entertainment.
BAN'QUET, verb intransitive To feast; to regale one's self with good e…
“Next to this, The Banquet of the Wooers is.”
immortal ×34 Webster 1828
adjective [Latin immortalis. See Mortal.]
1. Having no principle of alteration or corruption; exempt from death; having life or being that shall never end; as an immortal soul.
To the King eternal, immortal invisible, the only…
“ Like to a hill, the blue and snaky flood Above th’ immortal and the mortal stood, And hid them both, as both together lay, Just where his current falls into the sea.”
limb ×33 Webster 1828
noun lim. [Latin limbus, edge or border, extremity; limes, limit. The sense of limb is from shooting or extending.]
1. Edge or border.
“ All but Nausicaa fled; but she fast stood, Pallas had put a boldness in her breast, And in her fair limbs tender fear comprest.”
ample ×33 Webster 1828
adjective [Latin amplus.]
1. Large; wide; spacious; extended; as ample room. This word carries with it the sense of room or space fully sufficient for the use intended.
2. Great in bulk, or size; as an ample tear.
3.
“Did not ever he, In ample Troy, thy altars gratify, And Grecians’ fleet make in thy off’rings swim?”
envy ×32 Webster 1828
verb transitive [Latin invideo, in and video, to see against, that is, to look with enmity.]
1. To feel uneasiness, mortification or discontent, at the sight of superior excellence, reputation or happiness enjoyed by another; to…
“ All Gods took pity on him; only he, That girds earth in the cincture of the sea, Divine Ulysses ever did envy, And made the fix’d port of his birth to fly.”
mast ×32 Webster 1828
noun A long, round piece of timber, elevated or designed to be raised perpendicularly or nearly so, on the keel of a ship or other vessel, to which the yards, sails and rigging are attached, and by which they are supported.
“ At morn, masts, sails, rear’d, we sat, left the shores, And beat the foamy ocean with our oars.”
brow ×30 Webster 1828
noun [Latin palpebra.. It is probably contracted from brg, and signifies an edge, border or projection.]
1. The prominent ridge over the eye, forming an arch above the orbit.
“ Out gush’d the blood that scalded, his eye-ball Thrust out a flaming vapour, that scorch’d all His brows and eye-lids, his eye-strings did crack, As in the sharp and burning rafter brake.”
deed ×30 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.
“ Who never did ’gainst anyone proceed With unjust usage, or in word or deed?”
fiery ×29 Webster 1828
adjective [from fire.]
1. Consisting of fire; as the fiery gulf of Etna.
And fiery billows roll below.
2. Hot like fire; as a fiery heart.
3. Vehement; ardent; very active; impetuous; as a fiery spirit.
4.
“ In council still so fiery was Conceit In his quick apprehension of a cause, That first he ever spake, nor pass’d the laws Of any great stay, in his greatest haste.”
deeds ×28 Modern
1. (noun) performance of moral or religious acts
“For, past patience, Base deeds are done here, that exceed defence Of any honour.”
descend ×28 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.
“ In meantime I’ll descend to ship and men, That much expect me.”
dispose ×28 Webster 1828
verb transitive dispoze. [Latin]
1. To set; to place or distribute; to arrange; used with reference to order. The ships were disposed in the form of a crescent. The general disposed his troops in three lines.
“Of all yet thron’d above, They most observ’d the grey-eyed seed of Jove; Who, from the evening till the morning rose, And all day long their voyage did dispose.”
vain ×28 Webster 1828
adjective [Latin vanus; Eng. wan, wane, want.]
1. Empty; worthless; having no substance, value or importance. 1 Peter 1:18.
To your vain answer will you have recourse.
Every man walketh in a vain show.
“Nor care we For any threats of austere prophecy, Which thou, old dotard, vaunt’st of so in vain.”
bred ×27 Webster 1828
participle passive of breed. Generated; produced; contrived; educated.
“I will burn to thee An ox right bred, broad-headed, and yoke-free, To no man’s hand yet humbled.”
dwell ×26 Webster 1828
verb intransitive preterit tense dwelled, usually contracted into dwelt. [See Dally.]
1. To abide as a permanent resident, or to inhabit for a time; to live in a place; to have a habitation for some time or permanence.
God shall…
“said he, “let’s dwell no more on this, Although in us the sorrow pious is.”
tread ×26 Webster 1828
verb intransitive tred. preterit tense trod; participle passive trod, troden. [Latin trudo.]
1. To set the foot.
Where'er you tread the blushing flow'rs shall rise.
Fools rush in where angels fear to tread
2.
“ I well have prov’d, with what malignity He treads my steps.””
boast ×26 Webster 1828
verb intransitive [Gr. to inflate; Latin fastus.]
1. To brag, or vaunt one's self; to make an ostentatious display, in speech, of one's own worth, property, or actions.
2.
“And what In any region boasted he his state?”
contention ×25 Webster 1828
noun [Latin See Contend.]
1. Strife; struggle; a violent effort to obtain something, or to resist a person, claim or injury; contest; quarrel.
Multitudes lost their lives in a tumult raised by contention among the partizans of t…
“ By whose help she betwixt the brother kings Let fall contention; who in council met In vain, and timeless, when the sun was set, And all the Greeks call’d, that came charg’d with wine.”
ashore ×25 Webster 1828
adverb [a, at or on, and shore. See shore.]
1. On shore; on the land adjacent to water; to the shore; as, bring the goods ashore
2. On land, opposed to aboard; as, the captain of the ship remained ashore
3.
“ But when thou touchest with thy hand the shore, Then take it from thy neck, nor wear it more, But cast it far off from the continent, And then thy person far ashore present.”
seize ×25 Webster 1828
verb transitive
1. To fall or rush upon suddenly and lay hold on; or to gripe or grasp suddenly. The tiger rushes from the thicket and seizes his prey. A dog seizes an animal by the throat.
“answer’d he, “you make amaze Seize me throughout.”
wrath ×24 Webster 1828
noun [Latin]
1. Violent anger; vehement exasperation; indignation; as the wrath of Achilles.
When the wrath of king Ahasuerus was appeased--Esther 2:1.
O Lord--in wrath remember mercy. Habakkuk 3:2.
2. The effects of anger.
“ Jove, why still then burns thy wrath to him?””
vein ×24 Webster 1828
noun [Latin vena, from the root of venio, to come, to pass. The sense is a passage, a conduit.]
1. A vessel in animal bodies, which receives the blood from the extreme arteries, and returns it to the heart.
“ Whose loves with no good did my least vein fill; And from their hates I fear as little ill.”
wed ×24 Webster 1828
verb transitive [Latin , to give bail; a league; probably both are of one family.]
