Some terms which are frequently used in Poetry

         

Some terms which are frequently used in u

art - are
bequeath (one of my personal favorites) - To
give or leave by will; to hand down.
beseech - request, ask.
besought – asked, made request. (past tense of
beseech )
betwixt – between.
canst - can.
cometh – comes, or coming.
dearth - (durth) scarcity or scant supply of
anything; want or lack.
Defy ( refuse to obey )
dost - do, does.
draught or draft – Can mean the act of pulling or
drawing loads; a pull or haul; a team of animals
for pulling a load; the drawing in
of a fish net; the bunch of fish that were drawn in
by the net; but… your typical Rennie will prefer
one of these usages: the act of
inhaling; that which is inhaled; or, the number
one definition for common folk everywhere: the
drawing of a liquid from its
receptacle, as of ale from a cask!!!!
durst – Dare; to have the necessary boldness or
courage for something.
fere - friend, companion.
fullsome - rich, plentiful.
hath - equivalent of modern has.
henceforth - from now on.
hither - here.
huzzah - Huzza or huzzah is first recorded in
1573. According to a number of writers in the
17th and 18th centuries, it was
originally a sailor's cheer or salute.(Old French,
huzzer, “to shout aloud;” German, hussah!)
mere - An expanse of water; lake; pool
midst – Middle, or among. e.g., "in the midst of
the storm…
nary - None; absolutely nothing; not even close
to anything.
The good Jester also included an example of the
word's usage:
"Thou dost hast nary an inkling on coveting
thine lady."
And for the fullness of your understanding, this
modern translation of the above phrase:
"You wouldn't know how to please a babe if you
spent 10 years on the set of Oprah!"
naught – Nothing. (Did you know our modern
word “not” is actually an abbreviated form of this
Olde-English word, which was
itself a shortened form of “no whit” or “not a
whit”?)
onuppan - above.
overmany - a lot.
pece - silverware, fork.
prithee - contracted form of "I pray thee", i.e., I
ask of you, I beseech thee, etc.
proby - apprentice.
pudh - horrible.
Rennies - Renaissance fanatics; also people who
are addicted to Renaissance Faires, costume,
and anything else reminiscent of
that era.Alright, this isn’t really an O.E. word at
all – it’s a catchy name, though!
 Shabby ( badly dressed in clothes that have been used a lot )
shall or shalt - will
seek - (O.E. secan, to seek) To go in search or
quest of; to look or search for.
syllan - sell.
tallt - to stand above others in a snobby way.
tarry - to linger, deliberate, wait, stay, or pause.
thou - you
thee - you
thine - your
thither - there.
thy - your
trow – To think or suppose.e.g., "Wilt thou labor
for naught? I trow not!
Vow ( a formal and serious promise to do something )
whence - From where, e.g., " Whence, comest
thou?" would translate to the modern "Where do
you come from?"
wax - to grow, to become.
whither - To where, e.g., "Whither thou goest, I
shall go." translates in modern English as
"Where you go, I will go."
wilt – This one is tricky. It can mean very simply,
will; but then it could also mean what a flower
does without water, or what I do
when asked to cook - it all depends on the
context…
wist - knew; past tense of wit , e.g. He wist that
his love was coming...
wit – To know, e.g., Canst thou wit what the day
shall bring?
wrought - done, made, created; e.g. "...see what
God hath wrought.
ye - polite form of thou.
yore - years ago.