‘pink, n. A. I. 1.a. Any of various plants of the genus Dianthus (family Caryophyllaceae), which are typically low-growing with solitary flowers; spec. any of the numerous cultivated forms or hybrids of D. plumarius, with fragrant white or pink flowers, often with a dark centre or dark stripes or markings on the petals. Also: a flower or flowering stem of such a plant . . The distinction between pinks and carnations is often not entirely clear. . . 1662 S. Pepys Diary 29 May (1970) III. 95 To the Old Spring garden... And the wenches gathered pinks . . ‘ [OED]
‘plain, adj.1 . .< classical Latin plānus . . V. Of a person, or a person's attributes or character: ordinary, unexceptional, homely. 13. Simple or unpretentious in behaviour, manners, or expression; homely, unaffected. Now rare. . . 1601 R. Johnson tr. G. Botero Travellers Breviat (1603) 82 Being (as all the Germaines are) plaine and homely in their behauiour and intertainment. 1667 S. Pepys Diary 20 Sept. (1974) VIII. 443 And endeed [she] is, as I always thought, one of the modest, prettiest, plain women that ever I saw . . ‘
Re: Roxala and Lord Oxford: I suggest that what Sam meant was that she had been ‘taken into keeping’ by Lord O:
‘keeping n. . . 5. b. The maintaining of a mistress or lover; the fact or condition of being so maintained. 1675 W. Wycherley Country-wife i. 13 But prethee..is not keeping better than Marriage? . . 1728 J. Gay Beggar's Opera ii. iv. 25 Pray Madam were you ever in keeping? . . 1853 E. C. Gaskell Ruth III. i. 29 She beguiled a young gentleman, who took her into keeping.’ [OED]
‘Ownership’ meant no more than that she was, until they parted, off-limits to other gallants who might otherwise have tried their luck with her.
‘scold v. 1. intr. †a. Originally, to behave as a scold; to quarrel noisily, to brawl; to rail at or wrangle with some one; to use violent or unseemly language in vituperation; said chiefly of women. Obs.
b. Now with milder sense . . : To use undignifed vehemence or persistence in reproof or fault-finding; colloq. often merely, to utter continuous reproof. . . 1587 D. Fenner Def. Godlie Ministers sig. Gii, Let him goe home and skoolde with his wife. . . a1630 F. Moryson in Shakespeare's Europe (1903) ii. v. 239 Some runn out to braule and scowlde like women with the next Enemyes. . . 1675 V. Alsop Anti-Sozzo iii. 193 Therefore go scold with the Apostle: that which will bring him off will bring off the Doctor . . ‘
‘easy, adj., < Old French aisié (modern aisé ) . . 5. a. Not hard pressed: not hurried, gentle; said of motion . . . . 1608 E. Topsell Hist. Serpents 282 They haue a very slowe and easie pace. . . 1852 G. W. Curtis Wanderer in Syria i. i. 8 The donkeys are like large dogs, and of easy motion.’
‘stately, adj. < state n. . . 2. Befitting or appropriate to a person of high rank or status; magnificent, splendid. a. Of a place or thing. . . 1756 T. Nugent Grand Tour II. 256 In winter they have races in stately sledges, besides masquerading and splendid balls. . . 4. a. Imposing or majestic in size and proportions; nobly or elegantly formed or built. . . 1700 R. Cromwell Let. 27 Jan. in Eng. Hist. Rev. (1898) 13 116 A statly chine accompaned with a fatt Turkey . . ‘
‘tip, v.4 . . Originally Rogues' Cant, of obscure origin. (Possibly related to tip v.1, through the notion of touching lightly, but this is very uncertain.)
. . 2. colloq. (orig. slang). a. To give a gratuity to; to bestow a small present of money upon (an inferior), esp. upon a servant or employee of another, nominally in return for a service rendered or in order to obtain an extra service; also upon a child or schoolboy. Const. with. 1707 G. Farquhar Beaux Stratagem ii. 15 Then I, Sir, tips me the Verger with half a Crown. . . 1752 H. Fielding Amelia IV. xi. v. 161 He advised his Friend..to begin with tipping (as it is called) the great Man's Servant.’
