The Duchess of Malfi

The Duchess of Malfi Glossary

court-gall

bitter figure of the court

durance

imprisonment

engendering

propagating, reproducing

enginous

cunning, crafty

equivocation

misleading use of, in this case, an example.

familiars

evil spirits, or, at the time of the play, officers of the Catholic Church who arrested heretics

goes to wrack

is devastated

gossips

godparents

gulleries

trickery

lecherous

exhibiting excessive sexual desire or lewdness

lenitive

the meaning of this word is unclear in this context, but most scholars go with soothing

lycanthropia

a form of insanity in which the patient believes himself to be a wolf

mandragora

a narcotic

mortification

the state preceding death

osier

a willow tree

physiognomy

the art of understanding a person’s character by their features

poniard

a long knife with a crossed handle, historically worn by the upper classes

radical

a technical term from astrology meaning fit to be judged or decided

scourge

whip, or instrument used to inflict pain or punishment

seise

to take possession of, legally

Spanish jennet

a small Spanish horse

suborned

bribed, coerced with money

supportation

support

Switzer

a Swiss mercenary, a common figure at the time

sycophants

suck-ups, flatterers

unbeneficed

unprivileged, poor