Excuse, subst. 1) plea offered in extenuation, apology: “you do it for increase: O strange e.!” Ven. 791. Lucr. 267. Lucr. 267 Lucr. 267 Lucr. 267 Gentl. I, 3, 82. III, 1, 168. Ado IV, 1, 176. LLL V, 2, 432. Mids. III, 2, 245. V, 363. Merch. II, 4, 37. As III, 3, 94. Wint. I, 1, 47. John II, 119. IV, 2, 31. H4A III, 2, 19. V, 2, 17. H4B V, 1, 6. H4B V, 1, 6 H5 V Chor. H5 V Chor. H6C II, 6, 71. Troil. II, 3, 173. III, 1, 156. Ant. II, 2, 56. Cymb. III, 2, 67. “I will not have e.” Per. II, 3, 96. to make e. or “--s:” Ven. 188. Lucr. 114. Lucr. 114 Lucr. 114 R3 I, 2, 84.
2) the act of apologizing: “in way of thy e.” Tw. I, 5, 3. “pleading so wisely in e. of it,” H4B IV, 5, 181. Rom. I, 4, 1. III, 1, 197. “make my old e.” Sonn. 2, 11 (== e. of my old age). “make your e.” Tw. I, 5, 33. Troil. III, 1, 85. 99 (Q makes e.; i. e. make his e.). Rom. II, 5, 33.
3) justification, pardon: “this desire might have e.” Lucr. 235. Lucr. 235 Sonn. 51, 5. Shr. Ind. 2, 126. Cor. V, 6, 69. to give e. == to pardon: Lucr. 1715. Cor. I, 3, 114.
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.
