Essential Vocabulary for Reading Shakespeare

Pronouns, verb forms, directional adverbs, discourse markers, and historically shifted meanings that remove common obstacles in Shakespeare’s text.

A curated Words list.

25 words

English · Experimental / limited support

25 of 30 curated words are in the development corpus.

			Sense and definition
thou	English	PRON	Sense 1 of 1 Nominative singular of ye (“you”).
thou as “thee”	English	PRON	No sense selected Its only sense: Nominative singular of ye (“you”).
thy	English	DET	Sense 1 of 1 Possessive form of thou: that which belongs to thee; which belongs to you (singular).
ye	English	PRON	No sense selected No definition is shown: the meaning this list is about spans several of this word’s 2 senses, so no one of them is it.
be as “art”	English	VERB	No sense selected No definition is shown: this word has 24 senses and the entry names none of them.
do as “dost”	English	VERB	No sense selected No definition is shown: this word has 39 senses and the entry names none of them.
do as “doth”	English	VERB	No sense selected No definition is shown: this word has 39 senses and the entry names none of them.
have as “hast”	English	VERB	No sense selected No definition is shown: this word has 34 senses and the entry names none of them.
have as “hath”	English	VERB	No sense selected No definition is shown: this word has 34 senses and the entry names none of them.
shall as “shalt”	English	VERB	No sense selected No definition is shown: this word has 4 senses and the entry names none of them.
will as “wilt”	English	VERB	No sense selected No definition is shown: this word has 8 senses and the entry names none of them.
anon	English	ADV	Sense 2 of 3 Soon; in a little while.
hence	English	ADV	Sense 1 of 4 From here, from this place, away.
hither	English	ADV	Sense 1 of 2 To this place, to here.
thence	English	ADV	Sense 1 of 3 From there, from that place or from that time.
thither	English	ADV	Sense 1 of 2 To that place.
whence	English	ADV	Sense 1 of 1 From where; from which place or source.
wherefore	English	ADV	Sense 1 of 2 Why, for what reason, because of what.
marry	English	INTJ	Sense 1 of 1 A term of asseveration: indeed!, in truth!
forsooth	English	ADV	Sense 1 of 1 Used as an intensifier, often ironic: indeed, really, truthfully.
ay	English	INTJ	Sense 1 of 1 Alternative spelling of aye (“yes”).
nay	English	ADV	No sense selected No definition is shown: the meaning this list is about spans several of this word’s 3 senses, so no one of them is it.
beseech	English	VERB	No sense selected No definition is shown: the meaning this list is about spans several of this word’s 2 senses, so no one of them is it.
wit	English	NOUN	No sense selected No definition is shown: the meaning this list is about spans several of this word’s 7 senses, so no one of them is it.
conceit	English	NOUN	No sense selected No definition is shown: the meaning this list is about spans several of this word’s 9 senses, so no one of them is it.

Curated words the sources do not supply

thine — independent possessive; possessive before a vowel in some usage. Not bound: ambiguous in the pinned sources: The pinned sources record the word as more than one lexeme and the curated cue spans them, so no single binding is correct.
ere — before. Not bound: ambiguous in the pinned sources: The pinned sources record the word as more than one lexeme and the curated cue spans them, so no single binding is correct.
prithee — “I pray thee”; please. Not in the pinned sources: The pinned sources do not record the curated form under the curated lemma.
methinks — it seems to me. Not in the pinned sources: The pinned sources record the curated form-to-lemma relation the other way round.
fain — gladly; willing. Not bound: ambiguous in the pinned sources: The pinned sources record the word as more than one lexeme and the curated cue spans them, so no single binding is correct.