"richard 3" - читать интересную книгу автора (Cliff Notes)

Nouns could be used as verbs and as adjectives:

This sickly land might solace (i.e., give solace) as before
(II, iii, 30)

Tell me, thou villain (i.e., villainous) slave
(IV, iv, 144)

and verbs could be used as nouns.

^^^^^^^^^^RICHARD III: CHANGES IN WORD MEANING

The meanings of all words undergo changes. For example, the word "chip" extended its meaning from a small piece of wood to a small piece of silicon. Many of the words in Shakespeare still exist, but their meanings may have changed. The change is sometimes small, as in the case of "jealous" meaning "mistrustful" in:

The jealous, o'erworn widow
(I, i, 81)

Other examples: "halt" (I, i, 23) meant "limp"; "mewed" (I, i, 38) meant "continued"; "gossips" (I, i, 83) meant "old women" (probably relatives); "diet" (I, i, 139) meant "way of life," and so on.

^^^^^^^^^^RICHARD III: VOCABULARY LOSS

Words not only change their meanings, but frequently disappear from the language. In the past, "leman" meant "sweetheart," "sooth" meant "truth," and "thole" meant "endure." The following words used in Richard III are no longer current in English, but their meanings can usually be gauged from the context in which they occur.

HAP (I, ii, 17) fortune

AVAUNT (I, ii, 44) go away

FALCHION (I, ii, 94) curved sword

DENIER (I, ii, 251) small coin

COG (I, iii, 48) fawn

NOBLE (I, iii, 81) gold coin

IWIS (I, iii, 101) certainly

CACODEMON (I, iii, 143) devil

PILLED (I, iii, 158) spoiled, plundered

MALAPERT (I, iii, 254) impertinent

FRANKED (I, iii, 313) closed away, shut up in a sty

SOP (I, iv, 159) bread dipped in wine

MEED (I, iv, 285) reward