Emily Dickinson Lexicon

coterie, n. [French coterie, group of people who live in familiarity]

Clique; club; select group of associates or friends; circle of persons distinguished from “outsiders.”

cottage (-s), n. [AFr. < AFr. cota, cot.]

Bungalow; small house; home of humble character; comfortable little dwelling place; cabin made of wood and located in the country; [fig.] prospects; life-path; lot in life; [metonymy] town; village; settlement.

couch, n. [Fr. couche < coucher < L. collocāre, lay in its place, lodge.] (webplay: silver).

Bed; lounge; sofa; divan; article of furniture for reclining on; that upon which one sleeps.

could (could'nt, could'st, c'd), v. [see can, v.; past tense form of “can.”]

1. Knew; had power for; [main verb.]
2. Would; be able to; had the ability to; [modal auxiliary for conditional or subjunctive mood, followed by non-finite main verb].

could'nt, v. [ED uses the apostrophe before the negation particle, not to mark the missing vowel in the contracted form; see could, v.]

Could not; be not able to.

could'st, v. [ED uses an apostrophe to mark the inflection of the second person singular verb form; see could, v.]

counsel, n. [ME counseil < L. consilium, consultation, advice.] (webplay: law).

Lawyer; defense attorney; one who represents a client in legal matters; [fig.] argument; explanation; reason; rationale; justification.

count (-ed, -s), v. [ME counte-n < L. computāre, calculate, reckon; see compute, v.] (webplay: ascertaining, believed, “believed in God,” birds, certain, charge, days, God, hours, leaving, life, loss, numbers, pleading, reckon, setting, small, stars, tell, think, whole, years).

1. Enumerate; number; account for; name one by one.
2. Gauge; measure; calculate; estimate.
3. Consider; judge; regard; deem; think; esteem.

countenance (-s), n. [ME < OFr cuntenance, manner of holding oneself, bearing, behavior, aspect.] (webplay: air, away, cheerful, express, face, God, grace, grant, hold, indicates, light, look, show, smiles, support, turning).

1. Other; additional person; person exterior to oneself.
2. Face; visage; facial expression; [fig.] appearance; bearing; demeanor; personality.
3. Corolla; ring of petals that constitute a blossom.
4. Glory; radiance; sunbeams; solar illumination; refulgent light; intense shining of the sun.

counter, n. [Anglo Norman < L. computāre, compute.]

Table; counting place; flat wide board between a customer and a cashier; bar on which money paid and goods purchased are placed; [fig.] altar; judgment bar; [metonymy] accounting; Judgment Day.