Lowly, adj. 1) deep, declining: “thy sun sets weeping in the l. west,” R2 II, 4, 21.
2) brought down, enfeebled: “as looks the mother on her l. babe when death doth close his tender dying eyes,” H6A III, 3, 47 (see Low 5).
3) humble: “like a l. beggar down she kneels,” Ven. 350. with soft low tongue and l. courtesy, Shr. Ind. I, 114. “l. words were ransom for their fault,” H6B III, 1, 127.
4) mean, base: “banish these abject l. dreams,” Shr. Ind. 2, 34. “l. feigning was called compliment,” Tw. III, 1, 110. “poor l. maid,” Wint. IV, 4, 9. “obscure and l. swain,” H6B IV, 1, 50 (Ff lousy). H6B IV, 1, 50 “l. factor for another's gain,” R3 III, 7, 134. “these l. courtesies,” Caes. III, 1, 36.
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.