1. To marry; to take for a husband or for wife.
--Since the day I saw thee first, and wedded thee.
2.
“ She said she sprung from pure Salmoneus’ bed, And Cretheus, son of Æolus, did wed; Yet the divine flood Enipëus lov’d, Who much the most fair stream of all floods mov’d.”
decree ×23 Webster 1828
noun [Latin To judge; to divide.]
1. Judicial decision, or determination of a litigated cause; as a decree of the court of chancery. The decision of a court of equity is called a decree; that of a court of law, a judgment.
2.
“ No such return, as we wish, Fates bequeath My erring father; whom a present death The Deathless have decreed.”
garment ×23 Webster 1828
noun Any article of clothing, as a coat, a gown, etc. Garments, in the plural, denotes clothing in general; dress.
No man putteth a piece of new cloth to an old garment Matthew 9:16.
“Thy fair garments lie Neglected by thee, yet thy nuptials nigh; When rich in all attire both thou shouldst be, And garments give to others honouring thee, That lead thee to the temple.”
thigh ×23 Webster 1828
noun That part of men, quadrupeds and fowls, which is between the leg and the trunk.
As the word signifies, it is the thick part of the lower limbs.
“ These of the entrails only pleas’d to eat, And to the God enflam’d the fleshy thighs.”
greet ×23 Webster 1828
verb transitive [Latin rudo, to bray, to roar.]
1. To address with expressions of kind wishes; to salute in kindness and respect.
My lord, the Mayor if London comes to greet you.
2.
“How greet his gravity?”
invade ×23 Webster 1828
verb transitive [Latin invado; in and vado, to go.]
1. To enter a country, as an army with hostile intentions; to enter as an enemy, with a view to conquest or plunder; to attack. The French armies invaded Holland in 1795.
“ On each side, dogs, of gold and silver fram’d, The house’s guard stood: which the Deity lam’d With knowing inwards had inspir’d, and made That death nor age should their estates invade.”
foe ×23 Webster 1828
noun fo. [See Fiend.]
1. An enemy; one who entertains personal enmity, hatred, grudge or malice against another.
A man's foes shall be they of his own household. Matthew 10:36.
2.
“ Besides, his danger sets on foes profess’d To way-lay his return, that have address’d Plots for his death.””
dreadful ×23 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.
“ Thus dreadful is the presence of our death.”
exceeding ×22 Webster 1828
participle present tense Going beyond; surpassing; excelling; outdoing.
1. Great in extent, quantity or duration; very extensive.
Cities were built an exceeding space of time before the flood. [This sense is unusual.]
2.
“ Telemachus to Pallas then (apart, His ear inclining close, that none might hear) In this sort said: “My guest, exceeding dear, Will you not sit incens’d with what I say?”
vent ×21 Webster 1828
noun [Latin venio, Eng. wind, etc.; properly a passage.]
1. A small aperture; a hole or passage for air or other fluid to escape; as the vent of a cask.
2.
“ He, angry, answer’d: “Thou didst never show Thyself a fool, Boethides, till now; But now, as if turn’d child, a childish speech Vents thy vain spirits.”
manly ×20 Webster 1828
adjective [man and like.] Manlike; becoming a man; firm; brave; undaunted.
Serene and manly hardened to sustain
The load of life--
1. Dignified; noble; stately.
He moves with manly grace.
2.
“Be then, my most lov’d, Valiant and manly, ev’ry way approv’d As great as he.”
humour ×19 Modern
1. (noun) the trait of appreciating (and being able to express) the humorous 2. (noun) the quality of being funny 3. (noun) the liquid parts of the body
“ Icarius’ daughter started from her sleep, And Joy’s fresh humour her lov’d breast did steep, When now so clear, in that first watch of night, She saw the seen Dream vanish from her sight.”
discourse ×19 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.
“ The woes past, therefore, he so late let fall, The comforts he affords us let us take; Feast, and, with fit discourses, merry make.”
admiration ×19 Webster 1828
noun Wonder mingled with pleasing emotions, as approbation, esteem, love or veneration; a compound emotion excited by something novel, rare, great, or excellent; applied to persons and their works.
“With whose view, And study what events they might foretell The Council into admiration fell.”
arose ×19 Webster 1828
The past or preterit tense of the verb, to arise.
“ The Morn arose; the king rose, and put on His royal weeds, his sharp sword hung upon His ample shoulders, forth his chamber went, And did the person of a God present.”
fetch ×19 Webster 1828
verb transitive
1. To go and bring, or simply to bring, that is, to bear a thing towards or to a person.
We will take men to fetch victuals for the people.
Judges 20:10.
Go to the flock, and fetch me from thence two kids of the g…
“ All this see got together; I it all In night will fetch off, when my mother shall Ascend her high room, and for sleep prepare.”
dart ×19 Webster 1828
noun [Gr., a spear or lance.]
1. A pointed missile weapon to be thrown by the hand; a short lance.
2. Any missile weapon; that which pierces and wounds.
And from about her shot darts of desire.
D'ART, verb transitive
1.
“You shall then descry The other humbler rock, that moves so nigh Your dart may mete the distance.”
mourning ×18 Webster 1828
participle present tense Grieving; lamenting; sorrowing; wearing the appearance of sorrow.
MOURNING, noun The act of sorrowing or expressing grief; lamentation; sorrow.
1.
“ And thus sit I here weeping, mourning still Each least man lost; and sometimes make mine ill, In paying just tears for their loss, my joy.”
altar ×18 Webster 1828
noun [Latin altare, probably from the same root as altus, high.
1. A mount; a table or elevated place, on which sacrifices where anciently offered to some deity.
“Did not ever he, In ample Troy, thy altars gratify, And Grecians’ fleet make in thy off’rings swim?”
sway ×18 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.
“To her women she Applied her sway; and to the wooers he Began new orders, other spirits bewray’d Than those in spite of which the wooers sway’d.”
abide ×17 Webster 1828
verb intransitive pert. and part. abode.
abada, to be, or exist, to continue; W. bod, to be; to dwell, rest, continue, stand firm, or be stationary for anytime indefinitely. Class Bd. No 7.]
1. To rest, or dwell.
“ For, if she once be won to wish you well, Your hope may instantly your passport seal, And thenceforth sure abide to see your friends, Fair house, and all to which your heart contends.””
pavement ×17 Webster 1828
noun [Latin pavimentum.] A floor or covering consisting of stones or bricks, laid on the earth in such a manner as to make a hard and convenient passage; as a pavement of pebbles, of bricks, or of marble.
