Glossary



absolute

positive

Acheron

A river in Hades (one of five, this one of woe), compared to the cave where he meets the witches [link]

adder's fork

The forked tongue of the adder.

adhere

agree

admired disorder

astonishing crazed behavior

affeered

affirmed

alack

an expression of dismay or surprise

alarum

battle noise not on the stage

alarm

call to arms

Aleppo

city in Syria [link]

all-thing

in every way

amaking

in course of progress

angel

genius, demon

annoyance

self-injury

antic

old-fashioned

antic round

grotesque round dance

Mark Antony

Roman orator, politican and soldier around 80-30 BC. His love affair with Cleopatra split the empire, and he lost the war to Octavian (Augustus Caesar). [link]

apace

quickly

argument

subject or theme

aroint thee

begone (go away)

artificial

made by art

assay

The greatest of skill

Augurs

A group of ancient Roman religious officials who foretold events by observing and interpreting signs and omens

augur hole

obscure place

avarice

greed

Avaunt

go away

avouches

affirms

bane

evil, harm

bark

small ship

beard

to confront boldly

bedlams

hags

Beelzebub

the devil [audio] [link]

before

ahead (in merit)

bellman

bellmen rang bells to announce a death in Elizabethean times

Bellona

the Roman goddess of war

bend up

stretch tight, like a bow - reference back to sticking place

benison

blessing

bent

determined

bestowed

housed

bestride

stands over

Birnam

A high hill twelve miles from Dunsinance

birthdom

native land

bladed

When the ear of the corn is still green

blind-worm

A glow worm

bodements

foretellings

boot

in addition

borne

handled

borne in hand

deluded

brainsickly

madly

briefly

quickly

bring

conduct

broad

plain spoken

broad words

plain speaking

broil

battle

bruited

to spread news, make noise

by

judging by

casing

enveloping

cat in the adage

"The cat would eat fish, but would not wet her feet."

censures

opinions

ceremony

courtesy

chalice

a cup or goblet

chamberlains

attendants in a bed chamber

chaps

jaws

charnel houses

houses for storing the bones of the dead [link]

chaudron

entrails

cherubin

angels in the second order [link]

cleave to my consent

lend support or allegiance

clept

called

closet

desk

coign of vantage

convenient corner

Colmekill

place where Scottish kings were buried, on the island of Iona

colors

flags

compassed

surrounded

composition

a truce of peace treaty

compunctious

having feelings of pity

confounds

to ruin or destroy

constancy

firmness

continent

restraining

copyhold

a type of lease

countenance

look at

course

a bout in bearbaiting, where a bear is tied to a stake and attacked by dogs

coused

chased

coz

cousin

crack of doom

the thunder at the day of doom

cyme

A usually flat-topped or convex flower cluster in which the main axis and each branch end in a flower that opens before the flowers below or to the side of it. Refers to senna. [link]

dainty of

particular about

dareful

boldly

dear

deeply felt

degrees

degrees of ranks

deliver thee

report to thee

delivers

communicates to us

demi-wolves

a cross between dogs and wolves

discovery

scouting reports

disjoint

fall to pieces

displaced

banished

dispute it

fight against it; reason upon it

disseat

unseat

distance

hostility

divers

diverse, varied

doff

do off, put off

dolor

sadness

doubt

fear, suspect

drab

whore

drowse

become drowsy

dudgeon

handle of a dagger

dunnest

darkest

durst

dared

earnest

pledge, money paid beforehand

easy

easily

ecstasy

any state of being beside one's self

Edward

Edward the Confessor, king of England [link]

effects

act, actions

egg

term of contempt

eminence

distinction

enkindle

incite

enow

enough

epicures

a person devoted to luxury (especially with food), the root of hedonisitic philosophy was Epicureanism as definde by the Greeks

equivocator

a person who speaks ambiguously, perhaps to mislead. Here is alludes to the 1606 trial of Henry Garnet, accused of treason.

