Above, prepos. 1) in or to a higher place; a) over: “have not your worship a wart a. your eye?” Wiv. I, 4, 157. “I'll be sure to keep him a. deck,” II, 1, 94. “forty thousand fathom a. water,” Wint. IV, 4, 281. “I'll stay a. the hill,” H6C III, 1, 5. “raise his car a. the border,” IV, 7, 81. “this foul deed shall smell a. the earth,” Caes. III, 1, 274. though women all a. (viz the waist) Lr. IV, 6, 127. “all the hairs a. thee,” Cymb. II, 3, 140 (on thy head).
b) overhead: “which like a cherubin a. them hovered,” Compl. 319. “I hear it now a. me,” Tp. I, 2, 407. “the sky that hangs a. our heads,” John II, 397.
c) comparatively higher, in a proper and figurative sense: “sweet a. compare,” Ven. 8. “to write a. a mortal pitch,” Sonn. 86, 6. “lest it should burn a. the bounds of reason,” Gent. II, 7, 23. “soar a. the morning lark,” Shr. Ind. 2, 46. “policy sits a. conscience,” Tim. III, 2, 94. Tp. I, 2, 168. LLL IV, 3, 332. V, 2, 259. V, 2, 259 Merch. IV, 1, 193. Merch. IV, 1, 193 Tw. I, 3, 116. I, 5, 140. II, 5, 156. John V, 6, 38. H6A I, 1, 121. H6B I, 2, 46. II, 1, 6. II, 1, 6 II, 1, 6 H6C II, 5, 94. H8 III, 1, 123. Rom. III, 5, 238. Cymb. II, 4, 113. a. the rest == above all (which expression is yet unknown to Sh.): Sonn. 91, 6. Gent. IV, 1, 60. Lr. IV, 1, 50.
2) more than: “which shall a. that idle rank remain beyond all date,” Sonn. 122, 3. “one that, a. all other strifes, contended especially to know himself,” Meas. III, 2, 246. “murther I tortured a. the felon,” H6B III, 1, 132. “not a. once,” Hml. II, 2, 455. Merch. III, 4, 76. Troil. I, 2, 111 (viz Paris). Cymb. II, 2, 29. over and a. == besides: “over and a. that you have suffered,” Wiv. V, 5, 177.
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.
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