Suggestions

Use up and down arrows to review and enter to select.
  • Shakespeare dark gray
    • No Fear Shakespeare Translations
    • Shakespeare Study Guides
    • Shakespeare Life & Times
    • Glossary of Shakespeare Terms
  • Literature dark gray
    • No Fear Literature Translations
    • Literature Study Guides
    • Glossary of Literary Terms
    • How to Write Literary Analysis
  • Other Subjects dark gray
    • Biography
    • Biology
    • Chemistry
    • Computer Science
    • Drama
    • Economics
    • Film
    • Health
    • History
    • Math
    • Philosophy
    • Physics
    • Poetry
    • Psychology
    • Short Stories
    • Sociology
    • US Government and Politics
  • Test Prep PLUS dark gray
    • Test Prep Lessons
    • AP® English Literature
    • AP® English Language
  • Teacher dark gray
    • SparkTeach
    • Teacher's Handbook
  • Blog
My PLUS Dashboard
  • My PLUS Activity dark gray
    • Notes
    • Bookmarks
    • Test Prep PLUS
    • No Fear Translations & Audio
    • Mastery Quizzes
    • Flashcards
    • Infographics
    • No Fear Graphic Novels
  • Account Details
  • Subscription & Billing

Please wait while we process your payment

Reset Password

  • Please wait while we process your payment

    Log in Sign up

    Sparknotes

  • By signing up you agree to our terms and privacy policy.

    Don’t have an account? Subscribe now

    Create Your Account

    Sign up for your FREE 7-day trial

    • Ad-free experience
    • Study notes
    • Flashcards
      & Quizzes
    • AP® English Test Prep
    • Plus much more

  • Already have an account? Log in

    Your Email

    Choose Your Plan

    BEST VALUE

    Save over 50% with a SparkNotes PLUS Annual Plan!

    Purchasing SparkNotes PLUS for a group?

    Get Annual Plans at a discount when you buy 2 or more!

  • Price

    $24.99 $18.74 /subscription + tax

    Subtotal $37.48 + tax

    Save 25% on 2-49 accounts

    Save 30% on 50-99 accounts

    Want 100 or more? Contact us for a customized plan.

    Your Plan

    Payment Details

  • We're sorry, SparkNotes Plus isn't available in your country.

  • Payment Details

    Payment Summary

    SparkNotes Plus

    You'll be billed after your free trial ends.

    7-Day Free Trial

    Not Applicable

    Renews March 27, 2023 March 20, 2023

    Discounts (applied to next billing)

    DUE NOW

    US $0.00

    SNPLUSROCKS20  |  20% Discount

    This is not a valid promo code.

    Discount Code (one code per order)

    SparkNotes Plus subscription is $4.99/month or $24.99/year as selected above. The free trial period is the first 7 days of your subscription. TO CANCEL YOUR SUBSCRIPTION AND AVOID BEING CHARGED, YOU MUST CANCEL BEFORE THE END OF THE FREE TRIAL PERIOD. You may cancel your subscription on your Subscription and Billing page or contact Customer Support at custserv@bn.com. Your subscription will continue automatically once the free trial period is over. Free trial is available to new customers only.

    Choose Your Plan

    Payment Details

    Payment Summary

    Suggestions

    Use up and down arrows to review and enter to select.
    • My Account Icon My Account white
      • My PLUS Activity
        • Notes
        • Bookmarks
        • Test Prep PLUS
        • No Fear Translations
        • Mastery Quizzes
        • Flashcards
        • Infographics
        • No Fear Graphic Novels
      • Account Details
      • Subscription & Billing
      My PLUS Dashboard
    • Shakespeare white
      • No Fear Shakespeare Translations
      • Shakespeare Study Guides
      • Shakespeare Life & Times
      • Glossary of Shakespeare Terms
    • Literature white
      • No Fear Literature Translations
      • Literature Study Guides
      • Glossary of Literary Terms
      • How to Write Literary Analysis
    • Other Subjects white
      • Biography
      • Biology
      • Chemistry
      • Computer Science
      • Drama
      • Economics
      • Film
      • Health
      • History
      • Math
      • Philosophy
      • Physics
      • Poetry
      • Psychology
      • Short Stories
      • Sociology
      • US Government and Politics
    • Test Prep PLUS white
      • Test Prep Lessons
      • AP® English Literature
      • AP® English Language
    • Teacher white
      • SparkTeach
      • Teacher's Handbook
    • Blog
    • Help

    Please wait while we process your payment

    expired-logo

    Your PLUS subscription has expired

    • We’d love to have you back! Renew your subscription to regain access to all of our exclusive, ad-free study tools.
    Renew your subscription

    Please wait while we process your payment

    expired-logo

    snpromo-logo
    • Looking for exclusive, AD-FREE study tools? Look no further!

