- shoures sootephraseChapter 1 →
Sweet showers; gentle, pleasant rains of spring. 'Soote' is a Middle English word meaning sweet or pleasant in taste and smell.
“Whan that Aprill with his shoures soote / The droghte of March hath perced to the roote.”
- percedverbChapter 1 →
Pierced or penetrated deeply, as rain soaks down through dry soil to its roots. Here it describes spring moisture breaking through winter drought.
“The droghte of March hath perced to the roote.”
- verrayadjectiveChapter 1 →
True or genuine in every respect; used to emphasize that something is the real, complete thing and not merely in appearance.
“He was a verray, parfit gentil knyght.”
- parfitadjectiveChapter 1 →
Perfect; without any flaw or failing. In Middle English chivalric writing it describes someone who fully embodies every ideal of their role.
“He was a verray, parfit gentil knyght.”
- gentiladjectiveChapter 1 →
Noble in birth and in behavior; possessing the refined manners, courtesy, and moral qualities expected of the upper class in medieval society.
“He was a verray, parfit gentil knyght.”
- sikeradjectiveChapter 2 →
Sure or certain; confident that something is established and will not change. A Middle English word equivalent to modern 'secure' or 'assured.'
“Whan he is siker of his goode name.”
- flournounChapter 2 →
The prime or peak of life; the moment when a person is at their finest, most vigorous, and most admired — like a flower in full bloom.
“To dyen in his excellence and flour.”
- squaymousadjectiveChapter 3 →
Squeamish; easily disgusted or offended by crude bodily things. The word describes a fastidious, overly delicate sensitivity to anything vulgar.
“He was somdeel squaymous / Of fartyng, and of speche daungerous.”
- daungerousadjectiveChapter 3 →
In Middle English, haughty, standoffish, or hard to please — not physically dangerous. It describes someone who is disdainful and difficult in manner.
“He was somdeel squaymous / Of fartyng, and of speche daungerous.”
- thonder-dentnounChapter 3 →
A thunderclap; the sudden, explosive crack of thunder. Used here as a vivid comic comparison for an extremely loud noise.
“And Nicholas anon leet fle a fart / As greet as it had been a thonder-dent.”
- swonkenverbChapter 4 →
Toiled or labored hard; the past participle of Middle English 'swink,' meaning to work strenuously through the night.
“For he had swonken al the longe nyght.”
- wylenounChapter 4 →
A trick or cunning scheme designed to deceive someone. The miller suspects the clerks' behavior is a deliberate ruse to outwit him.
“Al this nys doon but for a wyle.”
- hoordnounChapter 5 →
A stored supply or stockpile, especially of food or goods kept in reserve. Here it refers to a store of apples kept for later use.
“Wel bet is rotten appul out of hoord / Than that it rotie al the remenaunt.”
- contenancenounChapter 5 →
A front or outward appearance kept up to deceive others; a pretense of respectability used to hide one's true, disreputable activities.
“A wif he hadde that heeld for contenance / A shoppe, and swyved for hir sustenance.”
- preesnounChapter 6 →
A crowd or throng of people pressing closely together. The word describes a dense public gathering through which someone is being led.
“Have ye nat seyn somtyme a pale face / Among a prees, of hym that hath be lad / Toward his deeth.”
- seylnounChapter 6 →
A sail on a ship; used here as a metaphor for the guiding and driving force that moves a person forward through the dangers of life.
“That is to me my seyl and eek my steere.”
- steerenounChapter 6 →
A rudder or steering device on a ship; used metaphorically to mean the force that guides and directs one's course through life.
“That is to me my seyl and eek my steere.”
- auctoriteenounChapter 7 →
Written authority; the weight of established texts, scholars, or the Church used to prove a point. The Wife of Bath contrasts it with lived personal experience.
“Experience, though noon auctoritee / Were in this world, is right ynogh for me.”
- governancenounChapter 7 →
Control, management, or rule over someone or something. Here it means the power to direct and make decisions within a marriage.
“'My lady and my love, and wyf so deere, / I put me in youre wise governance.'”
- henteverbChapter 8 →
Seized or grabbed hold of suddenly and forcefully. The devil snatches the corrupt summoner and carries him off to hell.
“And right anon the feend hente hym so faste.”
- preyenounChapter 8 →
Prey; a victim or prize seized by force. The devil compares himself to the summoner, saying both will travel anywhere to capture what they want.
“Unto the worldes ende for a preye.”
- stotnounChapter 8 →
An old, worn-out horse or a contemptible old creature; used here as a scornful insult directed at the widow by the devil.
“Nay, olde stot, that is nat myn entente.”
- potentenounChapter 9 →
A walking staff or crutch used for support. The friar sets it aside when he sits down, indicating it is a prop he carries on his visits.
“And leyde adoun his potente and his hat.”
- scrippenounChapter 9 →
A small bag or satchel, typically carried by a pilgrim or a friar, used to hold food, alms, or other small items collected on the road.
“And eek his scrippe, and sette hym softe adoun.”
- tuwelnounChapter 9 →
The buttocks or the anal opening; a blunt Middle English anatomical term used in the tale's crude comic climax involving the sick man and the friar.
“Aboute his tuwel grope there and heere.”
- UnsadadjectiveChapter 10 →
Unstable, fickle, or inconstant; not firm or settled in loyalty or judgment. The Clerk uses it to criticize the common people's changeable nature.
“O stormy peple! Unsad and evere untrewe!”
- nygardnounChapter 11 →
A miser; a person who is extremely stingy and unwilling to share or spend anything, even when generosity would cost them nothing.
“He is to greet a nygard that wolde werne / A man to lighte a candle at his lanterne.”
- routhenounChapter 12 →
Pity or compassion; a deep feeling of sorrow for another person's suffering that moves one to act kindly toward them.
“Hadde swich routhe and swich pitee of his peyne.”
- coveitisenounChapter 13 →
Covetousness or greed; an intense, sinful desire for money or possessions. The Pardoner openly admits this is his only real motive for preaching.
“I preche of no thyng but for coveitise.”
- welkedadjectiveChapter 13 →
Withered, shriveled, or faded; describing a face that has lost its color and vitality, grown pale and dried out like a wilted plant.
“For which ful pale and welked is my face.”
The Canterbury TalesNovel by Geoffrey Chaucer