"a carbuncle on Phoebus' wheel"
"a rich jewel on the sun god's chariot"
"a hilding for a livery"
"a worthless person only fit to wear servant's clothes"
"Fidele's sickness did make my way long forth"
"thinking about Fidele's sickness made my walk from the cave long and tedious"
"He overbuys me almost the sum he pays"
"he is worth almost as much more than me as the punishment he pays"
"He takes his part to draw upon an exile"
"he takes my father's part by drawing his sword upon an exile [in this case, Posthumus]"
"I do extend him, sir, within himself"
"I praise him within his merit"
"liegers for her sweet"
"ambassadors for her lover"
"lolling the tongue"
"licking the chops"
"Mingle their spurs together"
"mingle their roots together"
"Ods pittikins"
"God's little pity"
"Proud Cleopatra, when she met her Roman"
a reference to Cleopatra, the Queen of Egypt, and Antony, the Roman general who adored her
"self exhibition"
"same money"
"shift a shirt"
"change your shirt"
"short my word"
"fail in my promise"
"targes of proof"
"tested shields"
"The shes of Italy"
Italian women
"to mart as in a Romish stew"
"to try to buy sex [as in a brothel in Rome]"
"We have been too slight in sufferance"
"we have been too mild in our tolerance"
"words him"
"gives him a reputation"
"worms of Nile"
Asps
Aeneas
the legendary founder of Rome who betrayed Dido at Carthage, causing her to commit suicide in grief
Afric
the poeticization of Africa; refers to any such place Jacobeans would have found desolate
Ajax
a champion soldier of Greece
andirons
fire irons
Arabian Bird
the Phoenix, a mythic bird said to regenerate from its own ashes. Shakespeare explored the phoenix image throughout his career, especially in the poem "The Phoenix and the Turtle"
arras
wall-hanging
Augustus Caesar
Julius Caesar's protege and the first Roman Emperor
basilisk
a mythic reptile similar to a dragon
bugs
monsters
carl
churl
Cassibelan
Cymbeline's predecessor as King of England
charming
capable of protecting someone from evil
cinque-spotted
having five spots
citizen
urban
clotpoll
wooden head
clouted brogues
rough, heavy, hobnailed shoes
colted
bedded
confections
drug compounds
corse
corpse
country base
a popular boys' game
crescent note
a growing reputation
Cydnus
a river in modern-day Turkey
Cytherea
another name for Aphrodite or Venus, the goddess of love and beauty
demesnes
regions
derogation
a derogatory term or phrase
Dian
a poeticization of Diana, goddess of the hunt and of virginity
Diana
the chaste goddess of the hunt and of virginity
emperious
imperious
empery
empire
enforced
raped
enjoys
possesses
fangled
characterized by superficiality
feodary
accomplice
fitment
fit device
franklin
a landholder who ranks below the gentry
fraught
burdened
friend
an ally or loved one; someone who has known another in a sexual context
full-acorn'd
full of acorns; possessing of large testicles
Gallian
French
gaoler
jailer
geck
dupe
giglot
prostitute, usu. male (e.g. "gigolo")
gins
begins
good-conceited
full of good thoughts
Gordian knot
a legendary knot that none could untie, said to have been cut by Alexander the Great
gyves
fetters
haviour
demeanor
Hecuba
Priam's wife, the Queen of Troy, who was famously furious at the Greeks in the Iliad
Hercules
the heroic god who possessed terrific strength
imperseverant
incapable of perceiving
inter'gatories
questionings
jay
prostitute
journal
daily
Jovial
like Jove (i.e. Jupiter); god-like
Julius Caesar
the legendary Roman general who was killed by Roman senators just before he could transform Rome into an empire and become Emperor
Juno
"Hera" in Greek mythology; Zeus' powerful and jealous wife
Jupiter
the Roman name for the Greek god, Zeus, who ruled Mount Olympus and the heavens
kitchen-trulls
kitchen maids
lay
wager
limb-meal
limb from limb
Lud's town
London; according to legend, Cymbeline's grandfather, Lud, founded the town
madding
angering
mainport
a small offering or tribute
martial
war-like
mercurial
swift; like Mercury, the god of speed
mere
absolute
minion
contemptuous term for an underling
moiety
half
mows
grimaces
Mulmutius
the legendary first King of England
Neptune
the god of the sea
nonpareil
paragon; unparalleled
occident
west
ope
open
ordinance
that which Fate has ordained
orisons
prayers
pandar
a panderer; an allusion to Pandar, the go-between for Troilus and Cressida
Pannonians and Dalmatians
inhabitants of the modern-day Balkans
pantler
servant in charge of the pantry
Parthian
a soldier of Parthia, a nation known for its archers on horseback, who would fire volleys of arrows as they retreated
Philomel
a mythic beauty who was raped by Tereus
Phoebus
the god of the sun
proconsul
head counselor
prone
eager
pudency
modesty
puppy
a contemptuous term meaning "doll" or "toy"
puttock
contemptuous term for a kite
quire
choir; settlement of birds
ramps
lascivious women
raps
possesses; grips
reck
reckon
Richard du Champ
"Richard of the Field": a reference to Shakespeare's friend, Richard Field, who was a printer at Stratford-upon-Avon; most likely a compliment
Saturn
Jupiter's father, thought to be slow, cold and gloomy.
seconds
supporters
Severn
a river separating England from Wales
Siena
the leader of Siena (an error on Shakespeare's part, as Siena was a republic)
Sinon
a Trojan who betrayed his cause to the Greeks
sirrah
a contemptuous term directed toward someone of lower class
slip
let someone go
snuff
put out a candle wick
south-fog
south wind, thought in Shakespeare's time to be a bad portent
spur
goad on
statist
statesman
stomach-qualm'd
queasy
stomachers
breast coverings
straight-pight
standing full upright with dignified comportment
synod
an assembly of gods
taper
slender candle
tent
probe; wound
Tereus
an infamous rapist who ravished Philomel and cut out her tongue so that she couldn't report the crime; a character in Ovid's Metamorphoses
Thersites
the low-status soldier immortalized by Homer in the Iliad and by Shakespeare in Troilus and Cressida
thunder-master
an epithet for Jupiter
Titan
the sun
tomboys
prostitutes
troth
fidelity
vantage
opportunity
verier
truer
wanton
young, spoiled child
winking
with eyes closed
winnow
whittle; carve
wrying
erring
