Worldwide School
A Shakespeare Glossary

C

C

    • Caddis

    • worsted galloon, so called because it resembles
      the caddis-worm

    • Cade

    • a cask or barrel

    • Cage

    • a prison

    • Cain-coloured

    • red (applied to hair)

    • Caitiff

    • a captive, a slave; hence, a witch

    • Calculate

    • prophesy

    • Caliver

    • a hand-gun

    • Callet

    • a trull

    • Calling

    • appellation

    • Calm

    • qualm

    • Can

    • to know, be skillful in

    • Canakin

    • a little can

    • Canary

    • a wine brought from the Canary Islands

    • Candle-wasters

    • persons who sit up all night to drink

    • Canker

    • a caterpillar
      The dog-rose

    • Canstick

    • a candlestick

    • Cantle

    • a slice, corner

    • Canton

    • a canto

    • Canvas

    • to sift: hence, metaphorically, to prove

    • Capable

    • subject to
      Intelligent
      Capable of inheriting
      Ample, capacious

    • Capitulate

    • make a combined force

    • Capocchia

    • a simpleton

    • Capricio

    • caprice

    • Capricious

    • lascivious

    • Captious

    • capacious

    • Carack

    • a large ship of burden

    • Carbonado

    • meat scotched for broiling

    • Carbonado

    • to scotch for broiling

    • Card

    • the taper on which the points of the compass
      are marked under the mariner's needle

    • Careire

    • the curvetting of a horse

    • Carkanet

    • a necklace

    • Carl

    • a churl

    • Carlot

    • a churl

    • Castilian

    • a native of Castile; used as a cant term

    • Castiliano

    • Vulgo a cant term, meaning, apparently, to use discreet
      language

    • Cataian

    • a native of Cathay, a cant word

    • Catling

    • cat-gut

    • Cautel

    • deceit

    • Cautelous

    • insidious

    • Cavalero

    • a cavalier, gentleman

    • Caviare

    • the roe of sturgeon pickled; metaph. a delicacy
      not appreciated by the vulgar

    • Cease

    • decease

    • Cease

    • put off, made to cease

    • Censure

    • judgment

    • Censure

    • to judge, criticise

    • Century

    • a hundred of anything, whether men, prayers, or
      anything else

    • Ceremony

    • a ceremonial vestment, religious rite, or
      anything ceremonial

    • Certes

    • certainly

    • Cess

    • rate, reckoning

    • Chace

    • a term at tennis

    • Chamber

    • a species of great gun

    • Chamberer

    • an effeminate man

    • Chanson

    • a song

    • Charact

    • affected quality

    • Character

    • a letter, handwriting

    • Character

    • to carve or engrave

    • Charactery

    • handwriting
      That which is written

    • Chare

    • a turn of work

    • Charge-house

    • a free-school

    • Charles'

    • Wain the constellation called also Ursa Major, or
      the Great Bear

    • Charneco

    • a species of sweet wine

    • Chaudron

    • entrails

    • Cheater

    • for escheator, an officer who collected the
      fines to be paid into the Exchequer
      A decoy

    • Cheque

    • a technical term in falconry; when a falcon
      flies at a bird which is not her proper game she
      is said to cheque at it

    • Cheques

    • perhaps intended for ethics

    • Cheer

    • fortune, countenance

    • Cherry-pit

    • a game played with cherrystones

    • Cheveril

    • kid leather

    • Chewit

    • cough

    • Childing

    • pregnant

    • Ch'ill

    • vulgar for 'I will.'

    • Chirurgeonly

    • in a manner becoming a surgeon

    • Chopin

    • a high shoe or clog

    • Christendom

    • the state of being a Christian

    • Christom

    • clothed with a chrisom, the white garment
      which used to be put on newly-baptized children

    • Chuck

    • chicken, a term of endearment

    • Chuff

    • a coarse blunt clown

    • Cinque

    • Pace a kind of dance

    • Cipher

    • to decipher

    • Circumstance

    • an argument

    • Cital

    • recital

    • Cite

    • to incite

    • Cittern

    • a guitar

    • Clack-dish

    • a beggar's dish

    • Clap

    • I' The Clout to shoot an arrow into the bull's eye of the target

    • Claw

    • to flatter

    • Clepe

    • to call

    • Cliff

    • clef, the key in music

    • Cling

    • to starve

    • Clinquant

    • glittering

    • Clip

    • to embrace, enclose

    • Clout

    • the mark in the middle of a target

    • Coast

    • to advance

    • Cobloaf

    • a big loaf

    • Cock

    • a cockboat

    • Cock

    • a euphemism for God

    • Cock-and-pie

    • an oath

    • Cockle

    • tares or darnel

    • Cockney

    • a cook

    • Cock-shut-time

    • the twilight, when cocks and hens go to roost

    • Cog

    • to cheat, dissemble

    • Cognizance

    • badge, token

    • Coign

    • projecting corner stone

    • Coil

    • tumult, turmoil

    • Collection

    • drawing a conclusion

    • Collied

    • blackened. Othello;

