Probably everybody has read a William Shakespeare novel or at least a paragraph. Maybe most of you have read his poems and sonnets too, learning his style and the metrical line. Whether you like it or not, William Shakespeare will always be part of our lives. His works are part of your schools’ English curriculum. You may be unaware too, but some of the words you often use might actually be the words he ‘invented’. Let us discover some of these words that we owe to the “Bard of Avon”:
Addiction
According to the book “Coined by Shakespeare”, the word ‘addiction’ was first used by Shakespeare in “Othello”, act II, scene 2 as a relatively neutral word with a sense of something like ‘strong inclination’. He also used it in Henry V which means inclination or tendency.
Belongings
In “Measure for Measure”, act I, scene 1, Duke Vincentio exclaimed, “Thyself and thy belongings are not thine”. The word ‘belongings’ was used deeply to mean personal characteristics that belong to a person. Now, ‘belongings’ is used to refer to things that a person owns.
Cold-blooded
“Thou cold-blooded slave, hast thou not spoke like thunder on my side,” said Constance in King John. The 17th-century play uses this term to metaphorically describe serial killers and vampires. However, in the present dictionary, ‘cold-blooded’ pertains to animals such as fishes and reptiles, “whose blood temperature ranges from the freezing point upward.”
Dishearten
According to King Henry V, no one should show fear as it could ‘dishearten’ his army. As the opposite of ‘hearten’, Shakespeare used the word to refer to the feeling of being down.
Eventful
In “As You Like It’, Shakespeare used the words ‘eventful history’ which he means more than one event is taking place. Further, after Shakespeare used the word, it was never used until 200 years later.
Eyeball
Shakespeare’s protagonist Prospero used the word ‘eyeball’ in “The Tempest”. Despite no medical background, Prospero was the first fictional character to coin the term that refers to those round objects with which we see. After discovering ‘eyeball’, Shakespeare then used ‘eyedrop’, ‘eyesore’, and ‘eyewink’.
Fashionable
Shakespeare invented the word ‘fashionable’ in “Troilus and Cressida” when Ulysses referred to time as a ‘fashionable’ host. Shakespeare did not talk about heels, dresses, and jewelry here. What he meant about ‘fashionable’ is good or appropriate.
Inaudible
‘Inaudible’ is one of the many words Shakespeare invented by just adding the prefix “in”, including ‘invulnerable’, ‘indistinguishable’, and ‘inauspicious’. Basically, Shakespeare totally meant the opposite of ‘audible’ which cannot be heard.
Manager
Lastly, everybody is using ‘manager’ to refer to those who manage projects, especially in work. Shakespeare used this in “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” in which King Theseus is looking for the ‘manager of mirth’. Basically, Shakespeare meant of the person who handles, organizes or manages.
These are just a few of the hundreds of words which was attributed to William Shakespeare. We bet you are unconsciously using some of Shakespeare’s original words.