    William Shakespeare’s Life & Times: A Glossary of Common Shakespearean Words

    • Biography
      • Early Life
      • Marriage
      • Shakespeare's Lost Years
      • Early Work
      • Shakespeare’s Sexuality
      • The Closure Of The Theatres
      • The Lord Chamberlain’s Men
      • Shakespeare’s Adversities
      • Shakespeare’s Growing Success
      • Last Plays and Final Years
      • Critical Reputation
    • Historical Context
      • Political
      • Elizabeth I
      • James I
      • Religious
      • The Reformation
      • The English Bible
      • Puritans
      • Theatrical
      • Shakespeare’s Globe Theater
      • Performances at Court
      • Actors
      • Censorship
      • Literary
      • Contemporaries
      • Sources
      • Influences
      • Authorship Controversy
    • Social Context
      • Shakespeare's Women
      • Women in Shakespeare’s England
      • Women in Shakespeare’s Writing
      • Shakespeare's "Others"
      • Jews in Shakespeare’s England
      • Moors in Shakespeare’s England
      • Sex and Shakespeare
      • Sexuality in Shakespeare’s England
      • Sexuality in Shakespeare’s Plays
      • Sexuality in Shakespeare’s Sonnets
      • Sex in Shakespeare’s Writing
    • Top 10 Quotes
    • Plays
      • Tragedy
      • Comedy
      • History
      • Romance
    • Poetry
      • Sonnets
      • Narrative Poems
    • Glossary
      • First Folio
      • Quarto
      • Prose
      • Verse
      • Iambic pentameter
      • Sonnet
      • Heroic Couplet
    • Language
      • A Glossary of Common Shakespearean Words
      • Words Invented by Shakespeare

    Shakespeare frequently uses words which no longer exist in modern English, or which have changed their meaning since Shakespeare’s day. Here are some of the most common, with their modern meanings:

    A: he
    An: if
    Anon: soon
    Assay: to try
    Art: are
    Aught: anything

    Base: lower-class, unworthy, illegitimate
    Bawd: pimp, procurer of prostitutes
    Brave: handsome, well-dressed, confident, outstanding

    Caitiff: a wretched, pitiable person
    Character: handwriting
    Clepe: to call
    Coil: trouble, chaos
    Cozen: to cheat

    Dame: mistress, mother, senior woman
    Discourse: reason, capacity for reason
    Doff: to take off
    Dost: do
    Doth: does

    Eft: ready
    ‘Ere: before

    Fain: glad, gladly
    Fair: beautiful
    For: because

    Hast: have
    Hark: listen
    Hence: from now on
    Hie: to hurry, to go quickly
    Hither: towards here

    Ill: bad, unskillful, inadequate, evil

    Kind: nature
    Kno to acknowledge, to recognize

    Lay: to wager
    Let: to hinder, a hindrance
    Like: to please

    Mark: to notice, to pay attention to
    Mickle: much
    Moiety: a portion, a part

    Natural: a fool

    Or: before
    Out: all the way, fully

    Parlous: dangerous
    Practise: a trick

    Quality: nature, character
    Quit: to respond, to repay

    Sans: without
    Shre a woman who speaks her mind (meant as an insult)
    Shrift: confession
    Spleen: anger, impulsiveness
    Stranger: foreigner

    Tall: strong, brave
    Thee: you
    Thither: towards there
    Thou: you

    Vein: humor, mood, lifestyle

    Wast: were

    Whence: from where
    Wherefore: why
    Will: desire, intention

    Yea: even

    Previous section Heroic Couplet Next section Words Invented by Shakespeare

    Popular pages: William Shakespeare

    • Shakespeare’s Early Life Biography

    • Shakespeare’s Marriage Biography

    • Queen Elizabeth & Shakespeare Historical Context

    • Women in Shakespeare’s England Social Context

    • Top 10 Shakespeare Quotes Top 10 Shakespeare Quotes

    Take a Study Break

    • QUIZ: Is This a Taylor Swift Lyric or a Quote by Edgar Allan Poe?

    • The 7 Most Embarrassing Proposals in Literature

    • The 6 Best and Worst TV Show Adaptations of Books

    • QUIZ: Which Greek God Are You?

    Sign up for our latest news and updates!
    By entering your email address you agree to receive emails from SparkNotes and verify that you are over the age of 13. You can view our Privacy Policy here. Unsubscribe from our emails at any time.

    SparkNotes—the stress-free way to a better GPA

    • Quick Links
    • No Fear Shakespeare
    • Literature Guides
    • Other Subjects
    • Blog
    • Teacher’s Handbook
    • Premium Study Tools
    • SparkNotes PLUS
    • Sign Up
    • Log In
    • PLUS Help
    • More
    • Help
    • How to Cite SparkNotes
    • How to Write Literary Analysis
    • About
    • Contact Us
    • Advertise

    Copyright © SparkNotes LLC

    • Terms of Use
    • |
    • Privacy
    • |
    • Cookie Policy
    • |
    • Do Not Sell My Personal Information