    • Colour

    • pretence

    • Colourable

    • specious

    • Colt

    • to defraud, befool

    • Co-mart

    • a joint bargain

    • Combinate

    • betrothed

    • Combine

    • to bind

    • Commodity

    • interest, profit

    • Commonty

    • used ludicrously for comedy

    • Compact

    • compacted, composed

    • Comparative

    • drawing comparisons

    • Comparative

    • rival

    • Compare

    • comparison

    • Compassionate

    • moving comparison

    • Competitor

    • one who seeks the same thing, an associate in
      any object

    • Complement

    • accomplishment

    • Complexion

    • passion

    • Compose

    • to agree

    • Compostion

    • composition

    • Comptible

    • tractable

    • Con

    • to learn by heart
      To acknowledge

    • Conceit

    • conception, opinion, fancy

    • Concupy

    • concubine

    • Condition

    • temper, quality

    • Condolement

    • grief

    • Conduct

    • escort

    • Confect

    • to make up into sweetmeats

    • Confound

    • to consume, destroy
      Coriolanus;

    • Conject

    • conjecture

    • Consign

    • to sign a common bond, to confederate

    • Consort

    • company

    • Consort

    • to accompany

    • Constancy

    • consistency

    • Constant

    • settled, determined

    • Constantly

    • firmly

    • Conster

    • to construe

    • Contemptible

    • contemptuous

    • Continent

    • that which contains anything
      That which is contained

    • Continuate

    • uninterrupted

    • Contraction

    • the marriage contract

    • Contrary

    • to oppose

    • Contrive

    • to conspire
      to wear away

    • Control

    • to confute

    • Convent

    • to convene, summon
      to be convenient

    • Convert

    • to change

    • Convertite

    • a convert

    • Convey

    • to manage
      To filch

    • Conveyance

    • theft, fraud

    • Convict

    • convicted

    • Convicted

    • overpowered, vanquished
      A doubtful word

    • Convince

    • to conquer, subdue

    • Convive

    • to feast together

    • Convoy

    • escort

    • Cony-catch

    • to cheat

    • Cony-catching

    • poaching, pilfering

    • Cooling

    • Card used metaphorically for an insurmountable obstacle

    • Copatain

    • Hat a high-crowned hat

    • Cope

    • to reward, to give in return

    • Copy

    • theme

    • Coragio

    • courage!

    • Coram

    • an ignorant mistake for Quorum

    • Coranto

    • lively dance

    • Corinth

    • a cant term for a brothel

    • Corinthian

    • a wencher

    • Corky

    • dry like cork

    • Cornuto

    • a cuckold

    • Corollary

    • a surplus

    • Corporal

    • corporeal, bodily

    • Corporal

    • Corporal

    • Of

    • The Field an aide-de-camp

    • Corrival

    • rival

    • Costard

    • the head

    • Coster-monger

    • peddling, mercenary

    • Cote

    • a cottage

    • Cote

    • to quote, instance

    • Cote

    • to come alongside, overtake

    • Cot-quean

    • an effeminate man, molly-coddle

    • Couchings

    • crouchings

    • Count

    • Confect a nobleman composed of affectation

    • Countenance

    • fair shew

    • Counterfeit

    • portrait
      A piece of base coin

    • Counterpoint

    • a counterpane

    • Countervail

    • to counterpoise, outweigh

    • Country

    • belonging to one's country

    • County

    • count, earl

    • Couplement

    • union

    • Court

    • Holy-water flattery

    • Covent

    • a convent

    • Cover

    • to lay the table for dinner

    • Cowish

    • cowardly

    • Cowl-staff

    • the staff on which a vessel is supported
      between two men

    • Cox

    • My Passion an oath, a euphemism for 'God's Passion.'

    • Coy

    • to stroke, fondle
      to condescend with difficulty

    • Coystril

    • a kestrel, a cowardly kind of hawk

    • Cozen

    • to cheat

    • Cozenage

    • cheating

    • Cozener

    • a cheater

    • Cozier

    • a tailor

    • Crack

    • to boast

    • Crack

    • a loud noise, clap
      A forward boy

    • Cracker

    • boaster

    • Crack-hemp

    • a gallows-bird

    • Crank

    • a winding passage

    • Cranking

    • winding

    • Crants

    • garlands. A doubtful word

    • Crare

    • a ship of burden

    • Craven

    • a dunghill cock

    • Create

    • formed, compounded

    • Credent

    • creditable
      Credible
      Credulous

    • Credit

    • report

    • Crescive

    • increasing

    • Crestless

    • not entitled to bear arms, lowborn

    • Crisp

    • curled, winding

    • Cross

    • a piece of money, so called because the coin
      was formerly stamped with a cross

    • Crow-keeper

    • one who scares crows

    • Crowner

    • a coroner

    • Crownet

    • a coronet

    • Cry

    • the yelping of hounds
      A pack of hounds
      A company, use contemptuously

    • Cry

    • Aim to encourage

    • Cue

    • the last words of an actor's speech, which
      is the signal for the next actor to begin

    • Cuisses

    • pieces of armour to cover the thighs

    • Cullion

    • a base fellow

    • Cunning

    • skill

    • Cunning

    • skilful

    • Curb

    • to bend, truckle

    • Currents

    • occurrences

    • Curst

    • Curstness

    • shrewishness

    • Curtail

    • a cur

    • Curtal

    • a docked horse

    • Curtal-axe

    • a cutlass

    • Custalorum

    • a ludicrous mistake for Custos Rotulorum

    • Custard-coffin

    • the crust of a custard-pudding

    • Customer

    • a common woman

    • Cut

    • a cheat
      'To draw cuts' is to draw lots

    • Cypress

    • a kind of crape