So whatever douceur or customary present Sam got, he didn’t call it a ‘tip’, a vulgar term not then in use in polite circles or quite likely not in use at all in 1662. And inappropriate in many cases as he was not the inferior of the person for whom he was doing the favour
‘bribe n. . . Etym: Bribe noun and verb . . appear together in Chaucer . . : their previous history is obscure. Old French had bribe in sense of ‘piece of bread . . ’, esp.[one] ‘ . . giuen vnto a beggar’ . .
The ulterior history is quite unknown; if the sense of Old French bribe is the original, the order of development would appear to have been ‘piece of bread’, ‘alms’, ‘living upon alms’, ‘professional begging’. Hence, apparently from practical association, the English sense ‘to steal, plunder’.
The further history in English is also involved, but appears to be somewhat thus: in bribe (noun) the early sense of ‘theft, plunder, spoil’, appears to have been transferred to the ‘black mail’ or ‘baksheesh’ exacted by governors and judges who abused their positions, and thus to gifts received or given for corrupt purposes, whence the later sense of the verb. The transition is best seen in the agent-noun briber, where we have the series, ‘beggar’, ‘vagabond’, ‘thief’, ‘robber’, ‘extortioner’, ‘exactor of black mail’, and ‘receiver of baksheesh’ . .
. . 2. ‘A reward given to pervert the judgment or corrupt the conduct’ (Johnson). a. The earlier sense probably regarded it as a consideration extorted, exacted, or taken by an official, a judge, etc.; i.e. as the act of the receiver: cf. briber n.
b. But it is now applied to a consideration voluntarily offered to corrupt a person and induce him to act in the interest of the giver, e.g. a consideration given to a voter to procure his vote. . . 1616 Shakespeare Coriolanus (1623) i. x. 38, I..cannot make my heart consent to take A Bribe. 1667 S. Pepys Diary 21 May (1974) VIII. 227 His rise hath been his giving of large Bribes.’
So Our Hero knew all about bribery, a practice as old as civilisation.
‘own, v. . . 3. trans. . . c. To acknowledge as an acquaintance; to recognize as familiar. Now Irish English, Sc., and Eng. regional (north.). . . 1662 S. Pepys Diary 27 Apr. (1970) III. 71, I..met my Lord Chamberlaine..who owned and spoke to me. . . 1868 J. C. Atkinson Gloss. Cleveland Dial. 20 Awn, to own or acknowledge, as a friend or acquaintance, that is . . ‘
‘denounce adj. . . 6. a. To declare (a person or thing) publicly to be wicked or evil, usually implying the expression of righteous indignation; to bring a public accusation against; to inveigh against openly; to utter denunciations against. 1664 [implied in: J. Evelyn Sylva (1776) 568, I am no advocate for iron~works, but a Declared Denouncer. (at denouncer n. c)] . . ‘
and
‘closet . . 10. a. In reference to the closet as a place of privacy, the word was formerly almost adjectival = Private. Obs. exc. as in 10b. 1612–15 Bp. J. Hall Contempl. B iv. (T.), There are stage-sins and there are closet-sins. 1657 R. Austen Treat. Frvit-trees (ed. 2) ii. 159 The secret and closet good works of [God's] people. 1706 J. Drake in Earl of Leicester Secret Mem. Pref., That these were not written for closet memoirs appears by the stile and manner of them.
b. Secret, covert, used esp. with reference to homosexuality; closet queen, a secret male homosexual. 1967 W. Churchill Homosexual Behavior among Males ix. 184 The ‘closet queen’ or so-called latent homosexual becomes a menace..to the entire community . . ‘
and
‘republican, adj. and n. 1. a. Of a person or party: favouring, supporting, or advocating the republic as a form of state or government. 1653 T. Brachet Victory of Truth 8 This Republican Parliament..hath not thought any occasion more favourable to their design, than to act the Puritan, that they might come to the execution of their desires. 1695 R. Ferguson Whether Parl. Dissolved 12 Monarchical Men, have suffered themselves to be wheedled by the Republican Whigs, into a Conspiracy and Co-operation with them for the destruction of Regal Government . . ‘
I conclude that a Pepys contemporary could certainly have used the phrase ‘I will denounce you as a closet republican’ in the same sense as today - but ‘as a closet Catholic’ would be much more plausible.