equivocate to heaven

get to heaven by equivocation

ere

before [audio]

estate

royal dignity, succession to the crown

eternal jewel

immortal soul

eterne

perpetual

exasperate

exasperated

Exeunt

They leave the stage[audio]

expectation

those guests who are expected

expedition

haste

extend

prolong

fact

act deed

faculties

powers, prerogatives

fain

gladly

faith-breach

treachery

familiar

a witch's evil spirit who acts as a servant

fantastical

imaginary

farrow

litter of pig

favor

pardon, countenance, face

fears

objects of fears

feed

feeding

fee-grief

"grief that hath a single owner" (private grief)

fell

scalp

fellow

equal

fen

swamp or marsh

fie

used to express distate or disapproval

Fife

a county in eastern Scotland, Macduff is the thane of Fife

file

list of qualities

filed

made foul, defiled

first

once for all from the beginning to the end

fits

caprices

flaws

storms of passion

flighty

fleeting

Flourish

trumpet fanfare announcing the king

flout

mock,defy

fly

fly from me

foisons

plenty, rich harvests, abundance

follows

attends

forbid

cursed, blasted

forced

strenghtened (reinforced)

forge

fabricate, invent

Forres

a town in northern Scotland

forsworn

perjured

founded

firmly fixed

frame of things

universe

franchised

free, unstained

free

freely

free

honorable

free

remove, do away

French hose

tight breeches

fright

frighten, terrify

fry

literally a swarm of young fishes; here used as a term of contempt

fry

offspring

function

power of action

furbish'd

burnished

gallowglasses

heavy-armed Irish troops

genius

guardian spirit which influences destiny

gentle senses

senses which are soothed (by the "gentle" air)

germins

germs, seeds, origins

get

beget

gibbet

gallows

gin

a trap to catch birds

gives out

proclaims

glass

mirror

golden round

the crown

Golgotha

Where Jesus was crucified, "place of the skull" [link]

goodness

"the chance of success

go off

die

goose

a tailor's smoothing iron, the handle resembling a goose's neck

Gorgon

A monster of Greek myth, whose look could turn a person to stone, as with Medusa.

gospeled

versed in the first four books of the New Testament, the Gospels [link]

gouts

drops

grace

honor

graced

gracious, full of graces

grandam

Grandmother

Graymalkin

The first witch's familiar, a gray cat

great doom's image

a sight horrible like the end of the world or Judgement Day

gripe

grasp

gulf

gullet (throat or esophagus)

Harbinger

forerunner, an officer of the king's household

hardly

with difficulty

harms

injuries

harp'd

hit, touched

Harpier

familiar of the third witch, maybe derived from harpy (a bird with a woman's head, part of Greek myth)

hautboys

high-pitched win instruments, oboes [audio]

hear

talk with

heart

the heart of any man

heath

a large piece of land with just low shrubs and herbage, a moor

heavily

sadly

Hecate

goddess of hell

hedgepig

hedgehog (like Sonic, except real hedgehogs are not blue)

hermit

this is a person who leads a reclusive life, originally for religious reasons being paid to pray; (in context) Lady Macbeth will pray for Duncan

hie thee

hasten

hit

matched

holds

withholds

holp

helped

homely

plain

hoodwink

blind

housekeeper

watchdog

howlet

small owl

how say'st thou

what do you think!

Hum!

a groan

humane

human

hurlyburly

tumult, uproar

husbandry

economy

Hyrcan

from Hyrcania, formerly a region south of the Caspian Sea

ill-composed

compounded of evil qualities

illness

evil

impress

force into his service

incarnadine

make blood-red

informs

takes visible form

insane root

hemlock, which can make you insane, or kill you like Socrates

instant

present moment

interdiction

exclusion

intermission

delay

intrenchant

can't be cut or penetrated

invention

falsehood

Inverness

Macbeth's castle in Dunsinane, in northern Scotland. [audio] [ link]

jocund

joyful

juggling

deceitful

jump

risk

just

exactly

jutty

projection

jutty, frieze, buttress, coign of vantage

places where birds nest

kerns

light-armed Irish troops

kerns and gallowglasses

Irish soldiers, gallowglasses carry axes [audio]

kingdom's pearl

nobles

kites

scavenging birds

knell

funeral bell

knolled

rung

knowings

knowledge

lack

requirment

lapp'd

wrapped

large

unrestrained

largess

gifts

latch

catch the sound of

lave

wash

lease of nature

term of natural life

leave

leave off

lechery

excessive sexual activity, lewdness

lees

the dregs left after the best part of wine is gone, and is compared to what is left with the loss of the best part of life

lighted

descended

lily-liver'd

cowardly

alembic

device used for distilling wine

lime

birdlime (a sticky substance used to catch birds by putting it on branches)

limited

appointed

line

strenghten

list

place of combat, the lists

lodged

thrown down

look up clear

act normal, without troubles

loon

brute

Lord's annointed temple

this refers to the king's body, as the king was though to be God's representative

luxurious

lecherous

maggotpies and choughs and rooks

magpies and choughs and rooks are birds that can be taught to talk

mark

listen

Marry

an oath ("By the Virgin Mary")

