Romeo-N-Juliet

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Common Elizabethan Words

Here are Common Elizabethan Words to aid in reading Shakespeare's works.

  1. adieu: farewell
  2. an: and: if
  3. anon: soon
  4. attend: listen to
  5. aye: yes
  6. but soft: wait a minute
  7. but: only; except for
  8. counsel: advice
  9. decree: order
  10. discourses: speaks
  11. dispatch: kill
  12. doth: does
  13. e'en: even
  14. e'er: ever
  15. foe: enemy
  16. haply: perhaps
  17. happy: fortunate
  18. heavy: sad; depressed
  19. hence: away from here
  20. hie: go: hurry
  21. hither: here
  22. mark: pay attention
  23. marry: indeed
  24. methinks: I think
  25. nay: no
  26. nought: nothing
  27. plague: curse
  28. pray: beg
  29. privy: allowed to know a secret
  30. resolve: plan
  31. sirrah: used to address people of inferior rank; like boy
  32. thee: thou: you
  33. thither: there
  34. thou art: you are
  35. thy: your
  36. tidings: news
  37. whence: where
  38. wherefore: why
  39. will: desire
  40. wilt: will you
  41. withal: in addition
  42. woe: misery
  43. woo: chase, as in a boy/girl chase
  44. would: wish ®


I hope this Elizabethan dictionary will help everyone who needs it as much as it helped me.