How Many Words Did Shakespeare Add To The English Language

Want to know all about the words Shakespeare invented? We've got y'all covered.

In all of his works – the plays, the sonnets and the narrative poems – Shakespeare uses 17,677 different words.

How Many Words Did Shakespeare Invent?

Beyond all of his written works, it'due south estimated that words invented by Shakespeare number equally many equally ane,700. We say these are words invented past Shakespeare , though in reality many of these 1,700 words would likely accept been in mutual utilise during the Elizabethan and Jacobean era, just not written down prior to Shakespeare using them in his plays, sonnets and poems. In these cases Shakespeare would have been the beginning known person to document these words in writing.

Historian Jonathan Hope also points out that Victorian scholars who read texts for the offset edition of the Oxford English Dictionary read Shakespeare's texts more than thoroughly than almost, and cited him more than often, meaning Shakespeare is oft credited with the first employ of words which tin can be found in other writers.

Examples Of Commonly Used Words Shakespeare Created

Information technology is Shakespeare who is credited with creating the beneath list of words that we still use in our daily speech – some of them frequently.

accommodation

aerial

amazement

apostrophe

assassination

auspicious

baseless

bloody

crash-land

castigate

changeful

clangor

control (noun)

endless

courtship

critic

critical

dexterously

dishearten

dislocate

dwindle

eventful

exposure

fitful

frugal

generous

gloomy

gnarled

bustle

impartial

inauspicious

indistinguishable

invulnerable

lapse

laughable

lonely

regal

misplaced

monumental

multitudinous

obscene

palmy

perusal

pious

premeditated

radiance

reliance

route

sanctimonious

seamy

sportive

submerge

suspicious

Along with these everyday words invented by Shakespeare, he also created a number of words in his plays that never quite caught on in the aforementioned way… Shakespearean words similar 'Armgaunt', 'Eftes', 'Impeticos', 'Insisture', 'Pajock', 'Pioned' 'Ribaudred' and 'Wappened'. We do have some ideas as to what these words may mean, though much is guesswork. Watch the video beneath for more insight into words Shakespeare invented that accept been lost in the mists of time:

And it wasn't but words that Shakespeare created, documented, or brought into common usage – he as well put words together and created a host of new phrases. Read all about the phrases that Shakespeare invented here. And see our complete Shakespeare dictionary, which lists hundreds of commonly used Shakespeare's words that arent; and so common today, along with a simple definition.

Shakespeare words - scribbled words in black ink on a note pad showing words Shakespeare invented

Shakespeare words – encounter handwritten phrases and words Shakespeare invented