PA'VEMENT, verb transit…
“ Ulysses to the lofty-builded court Of king Alcinous made bold resort; Yet in his heart cast many a thought, before The brazen pavement of the rich court bore His enter’d person.”
honours ×16 Modern
1. (noun) a university degree with honors
“And yet for all this, naked Virtue lov’d, Honours without her he as abject prizes, And foolish Fame, deriv’d from thence, despises.”
bounty ×16 Webster 1828
Band
Bandy
Bayonet
Bay-window
Bend
Bendy
Benet
Benight
Bennet
Bent
Beyond
Binate
Bind
Bond
Boned…
“ Their bounties nourish not when most they feed, But, where there is no merit or no need, Rain into rivers still, and are such show’rs As bubbles spring and overflow the flow’rs.”
salute ×16 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.
“But the first of these That saw, acknowledg’d, and saluted me, Was Thetis’ conqu’ring son, who (heavily His state here taking) said: ‘Unworthy breath!”
riches ×16 Webster 1828
noun [This is in the singular number in fact, but treated as the plural.]
1. Wealth; opulence; affluence; possessions of land, good or money in abundance.
Riches do not consist in having more gold and silver, but in having more i…
“ Which yet with greater gifts of Deity In future I’ll confirm, and give thy state A rod that riches shall accumulate, Nor leave the bearer thrall to death, or fate, Or any sickness.”
apt ×16 Webster 1828
adjective [Latin aptus, from apto, to fit. Gr. to tie.]
1. Fit; suitable; as, he used very apt metaphors.
2. Having a tendency; liable; used of things; as, wheat on moist land is apt to blast or be winter-killed.
3.
“Some apple-colour’d corn Ground in fair querns, and some did spindles turn, Some work in looms; no hand least rest receives, But all had motion apt as aspen leaves.”
rag ×15 Webster 1828
noun [Gr. a torn garment; tear; a rupture, a rock, a crag; to tear asunder.]
1. Any piece of cloth torn from the rest; a tattered cloth, torn or worn till its texture is destroyed.
“said he, “sit silent at your meat, Or seek your desp’rate plight some safer seat, Lest by the hands or heels youths drag your years, And rend your rotten rags about your ears.””
imply ×15 Webster 1828
verb transitive [Latin implico; in and plico, to fold. See Implicate.]
1. Literally, to infold or involve; to wrap up.
2.
“In the door, aloof, Ent’ring the hall grac’d with a goodly roof, She stood, in shade of graceful veils, implied About her beauties; on her either side, Her honour’d women.”
thirst ×15 Webster 1828
noun thurst. [Latin torreo.]
1. A painful sensation of the throat or fauces, occasioned by the want of drink.
Wherefore is it that thou hast brought us out of Egypt, to kill us and our children and our cattle with thirst? Exodus…
“ But lusty wooers must do more than feast; For now, their hungers and their thirsts allay’d, They call’d for songs and dances; those, they said, Were th’ ornaments of feast.”
hymn ×15 Webster 1828
noun hym. [Latin hymnus; Eng. hum.]song or ode in honor of God, and among pagans, in honor of some deity. A hymn among christians is a short poem, composed for religious service, or a song of joy and praise to God.
“ A HYMN TO HERMES Hermes, the son of Jove and Maia, sing, O Muse, th’ Arcadian and Cyllenian king, They rich in flocks, he heaven enriching still In messages return’d with all his will.”
behold ×15 Webster 1828
verb transitive preterit tense and participle passive beheld' [Latin observo, from servo, to keep.]
1.
“such a death she died as never may Seize anyone that here beholds the day, That either is to any man a friend, Or can a woman kill in such a kind.”
heap ×15 Webster 1828
noun
1. A pile or mass; a collection of things laid in a body so as to form an elevation; as a heap of earth or stones.
Huge heaps of slain around the body rise.
2.
“ Who all assembled, and in one heap plac’d He likewise came to council, and did bear In his fair hand his iron-headed spear.”
strait ×15 Webster 1828
adjective [See Straight.]
1. Narrow; close; not broad.
STRAIT is the gate, and narrow is the way that leadeth to life, and few there be that find it. Matthew 7:13.
2. Close; intimate; as a strait degree of favor.
3.
“Thou tak’st no ruth-- When thou thyself hast got him in most truth-- To wrap him in the straits of most distress, And in the curse of others’ wickedness.”
gracious ×15 Webster 1828
adjective [Latin gratiosus.]
1. Favorable; kind; friendly; as, the envoy met with a gracious reception.
2.
“Yet no more Her husband honours her, than her blest store Of gracious children.”
render ×14 Webster 1828
noun [from rend.] One that tears by violence.
REN'DER, verb transitive [This is probably the Latin reddo, with a casually inserted.]
1. To return; to pay back.
See that none render evil for evil to any man.
“And yet even this doth the divine inspiration render vast, illustrious, and of miraculous composure.”
obey ×14 Webster 1828
verb transitive [Latin obedio; Gr.]
1. To comply with the commands, orders or instructions of a superior, or with the requirements of law, moral, political or municipal; to do that which is commanded or required, or to forbear d…
“ Nausicaa her charge obeys, And then with other virgins plays.”
bon ×14 Webster 1913
1. Good; valid as security for something.
“ The ox on broad earth then laid laterally They held, while duke Pisistratus the throat Dissolv’d, and set the sable blood afloat, And then the life the bones left.”
cheerful ×14 Webster 1828
adjective
1. Lively; animated; having good spirits; moderately joyful. This is the most usual signification of the word, expressing a degree of animation less than mirth and jollity.
2.
“And then, His right hand giv’n the guests, Atrides said: “Eat, and be cheerful.”
shady ×14 Webster 1828
adjective [from shade.]
1. Abounding with shade or shades; overspread with shade.
And Amaryllis fills the shady groves. Dryden.
2.
“ Must I no more shine his revenger now, Such as of old the Ilion overthrow Witness’d my anger, th’ universal host Sending before me to this shady coast, In fight for Grecia.”
convey ×14 Webster 1828
verb transitive [Latin , to carry; to weigh. See Weigh and Way.]
1. To carry , bear or transport, either by land or water, or in air; as, to convey a letter or a package; to convey goods from England to France.
2.
“What thy loved mind Commands to give, at my return this way, Bestow on me, that I directly may Convey it home; which more of price to me The more it asks my recompense to thee.””
veil ×14 Webster 1828
noun [Latin velum.
1. A cover; a curtain; something to intercept the view and lude an object.
2. A cover; a disguise. [See Vail.
“In the door, aloof, Ent’ring the hall grac’d with a goodly roof, She stood, in shade of graceful veils, implied About her beauties; on her either side, Her honour’d women.”
