Dante Alighieri (1265–1321). The Divine Comedy.
The Harvard Classics. 1909–14.
Glossary
- Adveur, opposite.
- Afflation, the act of blowing upon, or the state of being blown upon.
- Agnized, acknowledged; recognized; learnt.
- Backening, hindering.
- Besteads, profits.
- Bewraying, discovering, betraying.
- Brachs, female hounds; dogs that pursue their prey by the scent.
- Burgein, bud, put forth branches.
- Champain, flat, open country.
- Charlemain, Charlemagne: Charles the Great.
- Chuses, chooses.
- Cirque, a circle; an encircling cliff.
- Cittern, a musical instrument, like a guitar, but strung with wire instead of gut.
- Cloked, concealed; disguised; contradicted.
- Cope, head-covering; summit; canopy.
- Curule-chair, among the Romans a chair of state reserved under the Republic for officers of high dignity, hence called “curule magistrates.”
- Cyon, scion.
- Doddered, overgrown with dodder, or slender, twining, leafless parasites, involving and destroying the whole plant on which they grow.
- Dispred, expanded.
- Empery, empire, sovereignty, dominion.
- Emprize, undertaking of great import and risk.
- Erst, formerly.
- Featly, dexterously; nimbly.
- Fardel, burden.
- Foison, outpouring; abundance.
- Foss, moat; ditch; depression; chasm.
- Frore, frozen; frosty.
- Germain, related.
- Gleed, spark.
- Governance, the art of governing.
- Grot, grotto; crypt; hidden chamber.
- Gyres, circles.
- Hight, called; named.
- Holm, holly; oak-holm.
- Indurated, hardened; obdurate.
- Jocund, cheerful; care-free.
- Ken, sub. attention, understanding; v. recognize, apprehend.
- Lea, meadow.
- Limn’d, painted; drawn; illuminated.
- List, Purg., c. 18, 1. 59, please; Purg., c. 23, 1. 48, listen to.
- Losel, a lazy vagabond; a scoundrel.
- Meed, reward, in both bad and good sense.
- Mickle, much; great.
- Nathless, none the less.
- Omnific, all-creating.
- Pallet, couch; resting place.
- Practic, practical skill; i. e., proof.
- Primy, flourishing; in its prime.
- Proem, preface; introduction.
- Propension, inclination.
- Quaternion, composed of four, as in Purg., c. 33, l. 3, the four virgins.
- Quatre, four.
- Quire, choir; company.
- Quiresters, choristers; singing birds.
- Ramp, leap; spring; bound.
- Reaves, bereaves.
- Rere, rear; backward.
- Rereward, to the rear.
- Rivage, river bank; shore; coast.
- Sempiternal, having beginning, but no end; everlasting.
- Septentrion, northern.
- Sheret, hurt; damaged.
- Sicklies, makes sick.
- Sigil-mark, seal; signature; an occult sign, mark, or character.
- Sith, since; afterwards.
- Sithence, since; seeing that.
- Swerd, sword.
- Tent, prove; sound; tempt; try.
- Tetchy, peevish; irritable.
- Tilth, that which is tilled; or the act of tilling.
- Tinct, tinged; colored.
- Tourneying, competing (or turning, varying?).
- Transpicuous, transparent.
- Trinal, threefold.
- Trine, threefold.
- Twyfold, twofold.
- Unweeting, unwitting; unconscious.
- Vaward, vanward; to the front.
- Vermeil dyed the mulberry, etc., the story as told by Ovid in his Metamorphoses, the blood of Pyramis dyed the white mulberry a dark tint or purple hue.
- Vermeil-tinctured, vermilion-tinged or rosy colored.
- Verrey, verry, same as vaire, a term in heraldry denoting green-tinctured.
- Visive, visual.
- Wain, sub. Charles’ wain-churl’s or farmer’s wagon, the seven brightest stars of the constellation Great Bear, which has been called a wagon or “wain” since the time of Homer; v., to carry.
- Waymenting, bewailing; lamentation.
- Whenas, when; whereas; while.
- Whilom, once; formerly.
- Wons, lives; dwells.