I have often found that my a priori guess as to whether a meaning is new or old is often wrong.
April27: early English asparagus appeared in the shops last week, corresponding to April 9 in the old calendar. On the other hand 1662 was still in the Little Ice Age whereas now is in the Early Stage of Global Warming, so it was distinctly cooler then and spring sprang later.
’. . [Jane] Shore . . was the merriest; in More's words:
‘a proper wit had she, & could both rede wel & write, mery in company, redy & quick of aunswer, neither mute nor ful of bable, sometime taunting without displesure & not without disport . . For many he had, but her he loved, whose favour to saithe trouth … she never abused to any mans hurt, but to many a mans comfort. … And finally in many weighty sutes, she stode many men in gret stede, either for none, or very smal rewardes, & those rather gay then rich: either for that she was content with the dede selfe well done, or for that she delited to be suid unto, & to show what she was able to do wyth the king … ’‘
‘chirurgeon, n. < Old French cirurgien < cirurgía . . In later Old French serurgien . . now corruptly surgeon . . ’
and
‘project, v. < classical Latin . . prōicere to throw forth . . . . 1. To plan, contrive, scheme. . . †b. trans. (with infinitive). To plan or scheme to do something. Obs. . . a1661 T. Fuller Worthies (1662) Yorks. 191 King Richard..presently projecting to repair himself by a new Marriage. 1713 C. Johnson Successful Pyrate i. i. 4 He wisely projected to transport himself, with a Cargo of Essence, Snuff and Powder, to the West Indies . .
‘token, n .< Old English tácen . . . . 15. Phrases (in which the sense of token becomes vague). a. by the same token or (somewhat arch.) by this (or that) token : (a) on the same ground; for the same reason; in the same way; (b) (= French à telles enseignes que), ‘the proof of this being that’; introducing a corroborating circumstance, often weakened down to a mere associated fact that helps the memory or is recalled to mind by the main fact (now arch. or dial.). Sense (a) represents the predominant modern use (and app. that current in the 15th c.). Sense (b) occurs from 1600. . .1609 Shakespeare Troilus & Cressida i. ii. 277 Pand. I a token from Troylus: Cres: By the same token you are a Bawde. 1660 S. Pepys Diary 28 Feb. (1970) I. 70 Up in the morning, and had some red Herrings to our breakfast while my boot-heel was a-mending; by the same token, the boy left the hole as big as it was before. 1662 S. Pepys Diary 13 Apr. (1970) III. 64, I went to the Temple to church, and there heard another [sermon]. By the same token, a boy, being asleep, fell down a high seat to the ground. 1722 D. Defoe Jrnl. Plague Year 280 Others caused large Fires to be made..by the same Token..two or three were pleas'd to set their Houses on Fire, and so effectually sweetned them by burning them down to the Ground . . ‘
‘physic, n. < Anglo-Norman fisike . . after ancient Greek ϕυσική 1. A medicinal substance; spec. a cathartic, a purgative. Also: medicines generally. Now hist. . . 1748 Best Method preserving Uninterrupted Health 182 The Salt in the Air..shrinks up the Fibres of their Guts, and makes them [sc. seamen] generally very costive, insomuch as to require a double quantity of physic to purge them . . ‘
‘abstract, v. < classical Latin abstrahere to drag away, to appropriate, take away, to set free, to separate, to deduct, subtract, to exclude, to turn aside, divert . . . . 3. b. To make a written summary or abridgement of; to summarize; to abridge . . . . 1666 Abridgm.; or, Summary Laws against Jesuites 20 To be disabled to Sue..or Prosecute any Suit in Equity, &c. As in the next precedent Statute here abstracted and abridged. 1743 B. Franklin Proposal Promoting Useful Knowl. in Papers (1960) II. 382 That the Business and Duty of the Secretary be..to abstract, correct, and methodize such Papers &c. as require it . . ‘
‘down . . 4. to down with: . . to have done with. . . 1659 D. Pell Πελαγος Ded. 8 Let's down with swearing, if ever wee mean to prosper at Sea.] 1682 E. Hickeringill Wks. (1716) II. 20 Except they..down with their Dust, and ready Darby. 1712 J. Warder True Amazons 57 They down with her House . . ‘
OED has: ‘salute v. . . 2. a. To greet with some gesture or visible action conventionally expressive of respect or courteous recognition. . . 1590 Spenser Faerie Queene i. i. sig. A7, He faire the knight saluted, louting low. . . 1728 E. Chambers Cycl. at Salutation, In England, &c. we salute one another by uncovering the Head, inclining the Body, &c. The Orientals by uncovering their Feet, laying their Hands on the Breast, &c. . . ‘
‘ticket, n.1 < obsolete French etiquet . . 1. a. A short written notice or document; a memorandum, a note, a billet . . . . 1661 S. Pepys Diary 12 Apr. (1970) II. 73 While I am now writing, comes one with a tickett to invite me to Captain Robt. Blakes buriall.
