Robert Browning: Poems

Robert Browning: Poems Glossary

campagna

a low-lying area surrounding Rome, once a great agricultural property but in Browning's time an overgrown, abandoned area

chaffinch

a Eurasian and North African finch, typically with a bluish top to the head and dark wings and tail

childe

in the Middle Ages, the son of a nobleman who had not yet attained knighthood

cloister

a covered walk in a convent, monastery, college, or cathedral, with a wall on one side and a colonnade open to a quadrangle on the other

cozen

to obtain by deception

cullion

a vile person; testicle

Fra

a prefixed title given to an Italian monk or friar

guerdon

a reward or recompense

hoary

having gray or white hair; aged

lappet

a small flap or fold

moulted

old feather or hair that has fallen out to make room for new hair

munificence

extremely liberal and generous of spirit

obstreperous

noisy and difficult to control

penury

extreme poverty; destitution

phial

a small bottle that contains a drug

refection

refreshment by food or drink

sepulture

burial; interment

slug-horn

a type of medieval trumpet, used for battle-cries

tocatta

a musical composition for a keyboard instrument designed to exhibit the performer's touch and technique

trepanned

an archaic medical treatment that involved entering a person's skull for brain surgery

tussis

a chronic cough

Vespers

a service of evening prayer in the church

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