College (30 words)
ox ×89 Webster 1828
noun plural oxen. pronoun ox'n.
The male of the bovine genus of quadrupeds, castrated and grown to his size or nearly so. The young male is called in America a steer. The same animal not castrated is called a bull.
“ That in their hunger’s rapine would not shun The oxen of the lofty-going Sun, Who therefore from their eyes the day bereft Of safe return.”
sire ×84 Webster 1828
noun [supra.]
1. A father; used in poetry. And raise his issue like a loving sire
2. The male parent of a beast; particularly used of horses; as, the horse had a good sire but a bad dam.
3.
“ Pallas, whose eyes did sparkle like the skies, Answer’d: “O Sire!”
haste ×67 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.
“ Then rush’d in the rude wooers, themselves plac’d; The heralds water gave; the maids in haste Serv’d bread from baskets.”
woe ×65 Webster 1913
1. Grief; sorrow; misery; heavy calamity. 2. Woeful; sorrowful. 3. A curse; a malediction.
“And, that night’s sleep too, We turn’d to studying either other’s woe; When Jove besides made ready woes enow.”
wrought ×59 Webster 1828
preterit tense and participle passive of work. raut.
1. Worked; formed by work or labor; as wrought iron.
2. Effected; performed.
She hath wrought a good work upon me. Matthew 26:10.
3. Effected; produced.
“The Nymph then brought Linen for sails, which with dispatch he wrought, Gables, and halsters, tacklings.”
moan ×40 Webster 1828
verb transitive To lament; to deplore; to bewail with an audible voice.
Ye floods, ye woods, ye echoes, moan
My dear Columbo dead and gone.
MOAN, verb intransitive To grieve; to make lamentations.
Unpitied and unheard, where mis…
“ Nor shall I any more mourn him alone, The Gods have giv’n me other cause of moan.”
strife ×34 Webster 1828
noun [See Strive.]
1. Exertion or contention for superiority; contest of emulation, either by intellectual or physical efforts.
“Atrides then Began to know him, and did strife retain, If he should let himself confess his sire, Or with all fitting circumstance enquire.”
horrid ×33 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.
“Imperial Jove, That makes the horrid murmur beat above, Took place past all, whose height for ever springs, And from whom flowers th’ eternal pow’r of things.”
err ×33 Webster 1828
verb intransitive [Latin erro.]
1. To wander from the right way; to deviate from the true course or purpose.
But errs not nature from this gracious end,
From burning suns when livid deaths descend?
2.
“ For whose lost eye, th’ Earth-shaker did not kill Erring Ulysses, but reserves him still In life for more death.”
assay ×30 Webster 1828
noun [Latin sequor; assequor, to follow, to examine. See Essay.]
1. The trial of the goodness, purity, weight, value, etc. of metals or metallic substances.
“Which done, Assays for hurling of the stone The youths make with the stranger-king.”
swine ×30 Webster 1828
noun sing. and plural A hog, a quadruped of the genus Sus, which furnishes man with a large portion of his most nourishing food. The fat or lard of this animal enters into various dishes in cookery.
“ Who go, and turn no more again, All, save Eurylochus, to swine By Circe turn’d.”
mourn ×29 Webster 1828
verb intransitive [Latin maereo.]
1. To express grief or sorrow; to grieve; to be sorrowful. Mourning may be expressed by weeping or audible sounds, or by sobs, sighs or inward silent grief.
Abraham came to mourn for Sarah and t…
“ Nor shall I any more mourn him alone, The Gods have giv’n me other cause of moan.”
wretched ×29 Webster 1828
adjective
1. Very miserable; sunk into deep affliction or distress, either from want, anxiety or grief.
The wretched find no friends.
2. Calamitous; very afflicting; as the wretched condition of slaves in Algiers.
3.
“ It is the only rite that wretched men Can do dead friends, to cut hair, and complain.”
lofty ×27 Webster 1828
adjective
1. Elevated in place; high; as a lofty tower; a lofty mountain. [But it expresses more than high, or at least is more emphatical, poetical and elegant.]
See lofty Lebanon his head advance.
2.
“Then led she, till they came To lofty woods that did the isle confine.”
slew ×25 Webster 1828
preterit tense of slay.
“ Mean space Ægisthus made sad work at home, And slew his brother, forcing to his sway Atrides’ subjects, and did sev’n years lay His yoke upon the rich Mycenian state.”
weep ×25 Webster 1828
verb intransitive preterit tense and participle passive wept. Weeped, I believe is never used. [See Whoop. The primary sense is to cry out.]
1. To express sorrow, grief or anguish by outcry. This is the original sense.
“Then, full of joy, he left His ship, and close t’ his country earth he cleft, Kiss’d it, and wept for joy, pour’d tear on tear, To set so wishedly his footing there.”
darts ×24 Modern
1. (noun) a game in which small pointed missiles are thrown at a dartboard
“ I would to God, my hour of death and fate That day had held the’ pow’r to terminate, When show’rs of darts my life bore undepress’d About divine Æacides deceas’d!”
chariot ×24 Webster 1828
CHARIOT,noun
1. A half coach; a carriage with four wheels and one seat behind, used for convenience and pleasure.
2. A car or vehicle used formerly in war, drawn by two or more horses, and conveying two men each.
“For this, Take you him home; whom in the morn dismiss, With chariot and your sons, and give him horse Ablest in strength, and of the speediest course””
fir ×19 Webster 1828
noun
The name of several species of the genus Pinus; as the Scotch fir the silver fir spruce fir hemlock fir and oriental fir
“What fowls, what floods, what earth, what air, what winds, What fires ethereal, what the Gods conclude In all their counsels, his Muse makes indued With varied voices that ev’n rocks have mov’d.”
pious ×18 Webster 1828
adjective [Latin pius.]
1. Godly; reverencing and honoring the Supreme Being in heart and in the practice of the duties he has enjoined; having due veneration and affection for the character of God, and habitually obeying his co…
“His more pious mind Divides him from these fortunes.”
grieve ×18 Webster 1828
verb transitive [Latin gravo, from gravis.]
1. To give pain of mind to; to afflict; to wound the feelings. Nothing grieves a parent like the conduct of a profligate child.
2.
“When most with cause I grieve, It bids me still, Eat, man, and drink, and live; And this makes all forgot.”
therein ×16 Webster 1828
adverb [there and in.] In that or this place, time or thing.
Bring forth abundantly in the earth and multiply therein Genesis 9:7.
Ye shall keep the sabbath--whosoever doeth any work therein--that soul shall be cut off.