. . 6. a. A pay-warrant; esp. a discharge warrant in which the amount of pay due to a soldier or sailor is certified . . . . 1665 S. Pepys Diary 5 Dec. (1972) VI. 319 Mr. Stevens (who is..paying of seamen of their tickets at Depford).
. . ticket-monger n. Obs. one who trafficked in the pay-warrants of seamen, giving ready money with a large deduction, and then presenting them for payment. 1668 S. Pepys Diary 5 Mar. (1976) IX. 103 To answer only one question, touching our paying tickets to ticket-mongers.’
‘pretty, adv. 1. a. Qualifying an adjective or adverb: to a considerable extent; fairly, moderately; rather, quite. In later use also: very. N.E.D. (1908) has the following note: ‘Sometimes expressing close approximation to quite, or by meiosis equivalent to very; at other times denoting a much slighter degree’. In more recent use, generally indicating a moderately high degree . . . . 1598 J. Florio Worlde of Wordes Boccace is prettie hard, yet understood: Petrarche harder but explaned. a1627 T. Middleton & W. Rowley Old Law (1656) v. i. sig. I3, The Dutch Veny I swallowed pretty wel. a1659 F. Rous Aspirations of Student in Academia Cœlestis (1702) 166 They are of a pretty Ancient Date. 1677 W. Hubbard Narr. Troubles with Indians New-Eng. 44 By the end of November the coast was pritty clear of them. . . 1775 R. B. Sheridan St. Patrick's Day ii. ii, I'll take pretty good care of you. . . 2004 Rocky Mt. News (Denver, Colorado) (Nexis) 1 Oct. 48 b, That dictionary definition sounds pretty good to me, too.’
So just how good SP thought the play was, we’ll never know.
‘fit n. . . 3. a. A paroxysm, or one of the recurrent attacks, of a periodic or constitutional ailment. In later use also with wider sense: A sudden and somewhat severe but transitory attack (of illness, or of some specified ailment). . . a1616 Shakespeare Julius Caesar (1623) i. ii. 122 He had a Feauer..And when the Fit was on him, I did marke How he did shake. 1667 D. Allsopp in 12th Rep. Royal Comm. Hist. MSS (1890) App. v. 8 Taken with a fit of the collicke. 1691 Blair in W. S. Perry Hist. Coll. Amer. Colonial Church: Virginia (1870) I. 6 The Bishop of London..was..taken..with a fit of the stone. . . 1771 T. Smollett Humphry Clinker I. 2, I expect to be laid up with another fit of the gout. 1806 J. Beresford Miseries Human Life I. iv. 76 A violent fit of coughing . . ‘
Comments
Second Reading
About Thursday 29 May 1662
Chris Squire UK • Link
‘pink, n. A. I. 1.a. Any of various plants of the genus Dianthus (family Caryophyllaceae), which are typically low-growing with solitary flowers; spec. any of the numerous cultivated forms or hybrids of D. plumarius, with fragrant white or pink flowers, often with a dark centre or dark stripes or markings on the petals. Also: a flower or flowering stem of such a plant . . The distinction between pinks and carnations is often not entirely clear.
. . 1662 S. Pepys Diary 29 May (1970) III. 95 To the Old Spring garden... And the wenches gathered pinks . . ‘ [OED]
About Wednesday 21 May 1662
Chris Squire UK • Link
OED has:
‘plain, adj.1 . .< classical Latin plānus
. . V. Of a person, or a person's attributes or character: ordinary, unexceptional, homely.
