Alexander Schmidt, Shakespeare Lexicon and Quotation Dictionary

Day, 1) the time between the rising and setting of the sun: “she prays she never may behold the d.” Lucr. 746. “d. night's scapes doth open lay,” Lucr. 746 “'tis almost d.” Gentl. IV, 2, 139. Lucr. 806. Sonn. 28, 9. LLL V, 2, 733. R3 IV, 4, 118. Hml. I, 5, 11 etc. etc. Used as a masc.: “I tell the d., to please him thou art bright,” Sonn. 28, 9. == light: “clear as d.” H6B II, 1, 108. “O thou d. of the world,” Ant. IV, 8, 13. Strange expression: “a hand open as d. for melting charity,” H4B IV, 4, 32. -- “Good d.!” Gentl. IV, 4, 113 Ado V, 1, 112. Wint. I, 2, 366. Troil. III, 3, 62. “good d. and happiness!” As IV, 1, 30. “g. day to you,” Ado V, 1, 46. H4B IV, 2, 2. Cor. I, 3, 51. “d. and night,” Ven. 1186. “night and d.” Troil. III, 2, 122. “by d.:” Sonn. 27, 13. Gentl. III, 1, 109. Err. IV, 1, 18. Merch. II, 5, 47. V, 100. V, 100 Wint. III, 3, 56. H6B I, 1, 26. H6C V, 4, 56. H8 V, 1, 16. “by d. and night:” Tp. I, 2, 336. Tit. IV, 3, 28. Lr. I, 3, 4. “by d. or night,” Wiv. II, 1, 16. “by night and d.” Err. IV, 2, 60. By d. and night used as an oath: H8 I, 2, 213 and perhaps Lr. I, 3, 4 (Ff by d. and night, he wrongs me). “O d. and night, but this is wondrous strange,” Hml. I, 5, 164. “by this day!” Ado II, 3, 254. “by this good d.!” V, 4, 95. H4B III, 2, 81. “as sure as d.” H4A III, 1, 255. -- In the d. == by day: “thou singest not in the d.” Lucr. 1142. “in the living d.” Sonn. 43, 10. “unless I look on Silvia in the d., there is no d. for me,” Gentl. III, 1, 180.
2) a time of twenty four hours: Tp. I, 2, 298. Tp. I, 2, 298 490 etc. IV, 1, 29. Gentl. I, 3, 85. V, 4, 172. R3 II, 1, 1. IV, 4, 188. Cor. I, 3, 9. Caes. V, 1, 72 etc. etc. “a twelvemonth and a d.” LLL V, 2, 837. LLL V, 2, 837 “for ever and a d.” As IV, 1, 145. Shr. IV, 4, 97. this d. == to-day, Merch. IV, 1, 409. “what is the time of the d.?” Tp. I, 2, 238. LLL II, 122. H4A I, 2, 1. how's the d.? (== what o' clock is it?) Tp. V, 3. an it be not four by the d. (== four o' clock) H4A II, 1, 2 (the carrier's speech). “'tis a chronicle of d. by d.,” Tp. V, 163. d. by d. == every day, always: Sonn. 75, 13. 117, 4. All's III, 1, 18. from d. to d., in the same sense: LLL V, 2, 860. a whole week by --s == every day of a whole week, Troil. IV, 1, 10. fair, or good, or happy time of d., used as a form of salutation: LLL V, 2, 339. H4B I, 2, 107 (Ff. time of the d.). H5 V, 2, 3. R3 I, 1, 122. I, 3, 18. II, 1, 47. IV, 1, 6. Tim. III, 6, 1. “in the morn, when every one will give the time of d.” H6B III, 1, 14. not worth the time of d. (i. e. not worth greeting) Per. IV, 3, 35. “nor to us hath tendered the duty of the d.” Cymb. III, 5, 32 (i. e. has omitted the morning-salutation). Proverbial phrase: “there live we as merry as the d. is long,” Ado II, 1, 52. “I should be as merry as the d. is long,” John IV, 1, 18. -- Prepositions before it: a) at: “at the d. of judgement,” Wiv. III, 3, 226 (Evans' speech). “at the latter d.” H5 IV, 1, 143 (a common soldier's speech). -- b) in; α) == within, during: “lost, and recovered in a d. again,” H6A III, 2, 115. “you made in a d. whole towns to fly,” H6B II, 1, 164. “when that hour o'erslips me in the d. wherein I sigh not,” Gentl. II, 2, 9. β) == on: “in the hottest day shall he be set,” Wint. IV, 4, 817. “a d. wherein the fortune of ten thousand men must bide the touch,” H4A IV, 4, 9. “that our armies join not in a hot d.” H4B I, 2, 234. “in the d. of battle,” R3 IV, 4, 188. “the d. wherein I wished to fall,” V, 1, 16. “two lions littered in one d.” Caes. II, 2, 46. “they met me in the d. of success,” Mcb. I, 5, 1. c) on: “on a d.” Pilgr. 227. “one meal on every d.” LLL I, 1, 40. cf. on his wedding-day, on Saturday etc.: Ado V, 1, 169. LLL IV, 1, 6. Mids. I, 2, 7. Merch. I, 3, 127. II, 5, 25.
