How many new words did Shakespeare coin?
In Brush Up Your Shakespeare! (Harper), author Michael Macrone explains that it’s not always easy to determine who first coined a word, but notes that the Oxford English Dictionary attributes all of the bold-faced words below (and some 500 more) to Shakespeare. From the spectacled pedant to the schoolboy, all gentlefolk recognize Shakespeare as a fathomless fount of coinages. The honey-tongued Bard had no rival, nor could he sate his never-ending addiction to madcap, flowery (or foul-mouthed!) neologisms. Even time-honored exposure cannot besmirch our amazement at the countless and useful words that lend radiance to our lackluster lives. All in a day’s work!