13. Simple or unpretentious in behaviour, manners, or expression; homely, unaffected. Now rare.
. . 1601 R. Johnson tr. G. Botero Travellers Breviat (1603) 82 Being (as all the Germaines are) plaine and homely in their behauiour and intertainment.
1667 S. Pepys Diary 20 Sept. (1974) VIII. 443 And endeed [she] is, as I always thought, one of the modest, prettiest, plain women that ever I saw . . ‘
About Tuesday 20 May 1662
Chris Squire UK • Link
Re: Roxala and Lord Oxford: I suggest that what Sam meant was that she had been ‘taken into keeping’ by Lord O:
‘keeping n. . . 5. b. The maintaining of a mistress or lover; the fact or condition of being so maintained.
1675 W. Wycherley Country-wife i. 13 But prethee..is not keeping better than Marriage?
. . 1728 J. Gay Beggar's Opera ii. iv. 25 Pray Madam were you ever in keeping?
. . 1853 E. C. Gaskell Ruth III. i. 29 She beguiled a young gentleman, who took her into keeping.’ [OED]
‘Ownership’ meant no more than that she was, until they parted, off-limits to other gallants who might otherwise have tried their luck with her.
About Monday 19 May 1662
Chris Squire UK • Link
OED has:
‘scold v. 1. intr. †a. Originally, to behave as a scold; to quarrel noisily, to brawl; to rail at or wrangle with some one; to use violent or unseemly language in vituperation; said chiefly of women. Obs.
b. Now with milder sense . . : To use undignifed vehemence or persistence in reproof or fault-finding; colloq. often merely, to utter continuous reproof.
. . 1587 D. Fenner Def. Godlie Ministers sig. Gii, Let him goe home and skoolde with his wife.
. . a1630 F. Moryson in Shakespeare's Europe (1903) ii. v. 239 Some runn out to braule and scowlde like women with the next Enemyes.
. . 1675 V. Alsop Anti-Sozzo iii. 193 Therefore go scold with the Apostle: that which will bring him off will bring off the Doctor . . ‘
About Monday 12 May 1662
Chris Squire UK • Link
OED has:
‘easy, adj., < Old French aisié (modern aisé ) . .
5. a. Not hard pressed: not hurried, gentle; said of motion . .
. . 1608 E. Topsell Hist. Serpents 282 They haue a very slowe and easie pace.
. . 1852 G. W. Curtis Wanderer in Syria i. i. 8 The donkeys are like large dogs, and of easy motion.’
About Wednesday 14 May 1662
Chris Squire UK • Link
OED has:
‘stately, adj. < state n.
. . 2. Befitting or appropriate to a person of high rank or status; magnificent, splendid.
a. Of a place or thing.
. . 1756 T. Nugent Grand Tour II. 256 In winter they have races in stately sledges, besides masquerading and splendid balls.
. . 4. a. Imposing or majestic in size and proportions; nobly or elegantly formed or built.
. . 1700 R. Cromwell Let. 27 Jan. in Eng. Hist. Rev. (1898) 13 116 A statly chine accompaned with a fatt Turkey . . ‘
About Tuesday 6 May 1662
Chris Squire UK • Link
OED has:
‘tip, v.4 . . Originally Rogues' Cant, of obscure origin. (Possibly related to tip v.1, through the notion of touching lightly, but this is very uncertain.)
. . 2. colloq. (orig. slang). a. To give a gratuity to; to bestow a small present of money upon (an inferior), esp. upon a servant or employee of another, nominally in return for a service rendered or in order to obtain an extra service; also upon a child or schoolboy. Const. with.
1707 G. Farquhar Beaux Stratagem ii. 15 Then I, Sir, tips me the Verger with half a Crown.
. . 1752 H. Fielding Amelia IV. xi. v. 161 He advised his Friend..to begin with tipping (as it is called) the great Man's Servant.’
So whatever douceur or customary present Sam got, he didn’t call it a ‘tip’, a vulgar term not then in use in polite circles or quite likely not in use at all in 1662. And inappropriate in many cases as he was not the inferior of the person for whom he was doing the favour
About Tuesday 6 May 1662
Chris Squire UK • Link
The OED has:
‘bribe n. . . Etym: Bribe noun and verb . . appear together in Chaucer . . : their previous history is obscure. Old French had bribe in sense of ‘piece of bread . . ’, esp.[one] ‘ . . giuen vnto a beggar’ . .
