What does profaners mean in shakespeare?

Answer 1

Shakespeare uses this word only once, in the first scene of Romeo and Juliet, when the Prince says

Rebellious subjects, enemies to peace,

Profaners of this neighbour-stained steel,-

Will they not hear?

"Profane" is the opposite of "sacred", and a "profaner" is someone who makes something profane. Here the "profaners" are profaning steel, their swords, by stabbing their neighbours with them (hence "neighbour-stained", since the swords are stained with their neighbours' blood). It's a bit of an odd usage, since swords are hardly sacred, and their use is always profane.