“The most grave and divine poet, teaching therein, that not so much for the necessary chewing of our sustenance our teeth are given us, as for their stay of our words, lest we utter them rashly.”
bane ×16 Webster 1828
noun [Gr. is to kill; in Latin venenum is poison.]
Poison of a deadly quality; hence, any fatal cause of mischief, injury or destruction; as, vice is the bane of society.
BANE, verb transitive To poison.
“ When, by the bane their own bad lives instill, They suffer all the mis’ries of their states, Past our inflictions, and beyond their fates.”
inquire ×16 Webster 1828
verb intransitive [Latin inquiro; in and quoero, to seek.]
1. To ask a question; to seek for truth or information by asking questions.
We will call the damsel and inquire at her mouth.
“ All works dispatch’d thus, he began his fire; Which blown, he saw us, and did thus inquire: ῾Ho!”
weeping ×16 Webster 1828
participle present tense Lamenting; shedding tears.
WEEPING, noun Lamentation.
“ And thus sit I here weeping, mourning still Each least man lost; and sometimes make mine ill, In paying just tears for their loss, my joy.”
harp ×15 Webster 1828
noun
1. An instrument of music of the stringed kind, of a triangular figure, held upright and commonly touched with the fingers.
2.
“ Amongst whom did a heav’nly poet sing, And touch his harp.”
turret ×15 Webster 1828
noun [Latin turris.] A little tower; a small eminence or spire attached to a building and rising above it.
And lift her turrets nearer to the sky.
1.
“ But of these turrets I will take on me To be the absolute king, and reign as free, As did my father, over all his hand Left here in this house slaves to my command.””
mischief ×15 Webster 1828
noun
1. Harm; hurt; injury; damage; evil, whether intended or not. A new law is made to remedy the mischief
2. Intentional injury; harm or damage done by design.
Thy tongue deviseth mischief Psalms 52:1.
3.
“ And many more this mischief menaceth Of us inhabiting this famous isle.”
unjust ×15 Webster 1828
adjective
1. Not just; acting contrary to the standard of right established by the divine law; not equitable; as an unjust man.
2.
“ Who never did ’gainst anyone proceed With unjust usage, or in word or deed?”
cunning ×15 Webster 1828
adjective [G. See Can.]
1. Knowing; skillful; experienced; well-instructed. It is applied to all kinds of knowledge, but generally and appropriately, to the skill and dexterity of artificers, or the knowledge acquired by experien…
“ In mean time he, with cunning to conceal All thought of this from others, himself bore In broad house, with the Wooers, as before.”
Rare & Period Words
wooers ×220 Webster 1828
noun [from woo.] One who courts, or solicits in love.
“ About which while they sat, about the town Fame flew, and shriek’d about the cruel death And fate the Wooers had sustain’d beneath Ulysses’ roofs.”
tis ×76 Webster 1828
a contraction of it is.
“ _Tis best to be at home, harm lurks abroad._ And certainly thy virtue shall be known, ’Gainst great-ill-causing incantation To serve as for a lance or amulet.”
thence ×49 Webster 1828
adverb thens.
1. From that place.
When you depart thence shake off the dust of your feet. Mark 6:1.
It is more usual, though not necessary, to use from before thence
Then will I send and fetch thee from thence Genesis 27:9.
2.
“ It sounded dreadfully; to which he sung, As if from thence the first and true force sprung That fashions virtue.”
bestow ×48 Webster 1913
1. To lay up in store; to
deposit for safe keeping; to stow; to place; to put. 2. To use; to apply; to devote, as time or strength
in some occupation. 3. To expend, as money. 4. To give or confer; to impart; -- with on or
upon.
“ Be thou to Dis, too, sole Ambassador, Who, though all gifts and bounties he abhor, On thee he will bestow a wealthy one.””
bosom ×40 Webster 1828
noun s as z.
1. The breast of a human being and the parts adjacent.
2. The folds or covering of clothes about the breast.
Put thy hand in thy bosom Exodus 4:6.
3.
“ Nor shall the pow’rs of men nor Gods withhold My fiery resolution to enfold Thy bosom in mine arms; which here I vow To firm performance, past delay, and now.”
spake ×39 Webster 1828
preterit tense of speak; nearly obsolete. We not use spoke.
“ With this his mind she altered, though she spake Not for his good, but her own glory’s sake.”
gainst ×38 Webster 1828
'GAINST. [See Against.]
“ _Tis best to be at home, harm lurks abroad._ And certainly thy virtue shall be known, ’Gainst great-ill-causing incantation To serve as for a lance or amulet.”
ere ×35 Webster 1828
adverb Before; sooner than.
ERE sails were spread new oceans to explore.
The nobleman saith to him, Sir, come down ere my child die.
“ Though I began the use with sleepless nights, I many a darkness with right homely rites Have spent ere this hour, and desir’d the morn Would come, and make sleep to the world a scorn.”
bade ×34 Webster 1828
BADE, the past tense of bid. [See Bid.]
“Dolius’ son Made present speed abroad, and saw them nigh, Ran back, and told, bade arm; and instantly Were all in arms.”
renown ×32 Webster 1828
noun
Fame; celebrity; exalted reputation derived from the extensive praise of great achievements or accomplishments.
Giants of old, men of renown Genesis 6:4.
“ TO THE SUN The radiant Sun’s divine renown diffuse, Jove’s daughter, great Calliope, my Muse; Whom ox-ey’d Euryphaëssa gave birth To the bright Seed of starry Heaven and Earth.”
proud ×31 Webster 1828
adjective
1. Having inordinate self-esteem; possessing a high or unreasonable conceit of one's own excellence, either of body or mind.
“They, in proud ascent From off their bench, refus’d with usage fierce The sacred voice which I aver is verse.”
nuptials ×31 Webster 1828
noun plural Marriage, which see.
“ All this perform’d, and celebration then Of honour’d nuptials, that by God and men Are held in reverence.””
morn ×29 Webster 1828
noun The first part of the day; the morning; a word used chiefly in poetry.
And blooming peach shall ever bless thy morn
“ Born in the morn, he form’d his lute at noon, At night stole all the oxen of the Sun; And all this in his birth’s first day was done, Which was the fourth of the increasing moon.”
wreak ×28 Webster 1828
verb transitive [G. The sense is to drive or throw, to dash with violence.]
1. To execute; to inflict; to hurl or drive; as, to wreak vengeance on an enemy.
On me let death wreak all his rage.
2.
“ Their follies, yet, and madness borne by me, Shall by some pow’r be thought on futurely, To wreak of him whoever, whose tongue sought With false impair my fall.”
thyself ×28 Webster 1828
pronoun [thy and self.] A pronoun used after thou, to express distinction with emphasis. 'Thou thyself shalt go; ' that is, thou shalt go and no other.
