All 3 Uses of
beguile
in
The Merry Wives of Windsor
- beguile the rich and poor
Scene 1.3 *beguile = deceive
- My master, sir, my Master Slender, sent to her, seeing her go thorough the streets, to know, sir, whether one Nym, sir, that beguiled him of a chain, had the chain or no. FALSTAFF.†
Scene 4.5beguiled = deceived through charm or enchantment
- Marry, she says that the very same man that beguiled Master Slender of his chain cozened him of it.†
Scene 4.5
Definitions:
-
(1)
(beguile) to charm, enchant, or entertain someone; or to deceive -- especially through charm
-
(2)
(meaning too rare to warrant focus) meaning too rare to warrant focus:
Much less commonly, in classic literature, beguile can mean to "pass time pleasantly."