Ian Lancashire
University of Toronto
for the Shakespeare Association of America
San Francisco 1999
Catastrophæ, es, fm. gen. A subuersion: the ende of a comedie: the ende of any thyng.
Catastrophe, es, f. g. * A subuersion, the ende of a comedy or of any thing.
Catastrophe, the end or shutting vp of a comedie, or any thing else.
CATASTROPHE: Catastrophe. The end of a comedie, a sudden alteration.
CATASTROPHE: Catastrophe (Gr.) a subversion, the ends, or last part of a Comedy or any other thing: a sudden alteration, the conclusion or shutting up a matter, or the inclination unto the end, as Vitae humanae catastrophe, the end of a mans life.
© Feb. 1999