ex

an old adverbial formative. phium, a writing style. Gr. Cf. flatling or flatlong, headling

γράφειν, to

write. The Qq or headlong, sidelong.

have the form ingrafted. debosh'd (i. 4. 237), an early, enormous (ii. 2. 176), abnormal,

variant of debauched. monstrous. Lat. enormis, et Taken, about 1600, from Fr. norma, pattern, rule. This is débaucher, to draw away from the only instance of the word duty; hence to lead astray, in Shakespeare's plays. The corrupt. “ Obsolete in Eng usual sense now - "huge' lish before the middle of the is derivative. seventeenth century; retained entertain (iii. 6. 83), take into longer in Scotch; revived by service; a common meaning in Scott, and now frequent in E.E. Cf. Two Gentlemen of literary English with some Verona, ii. 4. 110, “entertain what vaguer sense than de him for your servant." Fr. bauched " (Murray). De entretenir, Lat. inter + tenere. boshed is the only form in esperance (iv. 1. 4), hope. O.Fr. Shakespeare.

esperance, Late Lat. sperantia, deer (iii. 4. 144). Not used in sperare, to hope.

its modern special sense, but essay (i. . 2. 47), trial, test. applied to animals generally, 0.Fr. essai or assai, Lat. exausually to quadrupeds as dis gium,“ weighing,” hence tinct from birds and fishes. amination, exigere, to O.E. déor. Not connected weigh, consider,' ex + ago.

with Gr. Ońp, a wild beast. The commoner form in Shakedemand (iii. 2. 65; v. 3. 62), speare is assay; essay occurs

ask; the commoner meaning only here and in Sonnets, cx. 8. of the word in Shakespeare. Cf. say. Cf. the substantive, i. 5. 3. exhibition (i. 2. 25), allowance. Fr. demander, Lat. de + man 0.Fr. exhibicion, Late Lat. exdare.

hibitionem, maintenance, exhidigest (i. 1. 130), divide, dispose bere, to maintain, support, in

of. Lat. digerere, to carry legal sense. (Cf. exhibitio et asunder, divide, dis + gerere. tegumentum = food and raiSchmidt's explanation that it ment.) Its original meaning is used figuratively in the sense was “maintenance, support of “enjoy " is untenable.

hence, as here, allowance,

pension.” This sense survives earnest (i. 4. 104), money paid only in its specialized use as a

beforehand as a pledge. The kind of scholarship given by an derivation is uncertain. Cf. English college, etc. It has 0. Fr, erres, Mod. Fr. arrhes, the sense of present' in from Lat. arrha. The Scottish Othello, iv. 3. 75: “I would form arles is apparently from not do such a thing for a jointthe same root.

ring nor any petty exhiengraffed (i. 1. 301), engrafted. bition.” The meaning dis

Graff was the original form, play,” etc., is comparatively and was in common use in E.E. late. The current form graft probably arose from the use of graft favours (iii. 7. 40), features. (graffed) as the p. part. of the M.E. favour, Nor. Fr. favor, old form. O.Fr. grafe, greffe Lat. favorem, kindliness. The (Mod. Fr., greffe), a slip of meaning

features," à tree, originally a pointed arose from the common transinstrument. Late Lat. gra ition from the feeling or dis

.

face,"

66

position to that which expresses | fret (i. 4. 307), wear, eat away. it. The meaning “face" is 0.È. strong verb fretan, conmore common than the special sume, from O.Teut. fra + etan, ized meaning "features of the to eat. The verb is weak in face"; but cf. 1 Henry IV, E.E., but a strong p.p. suriii. 2.' 136, “and stain my vives in fretten, the Quarto favours in a bloody mask.” reading of The Merchant of Cf. the colloquial use of the Venice, iv. 1. 77. verb in the sense of "to re- frontlet (i. 4. 208). See note. semble."

O.F. frontelet, dim. of frontel, feature (iv. 2. 63), outward form, ultimately from Lat. frons, the

appearance. O.Fr. faiture, forehead. Lat. factura, from facere, to fumiter (iv. 4. 3), fumitory. make. In É.E. it preserved O.Fr. fumeterre, Med. Lat. its original general sense of fumus terrae, smoke of the “make, form, shape." It is earth”; so called because “ it not used in Shakespeare in the springeth

out of the specialized modern sense of the earth in great quantity." parts of the face.

Hence“ rank fumiter." fell (v. 3. 24), strictly: a hide,

skin with the hair on; but gallow (iii. 2. 44), terrify. An often used of the human skin, obsolete form of gally. O.E. as in the phrase flesh and fell, agoelwan, to alarm. Cf. galliwhich means the whole body. crow, used in Wessex for O.E. fel, cognate with Lat.

scarecrow." pellis.

gasted (ii. 1. 57), frightened. flaws (ii. 4. 288), shivers, splin O.E. góestan. The verb gast

ters; akin to flake and flag is the same as the verb agast, (stone). Cf. flaw'd, broken, of which the only part in use cracked (v. 3. 196).

is the p.p. agast, now erronefond (i. 2. 51; i. 4. 323; iv, 7. ously spelled aghast.

