Truewit
Truewit is a character in Ben Jonson's Epicoene; or The Silent Woman (1609) who is genuine and witty
Terence...Scipio...Laelius
Terence was a Roman playwright with patrons or rich supporters named Scipio Africanus and Gaius Laelius..
Menander...Theophrastus...Greek
Menander and Theophrastus were Greek playwrights and authors. Theophrastus wrote The Characters, which were sketches of personality types. Aristotle was a famous Greek philosopher, scientist, and patron of the arts.
Maxim
A maxim is a short statement of truth, often quite short such as "actions speak louder than words."
Consecrate
To declare something sacred.
Parnassus
Mount Parnassus is a mountain in central Greece, sacred in mythology to Apollo and Dionysus.
Prithee
A contraction of "pray thee," meaning something like "please" or "please excuse me."
Stoic
A stoic is a person who can endure pain or hardship without showing their feelings or complaining. Stoicism, with a capital S, was an ancient philosophical school.
Coxcomb
A coxcomb is an somewhat insulting word for a vain and conceited man.
Taciturnity
Taciturn means reserved or uncommunicative in speech.
Invective
An invective is insulting, abusive, or highly critical language.
Approbation
Approbation is approval or praise.
Cabal
A cabal is a secret political clique or faction.
Ratafia
Ratafia is a liqueur flavored with fruit.
Lampoon
To lampoon is to publicly criticize (someone or something) by using ridicule, irony, or sarcasm and a lampoon is a publication in which this kind of article is written.
Dropsy
Dropsy is an old-fashioned or less technical term for edema, a condition characterized by the collection of fluids in the body. It was generally a disease that required bed-rest.
Censorious
Censorious means severely critical of others.
Jade
While jade more commonly refers to a type of stone, in old English a jade might also refer to a disreputable or ill-tempered woman.
Pancras
The Church of St. Pancras was a church in the Fields.
Liveries
Liveries is an archaic term for clothing.
Dame Partlet
Dame Partlet was the wife of Chanticleer in Chaucer's The Nun's Priest's Tale.
Rosamond Pond
Rosamond's Pond was a pond and frequent meeting-place in St. James's Park.
Medlar
A medlar is a small, bushy tree of the rose family that bears small, brown, applelike fruits. It may also refer to the fruit of this tree.
Raillery
Raillery, a term used frequently in the play, is good-humored teasing or mockery.
Panegyric
A panegyric is a formal public speech, or (in later use) written verse, delivered in high praise of a person or thing.
Repartee
Repartee is conversation or speech characterized by quick, witty comments or replies.
Trulls
A trull is an archaic term for a prostitute.
Sultana queens...Roxolanas
A sultana was a a wife or concubine of a sultan, and Roxolana was the wife of Solyman the Magnificent in Davenant's The Siege of Rhodes.
Fobbed
Fobbed is an archaic term for tricked.
Ribaldry
Ribald or ribaldry is referring to sexual matters in an amusingly rude way.
Libertine
A libertine is a person, especially a man, who behaves without moral principles or a sense of responsibility, especially in sexual matters.
Moiety
A moiety is a piece or portion of something, more specifically half or a lesser half.
Perukes
Perukes is an archaic term for wigs.
Tift
To tift is to prepare.
Asfoetida
Asfoetida is a fetid resinous gum obtained from the roots of a herbaceous plant, used in herbal medicine.
B'w'y
B'w'y was an archaic contraction of "God be with you."
Mopus
Mopus was an archaic insult meaning dullard or idiot.
Dishabille
Dishabille is the state of being only partly or scantily clothed.
Gibbet
A gibbet is a gallows, where people are hung.
Sibyl
A sibyl is a woman in ancient times supposed to utter the oracles and prophecies of a god; a woman able to tell the future.
Pulvilled
Pulvilled means sprinkled with perfumed powder.
Postilion
A postilion is one who rides the leading left-hand horse of a team or pair drawing a coach or carriage, especially when there is no coachman.
Imprimis
Imprimis is legal language used in court and contracts, meaning "in the first place."
Noli prosequi
Noli prosequi is more legal language, signifying dropping a case and literally meaning "unwilling to prosecute."
Decimo sexto
A decimo sexto was a very small book.
Castanets
Castanets are a small percussion instrument played with the hands and coming in pairs.
Rantipole
Rantipole is an archaic term for bad-mannered.
In vino veritas
"In vino veritas" is a Latin phrase meaning "In wine there is truth."
Maidenhead
Maidenhead is an archaic term meaning virginity, literally referring to the hymen.
Bastinadoed
Bastinadoed means beaten on the soles of the feet.
Non compos
"Non compos mentis" or "non compos" is a term meaning "not of sound mind". This derives from the Latin "non" meaning "not" and "compos" meaning "having command."
