Merchant of Venice: Act 1 Vocabulary

1. Argosies: noun “There, where your argosies, with portly sail..” (1.1.9)Definition: large merchant ships.Sentence: Merchants use argosies to transport goods across seas.
2. Dote: verb “…there is not one among them but I dote on his very absence.” (1.2.98)Definition: To love in a excessive of foolish degreeSentence: Being the fist girl born out of 6 boys, the parents dote their daughter; filming her every move and accomplishments.
3. Parcel: noun “I am glad this parcel of wooers are so reasonable,” (1.2.97)Definition: A group of people of things having the same common characteristics.Sentence: The the human activists formed parcel, joining together to stop the mayor from cutting down the tree.
4. Vilely: adjective “Very vilely in the morning, when he is sober and very vilely in the afternoon when he’s drunk.”Definition: Loathsome; disgustingSentence: He acts in such a vile manner when he is drunk; his manners are rude and disgusting.
5. Prodigal: adjective “Wherein my time something too prodigalHath left me gaged.” (1.1.80)Definition: Spending money or resources freely and recklessly; wastefully extravagant.Sentence: Toddlers nowadays are to prodigal to maintain a certain resource for a long time. Every time we buy a new toy for them they break it in less than a week.
6. Grandsire: noun “Sit like his grandsire cut in alabaster?” (1.1.88)Definition: a grandfather, an aged manSentence: The grandsire decided to give his granddaughter a puppy for her birthday.
7. Alabaster: noun “Sit like his grandsire cut in alabaster?” (1.1.88)Definition: a finely granular variety of gypsum used for ornamental objects of workSentence: Churches in Italy had alabaster filled windows.
8. Appropriation: noun “…and he makes it a great appropriation to his own good parts that he can shoe him himself…” (1.2.38-9)Definition: the act of setting apart or taking for one’s own use.
9. Pennyworth: noun “…And swear that I have a poor pennyworth in the English.” (1.2.64)Definition: small quantity; bargainSentence: The men was so cheap that he will only give out a pennyworth of his cash to you.
10. Cur: noun “A cur can lend three thousand ducts?” (1.3.117)Definition: a worhtless or unfriendly one; a mongrelSentence: He has been spat at and been called a cur after he had kicked out an orphan in his apartment.
11. Bechanced: verb “To think on this, and shall I lack the thoughtThat such a thing bechanced would make me sad?”(1.1.37-8)Definition: to happen (to); befallSentence: Problems bechanced her after she had just jinxed herself.
12. Knave: noun “left in the fearful guard of an unthrifty knave; and presently I will be with you” (1.3.176)Definition: a dishonest man.Sentence: The knave would would always tell opposite from the real, while the honest man tells what is opposite.
13. Imputation: noun “Have you heard any imputation to the contrary?”(1.3.13)Definition: The act of imputing or ascribing; attributionSentence: He resented the imputation that he help assisted the murder,
14. Melancholy: noun “…Fish not with this melancholy bait,For this fool-gudgeon, this opinion…” (1.1.)Definition: A deep, pensive, and long-lasting sadnessSentence: Melancholy filled the room after grandma passed away.
15. Un-thrifty: “left in the fearful guard of an un-thrifty knave; and presently I will be with you” (1.3.176)Definition: Not using money and other resources carefully; wastefulSentence: The spoiled girl was un-thrifty when it came towards spending money on her self.
17. Rheum: noun “…You, that did void your rheum upon my beard…” (1.3.115)Definition: a thin discharge of the mucous membranes, especially during a cold. Sentence: Sentence: Rheum was on may face; I realized that my sister sneezed at me
17. Presages: verb “To hold a rival place with one of them,I have a mind presages me such thrift” (1.1.176)Definition: Be a sign or warning that (something, typically something bad) will happen.Sentence: when Mia saw the the plant stared to wither, she presages that tomorrow will not be good.
18. Hither: verb “…a soldier, that came hither in company of the Marquess of Montferrat?”Definition: To or toward this placeSentence:”I little knew then that such calamity would summon me hither!”
19. Pied: adjective “that all the eanlings streaked and pied should fall…” (1.3.77)Definition: patchy in color; splochedSentence: The room was pied with diffrent color paints.
20. Notary: noun “Go with me to a notary; Seal me there…” (1.3.173)Definition: A person authorized to perform certain legal formalities Sentence: we went to a notary to finalize our divorce plans.
21.Congregate: verb “Even there where merchants most do congregate, on me, my bargains, and my well-won thrift, which he calls interest.” (1.3.45)Definition: gather into a crowdSentence: We congregated on the streets to protest against the war.
22. Surfeit “You would be, sweet madam, if your miseries were for aught I see, they are as sick that surfeit with too much, as they starve with nothing.” (1.2.3-6)Definition: An excessive amountSentence: He had a surfeit amount of money in his wallet. I was made that he was to cheap to give a dollar to charity.
23. Reverence “That curtsy to them, do them reverenceAs they fly by them with their woven wings.” (1.1.13)Definition: Deep respect for.Sentence: The little sister had deep reverence for her brother ever since he protected her from bullies.
July 12, 2019