martlet

a bird from the swallow family, a martin

mated

bewildered

maws

stomachs

meet

proper

memorize

make as memorable as

mere

asolutely

mettle

spirit

minion

favorite

minutely

every minute

missives

messengers

mockery

imitation

modern

ordinary

mortal

deadly

mortal thoughts

thoughts of death or murder

mortified

dead

mounch'd

munched, chewed with closed lips

murdering minister

evil agents

muse

wonder

must be

was destined to be

napkins enow

enough handkerschiefs to wipe sweat caused by the heat of hell

naught

vile thing

nave

navel, middle

near'st

of life, inmost life, most vital parts

nice

inaccurate

niggard

stingy person

nightgown

dressing gown

noise

music

nonpareil

without equal

Norway himself

the Norwegian king

Norweyan

Norwegian [link]

nose-painting

drink makes the nose red

note

notoriety

nothing

not at all

oblivious

causing forgetfulness

obscure bird

owl, the bird of darkness

of

by

offices

duty, employment

on

of

on's

of his

on't

of it

open'd

unfolded

order

battle plan

or ere

before

other's

other man's

ourselves

one another

outrun

did outrun

overcome

overshadow

over-red

redden over

owe

own, possess

owed

owned

owl

an owl's screech was considered to portend death

Paddock

The second witch's familiar, a toad

pall

wrap, envelop

palter

trifle (deal dishonestly)

passed in probation

went over the evidence

passion

stron emotion

patch

fool

peak

dwindle away

penthouse lid

eyelid

perfect

well, perfectly acquainted

perturbation

disruption

pester'd

troubled

physics

cures

pitfall

snare

play the Roman fool

commit suicide the way way Roman officials to avoid being captured

poor

feeble

poorly

dejectedly, unworthily

portable

endurable

possess

fill

posset

a hot drink of milk, wine, and spices

posters

speedy travelers

prate

chatter

predominance

superior power

present

present time

presently

immidiately

pretend

intend

Prince of Cumberland

The title of the king's successor

prithee

pray thee (please)

proof

proved armour

proper

fine, excellent

proper stuff

nonsense

protest

show publicly, proclaim

pull in

rein in

purgative

cleansing (such as a laxative or cathartic)

purged

cleansed

purveyor

an officer of the king sent before to provide food for the king and his retineu, as the harbinger provided lodging

push

attack, onset

quarry

a heap of slaughered game

quell

stop, (in context) murder

raveled sleave

yarn or thread that is tangled or twisted

ravin'd

ravenous

ravin up

devour greedily

rawness

hurry

raze

erase

receipt

receptacle

received

believed

recoil

swerve

relation

narrative

relish

smack

remorse

pity

rendered

surrendered

repose

rest

require

ask her to give

resolve yourselves

decide, make up your mind

rest

remain

return

give back, render

rhubarb

The dried, bitter-tasting rhizome and roots of Rheum palmatum or R. officinale of eastern Asia, used as a laxative.

ronyon

a term of contempt

roof'd

gathered under one roof

rooky

gloomy

rubs

hindrances, impediments

rump-fed

well-fed, pampered

rump-fed ronyon

a creature that eats trash

safe toward

with a sure regard to

Saint Colme's inch

Inch is Scots for "island". Inchcolm.

sag

droop, sink

saucy

sharp

scarf up

blindfold

Scone

the ancient coronation place of the kings of Scotland

scorched

slashed

scruples

qualms

season

seasoning

seat

situation, site

seated

fixed firmly

second cock

the second crow of the rooster (3 AM)

security

confidence, consciousness of security, carelessness

seeling

sewing up the eyes of falcons to make them tame (blinding)

self-abuse

self-delusion

self-comparisons

measuring himself with the other

selfsame

very same

senna

The dried leaves of Cassia angustifolia or Cassia acutifolia (which are pinnately compound leaves and showy, nearly regular, usually yellow flowers) used medicinally as a cathartic (for emotional release).

