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"Loins" means thighs. When Shakespeare uses it, it is like scissors and trousers: it is always plural. (Whoever heard of a scissor or a trouser?) Also when Shakespeare uses it, it is rarely literal. In King Lear Edgar says "I'll blanket my loins" meaning that he will wear a blanket around his thighs. Mostly though, because the sex organs are near the thighs, the loins are used as a figurative representation by means of a kind of synechdoche of the ability of a person to reproduce. In Hamlet, it's used both ways at the same time, when the player talks about there being about Hecuba's "lank and all o'erteemed loins a blanket": the blanket covers her thighs and they have given birth to many children.
So in the prologue to Romeo and Juliet, when it says "From forth the fatal loins of these two foes a pair of star-crossed lovers take their life" they mean that from the sex organs of the leaders of the feud two children are generated or, if you leave off the synechdoche, two children will be born to the leaders of the feud.
Shakespeare did use the word thigh as well. In Act II Scene 1 of Romeo and Juliet Mercutio says "I conjure thee by Rosaline's . . . quivering thigh, and the demesnes that there adjacent lie."
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What does Shakespeare's word mad-bread mean?
Sorry, Shakespeare did not use that word.
What does Shakespeare mean by the word townsfolk?
Shakespeare does not use the word townsfolk.
What does Shakespeare mean by the word forth?
In a forward direction.
What does shortened word oft mean in shakespeare?
Oft is not a shortened word. Often is a lengthened word. The original word is oft and the form often did not appear until about a century before Shakespeare's day. They are, of course, the same word and mean the same thing.
What does gi' mean in shakespeare plays?
William Shakespeare sometimes uses the word gi in his plays. This word has the same meaning as the word give.
What is another word for loins?
Shakespeare uses the word "loins" to figuratively represent a person's private parts. In Romeo and Juliet, for example, he uses the word in the prologue to indicate that Romeo and Juliet are the children of long-time enemy families.
What does Shakespeare's word mad-bread mean?
Sorry, Shakespeare did not use that word.
What does Shakespeare mean by the word townsfolk?
Shakespeare does not use the word townsfolk.
What does the word filet mean?
A fleshy boneless piece of meat from near the loins or the ribs of an animal.
What does the word lioncloths mean?
lioncloths are a piece of cloth worn round the loins also called breechcloth
Where is fruit of lions found in the Bible?
The word in that expression being loins, not lions, and loins being the lowest part of the abdomen, the fruit of of someone's loins is their offspring.
What does forth the fatal loins of two foes mean?
This phrase from Shakespeare's "Romeo and Juliet" refers to the offspring of two enemies, in this case Romeo and Juliet's families, the Montagues and the Capulets. "Forth the fatal loins" implies the coming together of these two opposing forces, resulting in tragic consequences for their children.
What does Shakespeare mean by the word forth?
In a forward direction.
What does Shakespeare mean by the word the?
Shakespeare wrote in English. "The" means exactly the same when he used it as it does when you use it.
What does shortened word oft mean in shakespeare?
Oft is not a shortened word. Often is a lengthened word. The original word is oft and the form often did not appear until about a century before Shakespeare's day. They are, of course, the same word and mean the same thing.
What does gi' mean in shakespeare plays?
William Shakespeare sometimes uses the word gi in his plays. This word has the same meaning as the word give.
What does grind your loins mean in GTA?
The real saying is: "gird your loins", which means to "get ready". So I guess "grind your loins" has been made up, and is probably a euphemism for having sex.