The ulterior history is quite unknown; if the sense of Old French bribe is the original, the order of development would appear to have been ‘piece of bread’, ‘alms’, ‘living upon alms’, ‘professional begging’. Hence, apparently from practical association, the English sense ‘to steal, plunder’.
The further history in English is also involved, but appears to be somewhat thus: in bribe (noun) the early sense of ‘theft, plunder, spoil’, appears to have been transferred to the ‘black mail’ or ‘baksheesh’ exacted by governors and judges who abused their positions, and thus to gifts received or given for corrupt purposes, whence the later sense of the verb. The transition is best seen in the agent-noun briber, where we have the series, ‘beggar’, ‘vagabond’, ‘thief’, ‘robber’, ‘extortioner’, ‘exactor of black mail’, and ‘receiver of baksheesh’ . .
. . 2. ‘A reward given to pervert the judgment or corrupt the conduct’ (Johnson).
a. The earlier sense probably regarded it as a consideration extorted, exacted, or taken by an official, a judge, etc.; i.e. as the act of the receiver: cf. briber n.
b. But it is now applied to a consideration voluntarily offered to corrupt a person and induce him to act in the interest of the giver, e.g. a consideration given to a voter to procure his vote.
. . 1616 Shakespeare Coriolanus (1623) i. x. 38, I..cannot make my heart consent to take A Bribe.
1667 S. Pepys Diary 21 May (1974) VIII. 227 His rise hath been his giving of large Bribes.’
So Our Hero knew all about bribery, a practice as old as civilisation.
About Sunday 27 April 1662
Chris Squire UK • Link
OED has:
‘own, v. . . 3. trans. . . c. To acknowledge as an acquaintance; to recognize as familiar. Now Irish English, Sc., and Eng. regional (north.).
. . 1662 S. Pepys Diary 27 Apr. (1970) III. 71, I..met my Lord Chamberlaine..who owned and spoke to me.
. . 1868 J. C. Atkinson Gloss. Cleveland Dial. 20 Awn, to own or acknowledge, as a friend or acquaintance, that is . . ‘
About Friday 25 April 1662
Chris Squire UK • Link
Up to a point, Lady Sasha; OED has:
‘denounce adj. . . 6. a. To declare (a person or thing) publicly to be wicked or evil, usually implying the expression of righteous indignation; to bring a public accusation against; to inveigh against openly; to utter denunciations against.
1664 [implied in: J. Evelyn Sylva (1776) 568, I am no advocate for iron~works, but a Declared Denouncer. (at denouncer n. c)] . . ‘
and
‘closet . . 10. a. In reference to the closet as a place of privacy, the word was formerly almost adjectival = Private. Obs. exc. as in 10b.
1612–15 Bp. J. Hall Contempl. B iv. (T.), There are stage-sins and there are closet-sins.
1657 R. Austen Treat. Frvit-trees (ed. 2) ii. 159 The secret and closet good works of [God's] people.
1706 J. Drake in Earl of Leicester Secret Mem. Pref., That these were not written for closet memoirs appears by the stile and manner of them.
b. Secret, covert, used esp. with reference to homosexuality; closet queen, a secret male homosexual.
1967 W. Churchill Homosexual Behavior among Males ix. 184 The ‘closet queen’ or so-called latent homosexual becomes a menace..to the entire community . . ‘
and
‘republican, adj. and n. 1. a. Of a person or party: favouring, supporting, or advocating the republic as a form of state or government.
1653 T. Brachet Victory of Truth 8 This Republican Parliament..hath not thought any occasion more favourable to their design, than to act the Puritan, that they might come to the execution of their desires.
1695 R. Ferguson Whether Parl. Dissolved 12 Monarchical Men, have suffered themselves to be wheedled by the Republican Whigs, into a Conspiracy and Co-operation with them for the destruction of Regal Government . . ‘
I conclude that a Pepys contemporary could certainly have used the phrase ‘I will denounce you as a closet republican’ in the same sense as today - but ‘as a closet Catholic’ would be much more plausible.
