Alexander Schmidt, Shakespeare Lexicon and Quotation Dictionary

Term, subst. 1) the time in which a court is held for the trial of causes: they (lawyers) “sleep between t. and t.” As III, 2, 350. “the wearing out of six fashions, which is four --s, or two actions,” H4B V, 1, 90.
2) time in general: “for t. of life thou art assured mine,” Sonn. 92, 2. “buy --s divine in selling hours of dross,” 146, 11. “have sworn for three years' t. to live with me,” LLL I, 1, 16. “not to see a woman in that t.” LLL I, 1, 16 “within the t. of three years,” LLL I, 1, 16 “you shall this twelvemonth t. . . . visit the sick,” V, 2, 860. “till t. of eighteen months be full expired,” H6B I, 1, 67. “expire the t. of a despised life,” Rom. I, 4, 109. “for some t. to do obsequious sorrow,” Hml. I, 2, 91. “doomed for a certain t. to walk the night,” I, 5, 10. “taking leave as long a t. as yet we have to live,” Cymb. I, 1, 107.
3) expression, word: “stand under the adoption of abominable --s,” Wiv. II, 2, 309. Wiv. II, 2, 309 “I cannot woo in festival --s,” Ado V, 2, 41. “chides the dice in honourable --s,” LLL V, 2, 327. “taffeta phrases, silken --s,” LLL V, 2, 327 “she in mild --s begged my patience,” Mids. IV, 1, 63. “I like not fair --s and a villain's mind,” Merch. I, 3, 180 (or == conditions?). “as you would say in plain --s,” II, 2, 68. “to have defended it with any --s of zeal,” V, 205. As II, 7, 16. Shr. II, 159. Shr. II, 159 Tw. II, 4, 5. IV, 2, 36. R2 I, 1, 57. H4A I, 3, 46. II, 3, 52. IV, 1, 85. IV, 3, 63. V, 4, 162. H4B IV, 4, 73. H5 II, 1, 32. IV, 8, 44. V, 2, 99. H6A I, 2, 93. II, 5, 47. IV, 1, 97. H6B I, 1, 30. III, 2, 311. IV, 9, 44. IV, 10, 38. V, 1, 25. H6C I, 1, 265. II, 2, 85. R3 IV, 4, 359 (Qq in plain --s tell her my loving tale; Ff plainly to her tell my l. t.). Troil. I, 3, 159. V, 2, 38. Tit. II, 3, 110. Rom. I, 1, 218. III, 1, 64. Caes. III, 1, 203. Mcb. V, 8, 8. Hml. I, 3, 132. Oth. I, 2, 7. IV, 2, 116. IV, 2, 116 Ant. II, 2, 24. III, 4, 7.
4) condition (only in the plur.); a) stipulation, proposition stated and offered for acceptance: if we can make our peace upon such large --s and so absolute “as our conditions shall consist upon,” H4B IV, 1, 186. “we have consented to all --s of reason,” H5 V, 2, 357. Perhaps also in Merch. I, 3, 180 (see above).
b) relation, footing: “shall I so much dishonour my fair stars, on equal --s to give him chastisement,” R2 IV, 22. “that you and I should meet upon such --s as now we meet,” H4A V, 1, 10. “did not we send grace, pardon and --s of love to all of you?” V, 5, 3. “to close in --s of friendship with thine enemies,” Caes. III, 1, 203 (or == expressions?). “parted you in good --s?” Lr. I, 2, 171. “in quarter and in --s like bride and groom,” Oth. II, 3, 180. if you seek us afterwards in other --s (i. e. as an enemy), “you shall find us in our salt-water girdle,” Cymb. III, 1, 80. “the sore --s we stand upon with the gods,” Per. IV, 2, 37.
c) state, situation, circumstances: “long upon these --s I held my city,” Compl. 176 (== in this state). “what --s the enemy stood on,” H5 III, 6, 78 (what was the position of the enemy). “the --s of our estate may not endure hazard so dangerous,” Hml. III, 3, 5. Used with some latitude: “were I under the --s of death,” Meas. II, 4, 100 (== were I to die). “now to deliver her possession up on --s of base compulsion,” Troil. II, 2, 153 (== in consequence of compulsion; by compulsion). “to recover of us, by strong hand and --s compulsatory, those lands,” Hml. I, 1, 103. “a sister driven into desperate --s,” IV, 7, 26.
d) mode of being or of acting; sometimes used in a quite periphrastical way: “may any --s acquit me from this chance?” Lucr. 1706 (any thing that I might do). “to keep the --s of my honour precise,” Wiv. II, 2, 22 (all that concerns my honour; or, in short, == my honour); cf. “but in my --s of honour I stand aloof,” Hml. V, 2, 257. “so rushling in silk and gold, and in such alligant --s,” Wiv. II, 2, 69 (== in so fine a style; Mrs Quickly's speech). “in --s of choice I am not solely led by nice direction of a maiden's eye,” Merch. II, 1, 13 (with respect to the choice; in my choice). “both my revenge and hate loosing on thee without all --s of pity,” All's II, 3, 173 (== without any pity). “whom thou in --s so bloody and so dear hast made thine enemies,” Tw. V, 74 (in so bloody a manner). “if you grow foul with me, I will scour you with my rapier, as I may, in fair --s,” H5 II, 1, 60 (Nym's speech). H5 II, 1, 60 “lest your displeasure should enlarge itself to wrathful --s,” Troil. V, 2, 38 (== to wrath; or == words). “be judge yourself, whether I in any just t. am affined to love the Moor,” Oth. I, 1, 39 (justly in any respect; the only instance of the singular). Peculiar passage: “our city's institutions and the --s for common justice,” Meas. I, 1, 11 (the conditions on which common justice proceeds; the proceedings at law).