3) a day of battle, combat: “victor of the d.” Pilgr. 223. “by losing of this d.” John III, 4, 116. “how goes the day with us?” V, 3, 1. H4B I, 2, 167. Cor. II, 2, 99. Cymb. V, 2, 17. Hence == victory: “the d. is ours,” H4A V, 4, 163. R3 V, 5, 2. Cymb. V, 5, 75. “to win the d.,” H6A I, 6, 17. H6C II, 1, 136. R3 V, 3, 145. “if my young lord your son have not the d.” H4B I, 1, 52. “doubt not of the d.” H6C IV, 7, 87. “the d. almost itself professes yours,” Mcb. V, 7, 27. to whom in favour she (Fortune) “shall give the d.” John II, 393. Singular passage: “we will live to see their d. and them our fortune give,” H6B V, 2, 89 (== a victory like theirs).
4) time; in the sing.: “never see d. that the happy sees,” R2 V, 3, 94. “I have not sought the d. of this dislike,” H4A V, 1, 26. “these seven years' d.” H6B II, 1, 2. “never's my d.” Troil. IV, 5, 52. “the d. serves well for them now,” Cor. IV, 3, 32. “I have seen the d.” Lr. V, 3, 276. this d. == at this time: “there's not one so young and so villanous this d. living,” As I, 1, 161. “at this d.:” H5 I, 2, 53. H6B IV, 2, 157. one d. == in future time: Wiv. III, 3, 88. H8 II, 2, 22. another d., in the same sense: “'twill be thine another d.,” LLL IV, 1, 109. “this quarrel will drink blood another d.” H6A II, 4, 134 (concerning the other d. see Other). one of these days, in the same sense: As I, 2, 91. Wint. II, 1, 18. H5 II, 1, 92. Proverbially: to have one's day == to have one's time or turn: “the worst is death, and death will have his d.,” R2 III, 2, 103. “the cat will mew and dog will have his d.” Hml. V, 1, 315. Alack the d.! (an exclamation of pity or grief): Pilgr. 227. LLL IV, 3, 101. Merch. II, 2, 73. R2 III, 3, 8. IV, 257. Rom. III, 2, 39. IV, 5, 23. Lr. IV, 6, 185. “Alas the d.:” Wiv. III, 5, 39. IV, 2, 71. As III, 2, 231. Tw. II, 1, 25. II, 2, 39. H4B II, 1, 14. Troil. III, 2, 50. Rom. III, 2, 72. Mcb. II, 4, 23. Oth. III, 4, 158. IV, 2, 42. IV, 2, 42 “Woe the d.:” Tp. I, 2, 15. Well a d., see Well-a-day.
Plural: “the wits of former --s,” Sonn. 59, 13. 67, 14. 68, 1. 106, 13. 38, 13. Gentl. II, 4, 68. LLL IV, 1, 22. IV, 3, 262. John IV, 2, 58. H6B II, 2, 69. III, 1, 142. R3 I, 3, 145. IV, 4, 28. V, 5, 34. H8 V, 3, 29 (of late --s). Remarkable use: “let not the hours of this ungodly day wear out the days in peace,” John III, 1, 110 (M. Edd. wear out the day). “'tis but early days,” Troil. IV, 5, 12 (genitive? cf. now-a-days). “see that you take no longer days, but send the midwife presently to me,” Tit. IV, 2, 166 (quite == time).
5) In the plural, == life: “wretched hateful --s,” Lucr. 161. “that tongue that tells the story of thy --s,” Sonn. 95, 5. “as I hope for quiet --s,” Tp. IV, 1, 24. “once in my --s I'll be a madcap,” H4A I, 2, 159. “like a hermit overpassed thy --s,” H6A II, 5, 117. “outlive thy father's --s,” Tit. I, 167.
6) age (mostly in the plural): “all the treasure of thy lusty --s,” Sonn. 2, 6. “painting my age with beauty of thy --s,” 62, 14. “my --s are past the best,” 138, 6. Gentl. I, 1, 3. Ado V, 1, 65. R2 II, 3, 43. Hml. II, 2, 11. -- In the singular: “some flowers that might become your time of d.” Wint. IV, 4, 114.