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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.
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What does Shakespeare mean by the word 'oft'?
It means "often". "Often" is actually a lengthened form of "oft"Oft is a poetic way of saying "often."Shakespeare's text is written in early modern English, not shakespeare talk. But I digress, oft means "often.""Oft" is the same word as "often". You will notice that words with -en at the end will sometimes have a form without the -en ending. Thus "hap" and "happen", "ope" and "open". Many of these appear to be adjectives formed from the past forms of words or from nouns, as "wooden" from "wood", "hempen" from "hemp", "shotten" from "shot".In the case of words like "often", the ending has survived after the reason for it has ceased to be.
How many abbreviations did William Shakespeare use in his writing?
'tis, ope, o'er, gi, ne'er, i', e'er, oft, a', e'ev are some abbreviations made be shakespeare
What shortened is ope Shakespeare uses?
Shakespeare sometimes used 'tis in place of "it is". In Act 1 Scene 2 of Hamlet, before Hamlet's soliloquy, Claudius uses 'tis three times, Gertrude once and Hamlet once. But Hamlet also says "it is" twice.
What are all shortened words of Shakespeare?
Contractions are and have been for many years a feature of the English language. Where syllables are not pronounced, they are replaced when writing the word with an apostrophe. There are many examples in modern usage: can not is shortened to can't where the apostrophe represents the silent "no". "I will go" becomes "I'll go" where the apostrophe represents the missing "wi". Sometimes but infrequently there is an actual change in the sounds so "I will not" becomes "I won't" and in some dialects "I am not" becomes "I ain't". Some contractions have been around for so long that people no longer recognize them as contractions. In Middle English (about 300 years before Shakespeare) ownership was shown by the addition of "es" at the end of the word. They would say "The girles doll" (pronounced "The girl-less doll") or "the shippes mast" (pronounced "the ship-pess mast") or "the kinges house" (pronounced "the king-ess house") By Shakespeare's day, everybody was leaving off the last syllable and saying "the girlz doll" instead of "the girl-less doll". To show that there was something missing, they spelled it with an apostrophe for the missing sound: "the girl's doll". For example, "I am Fortune's Fool" from Romeo and Juliet. Since Shakespeare's time many people have forgotten that this is a contraction and have trouble understanding why there is an apostrophe in "the girl's doll" and not in "The girls went to the beach." (The latter is not a contraction--it was always pronounced "girlz") Shakespeare also notes other contractions we might have trouble recognizing. Verb forms ending in "ed" were said in full: buried was ba-ri-edd, stamped was stam-ped, curtailed was cur-tail-edd. Sometimes, however, Shakespeare wants us to pronounce these words the way we would pronounce them today. These three words are found in Richard's speech at the beginning of Richard III, and we find that stamped is spelled stamp'd and curtailed is curtail'd (the apostrophe shows us that the "e" is not to be pronounced, so the words sound as we would normally say them), but buried is still buried. Interestingly we also find that "lowered" is spelled so we know that it is not to be in three syllables, or even two, as we would usually say it, but one, sounding something like "lord": it is spelled "lowr'd" "Now is the winter of our discontent made glorious summer by this sun of York, and all the clouds that lowr'd upon our house in the deep bosom of the ocean buried." Other contractions: " A' parted even just between twelve and one, even at the turning o' the tide." Henry V Act II Scene iii. A' means "he" for some reason; it is used fourteen times in this scene alone. O' is "of" which you hear often when people are trying to talk like pirates. "Will't please your lordship cool your hands." " 'T is very true" Taming of the Shrew, Induction 1. 'T is "it"; the apostrophe represents the missing "i". Polonius uses this five times in one sentence in Hamlet II ii ("That he is mad 't is true; 't is true 't is pity, and pity 't is 't is true") This is far and away the most common contraction used by Shakespeare. "O! That I had her here, to tear her limb-meal. I will go there and do't i' the court, before her father." Cymbeline II iv. "Do't" is another example of the abbreviation of "it", and " i' the court" is "in the court". The apostrophe is the missing "n". The expression "i'faith" meaning "in faith" is used three times in 1 Henry IV II iv. "If he took you a box o' th' ear, you might have your action of slander too." Measure for Measure II 2. This time o' means "on", and th' is obviously "the", so he means "box on the ear", but intends that Escalus should pronounce it "box otheer" "Go fetch me something: I'll break ope the gate" Comedy of Errors III i Ope is not really a contraction but is a short form of "open" used where a one-syllable word is needed. It is used interchangeably with "open"; in fact the same character from earlier in the scene says "Ho! Open the door!" "Oft expectation fails and most oft there where most it promises, and oft it hits where hope is coldest and despair most fits." All's Well That Ends Well II i. Oft is a short form of "often" in the same way as "ope" is short for "open". Shakespeare uses the long form too but perhaps less oft. "These vows are Hermia's; will you give her o'er?" Midsummer Night's Dream III, ii O'er is "over" where the apostrophe replaces the "v". This is a common contraction in Shakespeare's plays--Helena uses it again in her next line after the one quoted "Horatio thou art e'en as just a man as e'er my conversation cop'd withal." Hamlet III ii. There are two more words here where the apostrophe replaces a "v", "e'en" for "even" and "e'er" for "ever". We recognize e'en from the word "Hallowe'en" where "e'en" is short for "even(ing)", although Shakespeare does not use it in this sense. E'er is very common as is its negative form, "ne'er" which is a contraction of "never" "God-den to you all, god-den to you all" Coriolanus IV vi. If you know that our word "Good-bye" is actually a shortened form of "God be with you", it will not surprise you to find that "god-den" which Shakespeare uses from time to time, is a shortened form of "Good evening". As we saw, evening becomes even, which becomes e'en, which in this case becomes "en". Thus "God gi'god-den" in Romeo and Juliet I ii is actually "God give you a good evening"
What are the two alphabets which was not used by Shakespeare?
