ACT III - Scene II — Vocabulary

Vocabulary Words from ACT III - Scene II

scotch'd (verb (past tense))

Wounded or slashed without killing; to cut or score something so as to render it temporarily harmless.

content (noun)

A state of peaceful happiness, satisfaction, or ease of mind.

malice (noun)

The intention or desire to do evil or cause harm to another person.

ecstasy (noun)

In Elizabethan English, a state of frenzy, madness, or being beside oneself with agitation—not the modern sense of joyful rapture.

levy (noun)

An army or body of troops raised by conscription; here, a military force raised from abroad.

vizards (noun)

Masks or disguises, especially those worn over the face to conceal one's identity.

jocund (adjective)

Cheerful, lighthearted, and full of good humor.

seeling (adjective)

A term from falconry meaning to sew shut the eyelids of a hawk during its training to make it docile.

shard-borne (adjective)

Borne on scaly wings; "shards" are the hard wing-cases of a beetle. Can also mean "born in dung" (from another meaning of shard).

rooky (adjective)

Full of rooks (a species of crow); dark and gloomy, inhabited by black birds.

eminence (noun)

High rank, distinction, or a position of superiority and honor.

lave (verb)

To wash or bathe; here used metaphorically to mean cleansing or glossing over their honor with deceptive flattery.

eterne (adjective)

Eternal or everlasting; an archaic form of "eternal."

affliction (noun)

A state of pain, suffering, or distress; a condition of great physical or mental anguish.