Tybalt

Revision History

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6/9/2023, 2:32 PM Mike C update #114
11/16/2019, 11:04 AM Mike C update #105
2/12/2007, 1:03 AM Mike C earliest recorded revision

Gender Masculine
Usage Literature
Pronounced Pron. TIB-əlt(English)

Meaning & History

The name of a cousin of Juliet killed by Romeo in William Shakespeare's drama Romeo and Juliet (1596). The character earlier appears as Tebaldo, an Italian form of Theobald, in Luigi Da Porto's novella Giulietta e Romeo (1524), one of Shakespeare's sources. Shakespeare was also inspired by the character of Tybalt the Cat (from Thibault the French form of Theobald) in medieval fables of Reynard the Fox (evidenced by Mercutio calling Tybalt the "prince of cats").