The White Devil

The White Devil Glossary

bawd

a pimp, one who panders or procures prostitutes

beaver

the mouthpiece of a helmet

bowls

a game similar to bocce ball, wherein the players roll misshapen balls towards a smaller ball to see who can make it the closest

capon

a eunuch

capricious

guided by whim or fancy

caroche

a luxurious coach meant for town use

carved

has two meanings in the context of the play: a) shown great courtesy; b) castrated

chafed

heated, rubbed, fretted

chirugeon

surgeon

close

secret

coxcomb

a fool or simpleton

cuckold

the husband of an unfaithful women, usually depicted with donkey horns on his head

cut-works

a kind of openwork embroidery or lace worn in the latter part of the 16th and in the 17th centuries

Democritus

an Ancient Greek philosopher, often consider the "father of modern science"

dissembling

deceitful, hypocritical

dumb show

a part of a play represented by action without speech, chiefly in order to exhibit more of the story than could otherwise be included

Dutch doublet

a Dutch style of jacket that is close-fitting except for its large breeches

ephemerides

astrological tables that show the predicted positions of heavenly bodies

foot-cloth

a large and ornamented cloth that covers the back of a horse

idle

worthless

issue

offspring, children

knave

a menial servant or base rogue

leon

a leash

moor

a Muslim of mixed Berber and Arab descent, found in north-western Africa

mummia

a medicine made of dead flesh

mutton

slang for loose women

painted

false, artificial

pander

a person who assists the immoral urges or evil designs of others

pashed

smashed, crushed

philosopher's stone

a legendary substance that supposedly turns ordinary metals into precious ones, cures diseases, and extends life; in the play, the phrase also refers to testicles

phoenix

a legendary bird that supposedly lived for hundreds of years; when it died, it burned itself in a funeral pyre, and its youthful reincarnation would rise from its ashes

physic

to treat with medicine

prodigal

extravagant, and recklessly wasteful of property

prodigious

unnatural, portentous

provocative electuaries

aphrodisiacs

quae negata grata

Latin for "what is denied is desired"

quicksilver

mercury

strumpet

a prostitute or whore

travailing

an archaic term for "traveling," but also a way to say "laboring or exerting oneself"

winter's snake

a mythical, ancient serpent with a head at either side of its body; a symbol for the devil, it can move in both directions, and seeks cold temperatures