I have often found that my a priori guess as to whether a meaning is new or old is often wrong.
About Tuesday 22 April 1662
Chris Squire UK • Link
April27: early English asparagus appeared in the shops last week, corresponding to April 9 in the old calendar. On the other hand 1662 was still in the Little Ice Age whereas now is in the Early Stage of Global Warming, so it was distinctly cooler then and spring sprang later.
About Monday 21 April 1662
Chris Squire UK • Link
’. . [Jane] Shore . . was the merriest; in More's words:
‘a proper wit had she, & could both rede wel & write, mery in company, redy & quick of aunswer, neither mute nor ful of bable, sometime taunting without displesure & not without disport . . For many he had, but her he loved, whose favour to saithe trouth … she never abused to any mans hurt, but to many a mans comfort. … And finally in many weighty sutes, she stode many men in gret stede, either for none, or very smal rewardes, & those rather gay then rich: either for that she was content with the dede selfe well done, or for that she delited to be suid unto, & to show what she was able to do wyth the king … ’‘
[DNB]
About Wednesday 23 April 1662
Chris Squire UK • Link
OED has:
‘chirurgeon, n. < Old French cirurgien < cirurgía . . In later Old French serurgien . . now corruptly surgeon . . ’
and
‘project, v. < classical Latin . . prōicere to throw forth . .
. . 1. To plan, contrive, scheme.
. . †b. trans. (with infinitive). To plan or scheme to do something. Obs.
. . a1661 T. Fuller Worthies (1662) Yorks. 191 King Richard..presently projecting to repair himself by a new Marriage.
1713 C. Johnson Successful Pyrate i. i. 4 He wisely projected to transport himself, with a Cargo of Essence, Snuff and Powder, to the West Indies . .
About Sunday 13 April 1662
Chris Squire UK • Link
‘token, n .< Old English tácen . .
. . 15. Phrases (in which the sense of token becomes vague).
a. by the same token or (somewhat arch.) by this (or that) token : (a) on the same ground; for the same reason; in the same way; (b) (= French à telles enseignes que), ‘the proof of this being that’; introducing a corroborating circumstance, often weakened down to a mere associated fact that helps the memory or is recalled to mind by the main fact (now arch. or dial.).
Sense (a) represents the predominant modern use (and app. that current in the 15th c.). Sense (b) occurs from 1600.
. .1609 Shakespeare Troilus & Cressida i. ii. 277 Pand. I a token from Troylus: Cres: By the same token you are a Bawde.
1660 S. Pepys Diary 28 Feb. (1970) I. 70 Up in the morning, and had some red Herrings to our breakfast while my boot-heel was a-mending; by the same token, the boy left the hole as big as it was before.
1662 S. Pepys Diary 13 Apr. (1970) III. 64, I went to the Temple to church, and there heard another [sermon]. By the same token, a boy, being asleep, fell down a high seat to the ground.
1722 D. Defoe Jrnl. Plague Year 280 Others caused large Fires to be made..by the same Token..two or three were pleas'd to set their Houses on Fire, and so effectually sweetned them by burning them down to the Ground . . ‘
About Wednesday 16 April 1662
Chris Squire UK • Link
OED has:
‘physic, n. < Anglo-Norman fisike . . after ancient Greek ϕυσική
1. A medicinal substance; spec. a cathartic, a purgative. Also: medicines generally. Now hist.
. . 1748 Best Method preserving Uninterrupted Health 182 The Salt in the Air..shrinks up the Fibres of their Guts, and makes them [sc. seamen] generally very costive, insomuch as to require a double quantity of physic to purge them . . ‘
‘abstract, v. < classical Latin abstrahere to drag away, to appropriate, take away, to set free, to separate, to deduct, subtract, to exclude, to turn aside, divert . .
. . 3. b. To make a written summary or abridgement of; to summarize; to abridge . .
. . 1666 Abridgm.; or, Summary Laws against Jesuites 20 To be disabled to Sue..or Prosecute any Suit in Equity, &c. As in the next precedent Statute here abstracted and abridged.