Shakespeare only used 1 alphabet: the English alphabet, derived from the Latin alphabet. That means that he did not use the Arabic alphabet, the Greek alphabet, the Cyrillic alphabet, the Hebrew alphabet, the Sanskrit alphabet, Chinese characters, or Ancient Egyptian Hieroglyphics, to name but a few.
What does shakespeare mean by the work 'oft'?
Often
What does Shakespeare mean by the word 'oft'?
It means "often". "Often" is actually a lengthened form of "oft"Oft is a poetic way of saying "often."Shakespeare's text is written in early modern English, not shakespeare talk. But I digress, oft means "often.""Oft" is the same word as "often". You will notice that words with -en at the end will sometimes have a form without the -en ending. Thus "hap" and "happen", "ope" and "open". Many of these appear to be adjectives formed from the past forms of words or from nouns, as "wooden" from "wood", "hempen" from "hemp", "shotten" from "shot".In the case of words like "often", the ending has survived after the reason for it has ceased to be.
Is there a 1 syllable word for often?
Yes, the word 'oft', but it is an archaic word or only used in 'literary' works.e.g."Oft expectation fails, and most oft thereWhere most it promises; and oft it hitsWhere hope is coldest, and despair most fits."[Shakespeare: All's Well That Ends Well, Scene II, Act I. Words spoken by Helena.]
Is there a quote in one of Shakespeare's plays about being asleep in the arms of Morpheus?
It is an oft quoted phrase but it is not from any of Shakespeare's plays.
What does oft mean?
Oft is a poetic way of saying "often."
What is a poetic word?
oft is a poetic word
How many abbreviations did William Shakespeare use in his writing?
'tis, ope, o'er, gi, ne'er, i', e'er, oft, a', e'ev are some abbreviations made be shakespeare
Dictionary word ending in oft?
loft
What shortened is ope Shakespeare uses?
Shakespeare sometimes used 'tis in place of "it is". In Act 1 Scene 2 of Hamlet, before Hamlet's soliloquy, Claudius uses 'tis three times, Gertrude once and Hamlet once. But Hamlet also says "it is" twice.
Who says Neither a borrower nor a lender be For loan oft loses both itself and friend and borrowing dulls the edge of husbandry?
Shakespeare
How do you use the word 'oft' in a sentence?
Well they are considered interchangeable if used properly as an adverb in the first place. Here's a few guidelines (not rules) that I use when choosing the best fitting form: Use any form when it applies to a situation/occurence or an inanimate object. Do not use "oft" when regarding a person, group, class of people or peoples. If you combine "oft" with another word, use a hyphen. (ex. oft-times). When quoting it is NOT interchangeable so if unsure what form was used: indicate it. 5 Never end a sentence with "oft". Best practice: choose "often" rather thatn "oft" and use it earlier in the course of the sentence. Use "oft" when you want to show the world that you've read Shakespear. :-) Use any of the forms however the hell you want if you are creating character dialog and it is in the manner in which you feel that character would use it in speaking. Examples: Where I live it is oft blustery. Where I live it is often blustery. NO: I oft wonder when he'll get a haircut. YES: I often wonder when he'll get a haircut. 3.a That entire train system is oft-times 10 minutes late. 3.b That entire familiy is often-times 10 minutes late. & 5. & 6. She said: "I oft (sic.) get an 'A' in English classes because we oft read Shakespear." (from my story, "Mr. Pepper's Pulpit"(c) Mr. Pepper is a street-person turned self-appointed humanity savior known for his comidic edge. Here, he is addressing a heckler.) "Well thank you for the commentary, Ms. Peanut Gallery, but I will use 'oft' as often as I wish even if it tho's you oft-kilter."
What is a three letter word that starts with o?
our, oar, oat, oft,