“ Be master of thyself, and do not call My name in question; but with reverence vow To Deities’ angers all the awe ye owe.””
nought ×28 Webster 1828
NOUGHT. See Naught.
“ But see not thou whatever thou dost see, Nor hear though hear, but all as touching me Conceal, since nought it can endamage thee.””
hospitable ×28 Webster 1828
adjective [Latin hospitalis, from hospes, a guest.]
1. Receiving and entertaining strangers, with kindness and without reward; kind to strangers and guests; disposed to treat guests with generous kindness; as a hospitable man.
2…
“Yet through all these parts Latona, great-grown with the King of darts, Travell’d; and tried if any would become To her dear birth an hospitable home.”
abode ×27 Webster 1828
preterit tense of abide
ABO'DE, noun [See Abide.]
1. Stay; continuance in a place; residence for a longer or shorter time.
2. A place of continuance; a dwelling; a habitation.
3.
“For once he liv’d my guest; My land and house retaining interest In his abode there; where there sojourn’d none As guest from any foreign region Of more price with me.”
blest ×27 Webster 1828
participle passive of bless.
BLEST, adjective Made happy.
1. Making happy; cheering.
While these blest sounds my rafish'd ear assail.
“Artizan so blest, That all things thou canst do in anyone!”
twas ×27 Webster 1828
a contraction of it was.
“ Telemachus had knowledge long ago That ’twas his father, but his wisdom so Observ’d his counsels, to give surer end To that great work to which they did contend.””
strook ×27 Webster 1828
for struck. [Not in use.]
“ Which Phœbus into laughter turn’d, and grew Pleasant past measure; tunes so artful clear Strook even his heart-strings, and his mind made hear.”
drave ×25 Webster 1828
the old participle of drive. We now use drove.
“When suddenly he stept Up to the stony cave, and into light Drave forth the oxen.”
scape ×25 Webster 1828
verb transitive To escape; a contracted word, not now used except in poetry, and with a mark of elision. [See Escape.]
SCAPE, noun
1. An escape. [See Escape.]
2. Means of escape; evasion.
3. Freak; aberration; deviation.
4.
“Crafty mate, What other scape canst thou excogitate?”
oars ×24 Webster 1828
noun An instrument for rowing boats, being a piece of timber round or square at one end, and flat at the other.
“This was not said Before Amphinomus in port display’d The ship arriv’d, her sails then under-stroke, And oars resum’d; when, laughing, thus he spoke: “Move for no messenger.”
lute ×23 Webster 1828
noun [Latin laudo.]
An instrument of music with strings. It consists of four parts, viz; the table, the body or belly which has nine or ten sides, the neck, which has nine or ten stops or divisions marked with strings, and the h…
“ Thee, that thy lute mak’st sound so to thy beams, Thee, first and last, the sweet-voic’d singer still Sings, for thy song’s all-songs-transcending skill.”
twixt ×22 Webster 1828
a contraction of betwixt, used in poetry.
“ Joy to the Jove-got then, and Maia’s care, ’Twixt men and Gods the general Messenger, Giver of good grace, gladness, and the flood Of all that men or Gods account their good!”
deathless ×22 Webster 1828
adjective Immortal; not subject to death, destruction or extinction; as deathless beings; deathless fame.
“ Whose deathless brows when she from heaven displays, All earth she wraps up in her orient rays.”
herdsman ×22 Webster 1828
Please check your spelling.
Try unpluralized words or use a root word.
For further assistance visit our Facebook page.
“Reply to this Antinous made, and mock’d Eumæus thus: “O thou renownéd herdsman, why to us Brought’st thou this beggar?”
aloft ×22 Webster 1828
adverb [a and loft. See Loft and Luff.]
1. On high; in the air; high above the ground; as, the eagle soars aloft
2. In seamen's language, in the top; at the mast head; or on the higher yards or rigging.
“The lute Apollo took Into his left hand, and aloft he shook Delightsome sounds up, to which God did sing.”
fane ×22 Webster 1828
noun [Latin fanum.] a temple; a place consecrated to religion; a church; used in poetry.
From men their cities, and from gods their fanes.
“ When, going on fore-right, he straight arrived At his rich fane; his soft feet quite deprived Of all least noise of one that trod the earth, They trod so swift to reach his room of birth.”
rout ×21 Webster 1828
noun
1. A rabble; a clamorous multitude; a tumultuous crowd; as a rout of people assembled.
The endless routs of wretched thralls.
2.
“ Broad Heaven above it, and beneath, your birth, The deified Titanois, that dwell about Vast Tartarus, from whence sprung all the rout Of Men and Deities!”
oft ×21 Webster 1828
adverb Often; frequently; not rarely. It was formerly used in prose and may be so used still; but is more generally used in poetry.
OFT she rejects, but never one offends.
“ But I’ll return; return, and yet not press Your bounties now assay’d with oft access, Once a year only, as the swallow prates Before the wealthy Spring’s wide open gates.”
forbear ×21 Webster 1828
verb intransitive preterit tense forbore; participle passive forborne.
1. To stop; to cease; to hold from proceeding; as, forbear to repeat these reproachful words.
2. To pause; to delay; as, forbear a while.
3.
“ Which when they saw, they made the master steer Out to the shore; whom Bacchus made forbear, With showing more wonders.”
hereafter ×21 Webster 1828
adverb In time to come; in some future time.
1. In a future state.
HERE'AFTER,noun A future state.
'Tis heaven itself that points out an hereafter
“ But come, Latona, and thou King of flames, With Phœbe, rect’ress of chaste thoughts in dames Let me salute ye, and your graces call Hereafter to my just memorial.”
betwixt ×21 Webster 1828
preposition
1. Between; in the space that separates two persons or things; as, betwixt two oaks.
2. Passing between; from one to another, noting intercourse. [See Between.]
“But be the sentence yours Of the debate betwixt us, or to Jove (For more indifferency) the cause remove.””
swain ×21 Webster 1828
noun
1. A young man.
2. A country servant employed in husbandry.
3. A pastoral youth. [It is used chiefly in this sense, and in poetry.]
Blest swains! whose nymphs in every grace excel.
“ The swain the King led after, who came on Raggéd and wretched, and still lean’d upon A borrow’d staff.”
contend ×20 Webster 1828
verb intransitive [Latin , to stretch. Gr., See Tend, Tenet.]
1. To strive, or to strive against; to struggle in opposition.
Distress not the Moabites, nor contend with them in battle. Deuteronomy 2:9.
2.
