Flaw, subst. 1) breach, crack, fissure: “my love to thee is sound, sans crack or f.” LLL V, 2, 415. “this heart shall break into a hundred thousand --s,” Lr. II, 4, 288. Figuratively: “observe how Antony becomes his f.” Ant. III, 12, 34.*
2) a sudden burst of wind, a gust: “gusts and foul --s to herdmen and to herds,” Ven. 456. “as humorous as winter and as sudden as --s congealed in the spring of day,” H4B IV, 4, 35 (i. e. probably gusts carrying ice with them. According to Edwards and Dyce: small blades of ice). “calm the fury of this madbred f.” H6B III, 1, 354. “a great sea-mark, standing every f.” Cor. V, 3, 74. “to expel the winter's f.” Hml. V, 1, 239. “I do not fear the f.” Per. III, 1, 39. Tropically, == impetuosity, storm of passion: “falling in the --s of her own youth,” Meas. II, 3, 11. “these --s and starts would well become a woman's story,” Mcb. III, 4, 63.
Shakespeare Lexicon. Alexander Schmidt. Berlin. Georg Reimer. 1902.
This text was converted to electronic form by professional data entry and has been proofread to a high level of accuracy.
hide
Dictionary Entry Lookup
Use this tool to search for dictionary entries in all lexica.