1743 B. Franklin Proposal Promoting Useful Knowl. in Papers (1960) II. 382 That the Business and Duty of the Secretary be..to abstract, correct, and methodize such Papers &c. as require it . . ‘
About Tuesday 8 April 1662
Chris Squire UK • Link
OED has:
‘down . . 4. to down with: . . to have done with.
. . 1659 D. Pell Πελαγος Ded. 8 Let's down with swearing, if ever wee mean to prosper at Sea.]
1682 E. Hickeringill Wks. (1716) II. 20 Except they..down with their Dust, and ready Darby.
1712 J. Warder True Amazons 57 They down with her House . . ‘
About Sunday 6 April 1662
Chris Squire UK • Link
OED has:
‘salute v. . . 2. a. To greet with some gesture or visible action conventionally expressive of respect or courteous recognition.
. . 1590 Spenser Faerie Queene i. i. sig. A7, He faire the knight saluted, louting low.
. . 1728 E. Chambers Cycl. at Salutation, In England, &c. we salute one another by uncovering the Head, inclining the Body, &c. The Orientals by uncovering their Feet, laying their Hands on the Breast, &c. . . ‘
About Ticket
Chris Squire UK • Link
OED has:
‘ticket, n.1 < obsolete French etiquet . .
1. a. A short written notice or document; a memorandum, a note, a billet . .
. . 1661 S. Pepys Diary 12 Apr. (1970) II. 73 While I am now writing, comes one with a tickett to invite me to Captain Robt. Blakes buriall.
. . 6. a. A pay-warrant; esp. a discharge warrant in which the amount of pay due to a soldier or sailor is certified . .
. . 1665 S. Pepys Diary 5 Dec. (1972) VI. 319 Mr. Stevens (who is..paying of seamen of their tickets at Depford).
. . ticket-monger n. Obs. one who trafficked in the pay-warrants of seamen, giving ready money with a large deduction, and then presenting them for payment.
1668 S. Pepys Diary 5 Mar. (1976) IX. 103 To answer only one question, touching our paying tickets to ticket-mongers.’
About Tuesday 1 April 1662
Chris Squire UK • Link
OED has:
‘pretty, adv.
1. a. Qualifying an adjective or adverb: to a considerable extent; fairly, moderately; rather, quite. In later use also: very. N.E.D. (1908) has the following note: ‘Sometimes expressing close approximation to quite, or by meiosis equivalent to very; at other times denoting a much slighter degree’. In more recent use, generally indicating a moderately high degree . .
. . 1598 J. Florio Worlde of Wordes Boccace is prettie hard, yet understood: Petrarche harder but explaned.
a1627 T. Middleton & W. Rowley Old Law (1656) v. i. sig. I3, The Dutch Veny I swallowed pretty wel.
a1659 F. Rous Aspirations of Student in Academia Cœlestis (1702) 166 They are of a pretty Ancient Date.
1677 W. Hubbard Narr. Troubles with Indians New-Eng. 44 By the end of November the coast was pritty clear of them.
. . 1775 R. B. Sheridan St. Patrick's Day ii. ii, I'll take pretty good care of you.
. . 2004 Rocky Mt. News (Denver, Colorado) (Nexis) 1 Oct. 48 b, That dictionary definition sounds pretty good to me, too.’
So just how good SP thought the play was, we’ll never know.
About Monday 31 March 1662
Chris Squire UK • Link
OED has:
‘fit n. . . 3. a. A paroxysm, or one of the recurrent attacks, of a periodic or constitutional ailment. In later use also with wider sense: A sudden and somewhat severe but transitory attack (of illness, or of some specified ailment).
. . a1616 Shakespeare Julius Caesar (1623) i. ii. 122 He had a Feauer..And when the Fit was on him, I did marke How he did shake.
1667 D. Allsopp in 12th Rep. Royal Comm. Hist. MSS (1890) App. v. 8 Taken with a fit of the collicke.
1691 Blair in W. S. Perry Hist. Coll. Amer. Colonial Church: Virginia (1870) I. 6 The Bishop of London..was..taken..with a fit of the stone.
. . 1771 T. Smollett Humphry Clinker I. 2, I expect to be laid up with another fit of the gout.
1806 J. Beresford Miseries Human Life I. iv. 76 A violent fit of coughing . . ‘