All 3 Uses of
conceit
in
The Merchant of Venice
- I tell thee what, Antonio— I love thee, and 'tis my love that speaks— There are a sort of men whose visages Do cream and mantle like a standing pond, And do a wilful stillness entertain, With purpose to be dress'd in an opinion Of wisdom, gravity, profound conceit; As who should say 'I am Sir Oracle, And when I ope my lips let no dog bark.'†
Scene 1.1conceit = excessive pride
- Madam, although I speak it in your presence, You have a noble and a true conceit Of godlike amity, which appears most strongly In bearing thus the absence of your lord.†
Scene 3.4 *
- For the table, sir, it shall be served in; for the meat, sir, it shall be covered; for your coming in to dinner, sir, why, let it be as humours and conceits shall govern.†
Scene 3.5
Definitions:
-
(1)
(conceit as in: confident, but not conceited) feelings of excessive pride
-
(2)
(meaning too rare to warrant focus) Much less commonly and archaically, conceit can mean to conceive.