60), foolish. M.E. fonned, germens (ii. 2. 8), germs, the p.p. of fon, primarily

“ to lose

seeds of life. Lat. germen. savour,” hence“to be foolish”; Cf. Macbeth, iv. 1.59, " though probably the source of M.E. the treasure Of nature's gerfon, foolish," a fool," as mens tumble all together." well as of the later word fun. good-years (v. 3. 24). An inFrom meaning “ foolish, silly,' definite name for an evil power it came to mean foolishly

or agency. The word was first tender," then affectionate," used as a meaningless expletive, the change arising from the as as in the phrase " What the sociation of warm feeling with good year!” But apparently mental weakness. The inverse from the equivalence of this process has taken place in the phrase with " What the devil! M.E. silly, which comes ulti plague!" etc., it came to be mately from 0.E. sál,“ hap used in imprecations and curses piness.”

for an undefined evil power. forfended (v. 1. 11), forbidden. The phrase " What the good

M.E. forfenden, ward off, for + year, which was probably fenden, a shortened form of de adopted from the Dutch wat fenden, from_Lat. defendere. goedjaar, occurs in The Merry As for is an English prefix Wives, i. 4. 129 (spelled goodof similar force to the Latin jer), Much Ado, i. 3. 1, and 2 prefix de - forfenden is thus a Henry IV, ii. 4. 64 and 191. hybrid.

The present is the only in

“ with many

66

word chiefly in its modern sig pleated, the Ff plighted, which
nification, but cf. 2 Henry IV, are both doublets of plaited.
ii. 4. 126, “She is pistol-proof, The form plight, which is found
sir; you shall hardly offend in Spenser, e.g.
her."

a folded plight," Faërie Queene, or ere (ii. 4. 289), before. The ii. 3. 26, 5, comes from M.E.

two words are identical in pliten, the gh being an intru-
meaning, both being derived sion. It is quite distinct from
from the O.E. ár, before. plight (i. 1. 103), pledge, which
But it is probable that ere was comes from O.E. pliht, risk,
considered a contraction for danger, cognate with Ger.
ever = e'er. Shakespeare has pflicht, duty.
both forms, or ere and or ever pother (iii. 2. 50), turmoil.
(Hamlet, i. 2. 183).

From the same source as potter owes (i. 1. 205), possesses ; and poke; not connected with owest (i. 4. 133). M.E. owen, 'bother." The Ff read pudder, awen, O.E. agan, ah,"possess. another form of the same word. The current sense of “ obliga- power (iii. 1. 30; iv. 2. 16; iv. tion” arises from the idea of 5. 1; v. 1. 51), army: a compossessing what belongs to an mon meaning in E.E. M.E. other. The word is used in pouer, O.Fr. povoir, Late Lat. this modern sense in iii. 4. potere = posse, to be able. 108.

Thus derivatively a substanti

val use of the infinitive mood. pelting (ii. 3. 18), paltry Cf. Fr. pouvoir.

which has partly the same presently, (i. 4. 159; ii. 4. 34, source. The Northern word 118), immediately, at once; paltrie or peltrie, a substantive the usual sense in E.E. meaning

was prob- puissant (v. 3. 216), strong, great. ably the source of E.E. paul F. puissant, Low Lat. possens, tring, peltering, petty," and a pres. part. due to confusion pelter, a mean person.' By between the correct form association with these, pelt, potens and the inf. posse. A skin,” acquired the sugges

doublet of potent. tion of trash," and from it appears to have been formed, quit (iii. 7. 87), requite. M.E. during the sixteenth century, quiten, O.Fr. quiter, Lat. quiethe word pelting, on the anal tare, to set at rest. Quit is deogy of peltrie, peltering (Her rivatively a shorter form of ford). Note the modern pelt quiet. ing, a distinct word, in iii. 4. 29.

recreant (i. 1. 169), coward. perdu (iv. 7. 35). Not from Fr. Strictly, one who has changed

enfant perdu, a soldier of a for his faith. O.Fr. recreant, Lat.
lorn hope, but from sentinelle re + credentem. Cf. miscreant
perdue, a sentry placed in a above.
very advanced and dangerous renege (ii. 2. 84), deny. M.E.
position. Thus
“ to watch

Teneye,

Low Lat. renegare, poor perdu!"

whence “ renegade,” etc. The perdy (ii. 4. 86), an exclamation.

g is pronounced hard.

The From Fr. par Dieu.

spelling of the Qg is reneag. plaited (i. 1. 283), folded. M.E. reverbs (i. 1. 156), reverberates.

plaiten, O.Fr. pleit, plet, a fold Perhaps a coined word, by (Mod. Fr. pli); Lat. plicatus, contraction" (Skeat). Cf. inplicare, to fold. The Qq read trinse, ii. 2. 81.

trash,"