what would shakespeare have meant in using the word prevent? how is that meaning different
from today's use?

onto a large boat, and mark the water level that the boat sinks to. then, take the elephant out and put a bunch of marked weights onto the boat until it reaches the same water level. add up the masses of the weights to get the weight of the elephant.

definition was not one of the four methods

there is no short story here so that i can answer the question.