Vol. 41 No. 4 (1993)
Research Article

Sizing Up Shylock's Name Again

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  • Robert F. Fleissner
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1179/nam.1993.41.4.282

Published 1993-12-01

Copyright (c) 1993 Maney

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Abstract

Abstract

Whence the name of the Hebrew moneylender Shylock? Although Gross has a chapter title relating to this, the name sounds basically more British than anything else. Indeed, the dramatist's father was himself a lender of money and often considered a Catholic recusant, so Shylock's name connects with that of another such recusant, Shacklock, a name with curious associations with Sherlock. Suggestions of the German scheu and Scottish loch with Shy-lock are also possible. The name may also have connections with John Florio.

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References

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