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cheer sb. (5 whence the sense ‘fare, provisions’ Wiv. III. ii. 55; Ham. III. ii. 231 where some read “chair,” comparing Hall's Satires ‘Sit seven yeres pining in an anchor's cheyre’)
1. face, complexion MND. III. ii. 96 “pale of cheer.”
2. countenance, aspect Mer.V. III. ii. 313 “show a merry cheer,” Tit. I. i. 264 “this change of cheer.”
3. disposition, frame of mind, mood All'sW. III. ii. 67 “have a better ,” Tit. II. iii. 188 “Ne'er let my heart know merry ,” Sonn. xcvii. 13 “with so dull a ” ; esp. freq. in “what ?”=how goes it with you? Tp. I. i. 2; “good cheer,” courage, good heart Mer.V. III. v. 5, IV. i. 111, R3 IV. i. 37 (Qq “have comfort”).
4. cheerfulness, mirth Ado I. iii. 74, Ham. I. ii. 116 “in the cheer and comfort of our eye,” III. ii. 176 “So far from cheer.”
5. kindly welcome, hospitable entertainment Err. III. i. 66 “neither cheer, sir, nor welcome,” Lucr. 89 “gives good cheer.”
A Shakespeare Glossary. C. T. Onions. Oxford. Clarendon Press. 1911.

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hide References (10 total)
  • Cross-references in text-specific dictionaries from this page (10):
    • William Shakespeare, Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, 1.2
    • William Shakespeare, Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, 3.2
    • William Shakespeare, The Comedy of Errors, 3.1
    • William Shakespeare, The Merchant of Venice, 3.2
    • William Shakespeare, The Merchant of Venice, 3.5
    • William Shakespeare, The Merchant of Venice, 4.1
    • William Shakespeare, A Midsummer Night's Dream, 3.2
    • William Shakespeare, The Tempest, 1.1
    • William Shakespeare, The Rape of Lucrece
    • William Shakespeare, Sonnets, xcvii
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