“ Prepare my song, and give me, in the end, The victory to whose palm all contend!”
far-off ×19 Webster 1913
1. Remote] as, the
far-off distance. Cf. Far-off, under Far,
adv.
“ If all we Wooers here would give as much As my mind serves, his [4] largess should be such As would for three months serve his far-off way From troubling your house with more cause of stay.””
shun ×19 Webster 1828
verb transitive
1. To avoid; to keep clear of; not to fall on or come in contact with; as, to shun rocks and shoals in navigation. In shunning Scylla, take care to avoid to avoid Charybdis.
2.
“said his suff’ring son, “But be of comfort, and see that course run That best may shun the worst.”
deified ×19 Webster 1828
participle passive Exalted or ranked among the gods; regarded or praised as divine.
“ Hail, then, Great Mother of the Deified Kind, Wife to the cope of stars!”
prease ×19 Webster 1828
noun Press; crowd. [Not used. See Press.]
“ I well may doubt the prease of strangers here, Who, bent to ill, and only my nerves near, May do it in despite.”
prise ×19 Webster 1913
1. An enterprise. 2. See Prize,
n., 5. Also Prize, v.
t.
“ This said, the mast and mainsail up he drew, And in the mainsail’s midst a frank gale blew; When all his ship took arms to brave their prise.”
hung ×19 Webster 1828
verb transitive preterit tense and participle passive hanged or hung.
1. To suspend; to fasten to some fixed object above, in such a manner as to swing or move; as, to hang a thief. Pharaoh hanged the chief baker. Hence,
2.
“ Then cast he on his scrip, all-patch’d and rent, Hung by a rotten cord, and back he went To greet the entry’s threshold with his seat.”
conceit ×18 Webster 1828
noun [Latin , to take or seize.]
1. Conception; that which is conceived, imagined, or formed in the mind; idea; thought; image.
In laughing there ever precedeth a conceit of somewhat ridiculous, and therefore it is proper to man.…
“ And thee mine eye makes my conceit inclined To reckon powerful both in form and mind, A sceptre-bearer, and past others far Advanc’d in all the fiery fights of war.”
amaze ×18 Webster 1828
verb transitive
To confound with fear, sudden surprise, or wonder; to astonish.
They shall be afraid; they shall be amazed at one another. Isaiah 13:8.
They were all amazed and glorified God. Mark 2:12.
“All th’ Immortals stood In steep amaze to see Latona’s brood.”
spleen ×17 Webster 1828
noun [Latin , Gr.]
1. The milt; a soft part of the viscera of animals, whose use is not well understood. The ancients supposed this to be the seat of melancholy, anger or vexation. Hence,
2. Anger; latent spite; ill humor.
“said she, “I never can take grief enough for thee, Whom Goodness hurts, and whom ev’n Jove’s high spleen, Since thou art Jove-like, hates the most of men.”
nymph ×17 Webster 1828
noun
1. In mythology, a goddess of the mountains, forests, meadows and waters. According to the ancients, all the world was full of nymphs, some terrestrial, others celestial; and these had names assigned to them according to the…
“The Nymph then brought Linen for sails, which with dispatch he wrought, Gables, and halsters, tacklings.”
sleight ×17 Webster 1828
noun slite.
1. An artful trick; sly artifice; a trick or feat so dexterously performed that the manner of performance escapes observation; as sleight of hand.
2. Dexterous practice; dexterity.
“ And without Truth, all’s only sleight of hand, Or our law-learning in a foreign land, Embroidery spent on cobwebs, braggart show Of men that all things learn, and nothing know.”
nuptial ×17 Webster 1828
adjective [Latin , to marry.]
1. Pertaining to marriage; done at a wedding; as nuptial rites and ceremonies; nuptial torch.
2.
“ ANOTHER ARGUMENT _Φι̑._ The nuptial vow And game rehears’d, Drawn is the bow, The steels are pierc’d.”
ascend ×17 Webster 1828
verb intransitive [Latin ascendo, from scando, to mount or climb.]
1. To move upwards; to mount; to go up; to rise, whether in air or water, or upon a material object.
2.
“Without envy I Will teach thee to ascend my faculty.”
repose ×17 Webster 1828
verb transitive s as z. [Latin repono, reposui.]
1. To lay at rest.
- After the toil of battle, to repose your wearied virtue.
2.
“ The servants thus inform’d, the matron goes Up where the Queen was cast in such repose, Affected with a fervent joy to tell What all this time she did with pain conceal.”
billows ×17 Webster 1828
noun A great wave or surge of the sea, occasioned usually by violent wind. It can hardly be applied to the waves of a river, unless in poetry, or when the river is very large.
BIL'LOW, verb intransitive To swell; to rise and rol…
“ But chiefly Delos, girt with billows round, Thy most respected empire doth resound.”
wretch ×17 Webster 1828
noun
1. A miserable person; one sunk in the deepest distress; as a forlorn wretch
2. A worthless mortal; as a contemptible wretch
3. A person sunk in vice; as a profligate wretch
4.
“ Avaunt you, wretch, hence, go without doors, go; And quickly, too, lest ye be singed away With burning firebrands.””
observance ×16 Webster 1828
noun s as z.
1. The act of observing; the act of keeping or adhering to in practice; performance; as the observance of rules, rites, ceremonies or laws.
Love rigid honesty, and strict observance of impartial laws.
2.
“Often will convey Himself up to a watch-tow’r’s top, where sheep Have their observance.”
hecatombs ×16 Webster 1828
noun [Latin hecatombe; Gr. a hundred, and an ox.]
In antiquity, a sacrifice of a hundred altars, and by a hundred priests.
“ And, coming home, upon thy natural shore, Give pious hecatombs to all the Gods, Degrees observ’d.”
evermore ×16 Webster 1828
adverb [ever and more.] Always; eternally.
Religion prefers the pleasures which flow from the presence of God for evermore
1. Always; at all times; as evermore guided by truth.
“ His fume to this effect he did pursue: “Why so,’tis now at all parts passing true, That ill leads ill, good evermore doth train With like his like.”
vouchsafe ×16 Webster 1828
verb intransitive [vouch and safe; to vouch or answer for safety.]
1. To permit to be done without danger.
2.
“Vouchsafe me Virtue, and, her effect, felicity!”
fain ×16 Webster 1828
adjective
1. Glad; pleased; rejoiced. but the appropriate sense of the word is, glad or pleased to do something under some kind of necessity; that is, glad to evade evil or secure good.
“ All whose heat flew out of his eyes in flames, Which fain he would have hid, to hide the shames, Of his ill-govern’d passions.”
beheld ×16 Webster 1828
preterit tense and participle passive of behold, which see.