sennet

a trumpet call for formal entrances and exits

sensible

perceptible, tangible

sere

dry and whithered

set forth

shewed

settled

determined

sev'nnights

weeks

Sewer

one who tasted each dish to prove there was no poison in it

shadow

hide

shag-eare'd

having having hairy ears

shame

am ashamed

shard-borne

borne by scaly wing-cases

shipman's card

a card used by sailors showing the compass

shoal

a shallow part of a water body, or an elevated sand formation that makes the watter shallow and becomes a danger (sandbar)

shough

a kind of shaggy dog

shut up

enclosed, enveloped

shut up

ended his day

sicken

be surfeited

sightless

invisible

Sinel

The former thane of Glamis, Macbeth's father

single

individual

Sirrah

a term used to address male servants, inferiors, and sometimes children [audio]

skirr

scour

Sirrah

a term used to address male servants, inferiors, and sometimes children [audio]

slab

viscid

sleave

sleave-silk, floss silk

sleek o'er

smooth

slipp'd

let slip

slivered in the moon's eclipse

cut during the creepy time when the moon is in an eclipse

smack

have the taste, savor

so well

as well

sole

alone, mere

soliciting

inciting

solicits

enreats, moves by prayer

something

some distance

sometime

sometimes

sooth

truth

sorely charged

heavily burdened

sorriest

saddest

speculation

intelligence

spongy

imbibing like a sponge

spring

source

sprites

ghosts, spirits

spy

Note

stableness

constancy

staff

lance

stamp

stamped coin

stanchless

insatiable

stand

remain

stand

not upon, do not be particular about

starting

startled actions

state

chair of State

state of honor

noble rank, condition

stay

wait for

stir

stirring, moving

stealing out of

overcharging for

sticking place

This is a reference to the medieval crossbow. The bowstring was pulled back by a crank, and the arrow placed in a notch (sticking place) until released.

storehouse

place of burial

strangely-visited

afflicted with strange diseases

stuff'd

crammed, full to bursting

suborned

bribed (subordinated)

substances

forms

sudden

violent

suffer

perish

suggestion

temptation, incitement

sundry

various

supp'd

had supper

surcease

cessation

surfeited grroms

servants who had too much wine

surveying

noticing, perceiving

sway by

am directed by

swears

swears allegiance

sweltered

sweated

syllable

sound

taking off

murder

taint

be infected

Tarquin

The son of a Roman king who raped a married woman named Lucretia

Tartar

A member of any of the Turkic and Mongolian peoples of central Asia who invaded western Asia and eastern Europe in the Middle Ages. Often used to mean a violent person.

teems

teems with

temperance

moderation, self-restraint

tending

tendrance, attendance

tend on

wait on

Thane

Scottish noble [audio]

the evil

scrofula was a disease of the lymph glands thought to be cured by the king's touch. James I, like Edward the Confessor in the play, thought to cure victim's of the king's evil by touching them [link]

therewithal

therewith

thirst

desire to drink

thralls

slaves, bondment

threat

threaten

till that

till

timely

betimes, early

titles

possessions

top

overtop, surpass

top-full

full to the top, brimful

touch

affection, feeling

touch'd

injured, hurt

towering

turning about

trace

follow

trains

artifices, devices

trammel up

up, entangle as in a net

transport

convey

transpose

change

traveling lamp

the sun

treasons capital

crimes of treason that merit capital punishment (death)

treatise

story

treble scepters

An ornamental staff signifying royalty. This likely shows King James' position as King of Great Britain, France, and Ireland in 1604

trifled

made trifling, made to sink into insignificance

truest issue

rightful heir

trusted home

believed completely

Turk

a person from Turkey or a Moslem [link]

two-fold balls

Orbs (sphere topped by a cross) signifying royalty. This refers to King James and his kingship of both England and Scotland.

tyranny

usurper

unfix

make to stand on end

unrough

beardless

unsex me

(in context) take away my soft, feminine characterstics

unspeak

recall, withdraw

untimely ripped

born prematurely, by Caesarean section

untitled

having no title or claim

unto

to

upon

to

use

experience

using

cherishing, entertaining

vantage

opportunity

vault

place where wine is kept, or the earth with its vaulted (arched) sky

verity

truthfulness

vizards

masks

vouch'd

assured, warranted

warder

guard

warranted

justified

wassail

drinking, partying [audio]

watching

waking

water-rugs

water dogs, a kind of poodle

weal

welfare, can also be used to mean skin raised by a blow (welt)

Weird sisters

Weird meant fate, and the Weird sisters were the witches

wherefore

why

whey-face

pallid (white) face, as from fear

while then

till then

whispers

whispers to

wholesome

healthy

witches' mummy

human flesh mummified

withal

with

without

outside

witness

testimony, evidence

worlds

heaven and earth

worm

small serpent

wrought

agitated

yawning peal

a peal which lulls to sleep

yesty

foamy (from the yeast used to make beer)

yew

a tree thought to be poisonous

yours

your relatives


Return to main menu