Volpone Study Guide

Glossary of Terms

abhor

to hate

androgynous

having both male and female characteristics

antimony

a metallic element

appease

to satisfy, to pacify

ascribe

to assign

bawdy

obscene

berate

to deride

bereft

to deprive

castrate

to remove the testes of

cipher

code

conundrum

a riddle

costive

constipated

cozen

to cheat, to swindle

crotchet

a whim

cuckold

a man whose wife has been unfaithful

debacle

disaster

decry

to denounce

defame

to slander

didactic

serving to teach a lesson, usually a moral lesson

disinherit

to take away one's inheritance

dowry

money bestowed upon a newly wed couple by the father of the bride

dross

trash

eunuch

a person who has been castrated

expiate

to make amends for

extirp

to uproot

flout

to criticize

foil

a minor character who serves to reveal the qualities of a major character

foists

tricks

garrulousness

a tendency to talk excessively

gondola

a narrow boat with a tall stern used in the canals of Venice

hermaphrodite

a person who has both male and female sex organs

humour

demeanor

lecher, satyr

a man who indulges excessively in sexual activity

malice

ill will

moiety

a small portion

mountebank

a salesman who hawks cure-all elixirs

munificent

generous

mutability

changeability

obsequy

deference

obstinate

stubborn

obstreperous

loud, unruly

officious

aggressive in offering one's services

omnipotence

the quality of being all-powerful

palates

tastes

paroxysm

a violent outburst

parricide

the murder of one's father

physic

medicine

portend

to foretell, to predict

prodigy

a sign, an omen

quacksalver

a phony doctor

quintessence

the purest, most essential part

requite

to repay

sadomasochistic

taking pleasure in the pain of oneself and others

scrupulous

meticulously careful

sepulchers

tombs, graves

sloth

laziness

solecism

an error

soliloquy

a dramatic monologue

strumpet

a whore, a harlot

sycophant

a suck-up

wittol

a man who tolerates his wife's infidelity