“Which when she beheld, Her bosom with abundant comforts swell’d, In hope all should to her desire extend.”
rapt ×15 Webster 1828
participle passive [from rap.] Transported; ravished.
RAPT, verb transitive To transport or ravish. [Not legitimate or in use.]
RAPT, noun
1. An ecstasy; a trance.
2. Rapidity. [Not in use.]
“ Thy death drave a divine voice through the seas That started up thy mother from the waves; And all the márine Godheads left their caves, Consorting to our fleet her rapt repair.”
beeves ×15 Webster 1828
noun plural of beef. Cattle; quadrupeds of the bovine genus, called in England, black cattle.
“ On which relying, he outrageously (When I accus’d him) trebled his reply: ‘I did not see, I did not hear, nor I Will tell at all, that any other stole Your broad-brow’d beeves.”
sable ×15 Webster 1828
noun
1. A small animal of the weasel kind, the mustela zibelina, found in the northern latitudes of America and Asia. It resembles the martin, but has a longer head and ears. Its hair is cinereous, but black at the tips.
“ And where impostors rule (since sable night Must serve their deeds) he did his deeds their right.”
soever ×15 Webster 1828
so and ever, found in compounds, as in whosoever, whatsoever, wheresoever, See these words. It is sometimes used separate from the pronoun; as, in what things soever you undertake, use diligence and fidelity.
“ Kings may perhaps wish even your beggar’s-voice To their eternities, how scorn’d a choice Soever now it lies; and (dead) I may Extend your life to light’s extremest ray.”
odorous ×15 Webster 1828
adjective Sweet of scent; fragrant.
“ And so, O Goddess, ever honour’d be, In thy so odorous Cyprian empery!”
chaste ×15 Webster 1828
adjective
1. Pure from all unlawful commerce of sexes. Applied to persons before marriage, it signifies pure from all sexual commerce, undefiled; applied to married persons, true to the marriage bed.
2.
“As far then be Thy chaste fame shot, O Queen of archery!”
adorn ×15 Webster 1828
verb transitive [Latin adorno, ad and orno, to deck, or beautify, to dress, set off, extol, furnish.
1.
“Admire, nor stand dismay’d, But know thy solid father; since within He answers all parts that adorn his skin.”
wrack ×15 Webster 1828
WRECK, noun [See Wreck.] A name given to a marine plant which is of great utility as a manure. It is called sometimes sea-wrack or sea-wreck, and sea-oak and sea-tangle.
“But, for thy perfidy In this my wrack, Jove bears a wreakful eye; And to the host of Mice thou pains shalt pay, Past all evasion.””
beggar ×15 Webster 1828
noun [See Beg.] One that lives by asking alms, or makes it his business to beg for charity.
1. One who supplicates with humility; a petitioner; but in this sense rarely used, as the word has become a term of contempt.
2.
“ Or proud because he beat the roguish beggar?”
austere ×14 Webster 1828
adjective [Latin Austerus.
1. Severe; harsh; rigid; stern; applied to persons; as an austere master; an austere look.
2. Sour; harsh; rough to the taste; applied to things; as austere fruit, or wine.
“What cause of stay Find his austere supposes?”
ascended ×14 Webster 1828
participle passive or adjective Risen; mounted up; gone to heaven.
“ The other other wealthy gifts commended To her fair hand; which took, and straight ascended This Goddess of her sex her upper state.”
trod ×14 Webster 1828
preterit tense of tread.
TROD
“ When, going on fore-right, he straight arrived At his rich fane; his soft feet quite deprived Of all least noise of one that trod the earth, They trod so swift to reach his room of birth.”
victuals ×14 Webster 1828
noun vit'lz. [Latin victus, food, from the root of vivo, which was vigo or vico, coinciding with vigeo. Basque, vicia life.
“Must not your needs aid these Mice, That, with the odours and meat sacrifice Used in your temple, endless triumphs make, And serve you for your sacred victuals’ sake?””
prest ×14 Webster 1828
sometimes used for pressed. [See Press.]
PREST, adjective [Latin proesto, to stand before or forward; proe and sto.]
1. Ready; prompt.
2. Neat; tight.
PREST, noun A loan.
1.
“ And therefore when I saw myself so prest With his reproaches, I confess I burn’d In my pure gall, and harsh reply return’d.”
keel ×14 Webster 1828
noun
1. The principal timber in a ship, extending from stem to stern at the bottom, and supporting the whole frame.
2.
“To the main bole flat I, therefore, still must cling; till up again She belch’d my mast, and after that amain My keel came tumbling.”
withal ×14 Webster 1828
adverb Withaul. [with and all.]
1. With the rest; together with; likewise; at the same time.
If you choose that, then I am yours withal
How modest in exception, and withal how terrible in constant resolution!
2.
““You wore all the soil Of age but now, and were old; and but now You bear that young grace that the Gods indow Their heav’n-born forms withal.””
toil ×13 Webster 1828
verb intransitive To labor; to work; to exert strength with pain and fatigue of body or mind, particularly of the body, with efforts of some continuance or duration.
Master, we have toiled all night and caught nothing.
“ AN ASSAY OF HIS BEGUN ILIADS Ilion, and all the brave-horse-breeding soil, Dardania, I sing; that many a toil Impos’d upon the mighty Grecian pow’rs, Who were of Mars the manly servitours.”
piety ×13 Webster 1828
noun [Latin pietas, from pius, or its root, probably a contracted word.]
1. piety in principle, is a compound of veneration or reverence of the Supreme Being and love of his character, or veneration accompanied with love; and pi…
“ _It is no piety to bemoan the proud,_ Though ends befall them moving ne’er so much, These are the portions of the Gods to such.”
impious ×13 Webster 1828
adjective [Latin impius; in and pius, pious.]
1. Irreverent towards the Supreme Being; wanting in veneration for God and his authority; irreligious; profane.
“ Ulysses’ impious men have drawn the blood Of those my oxen that it did me good To look on, walking all my starry round, And when I trod earth all with meadows crown’d.”
caldron ×13 Webster 1828
noun A large kettle or boiler, of copper, or other metal, furnished with a movable handle or bail, with which to hang it on a chimney hook.
“ Who, with his standing in so many doors, Hath broke his back; and all his beggary tends To beg base crusts, but to no manly ends, As asking swords, or with activity To get a caldron.”
consort ×13 Webster 1828
noun [Latin , sort, state, kind.]
1. A companion; a partner; an intimate associate; particularly, a partner of the bed; a wife or husband.
He single chose to live, and shunnd to wed, well pleased to want a consort of his bed.
2.
“ This sweet-tuned consort, held but in thy hand, Sing, and perfection in thy song command.”