Elizabethan English
The complete works of Shakespeare total 936,443 words! Shakespeare's working vocabulary was enormous: He used 27,870 different words. The average person today uses somewhere between 7,500 and 10,000 words.
No one knows for sure how many words Shakespeare actually coined. The problem is that although the earliest written example is in a Shakespeare play, the words could have been in common oral use during his life. It is also possible that other writers may have used a word earlier, but their work no longer survives. Scholars have speculated that the number is somewhere between several hundred and several thousand, and most agree that it was probably around 1,500. These are just a few:
No one knows for sure how many words Shakespeare actually coined. The problem is that although the earliest written example is in a Shakespeare play, the words could have been in common oral use during his life. It is also possible that other writers may have used a word earlier, but their work no longer survives. Scholars have speculated that the number is somewhere between several hundred and several thousand, and most agree that it was probably around 1,500. These are just a few:
A - advertising
B - ban
C - critic
D - dickens
E - epileptic
F - film
G - gossip
H - hush
I - investment
J - jig
K - kissing
L - luggage
M - manager
N - numb
O - obscene
P - puke
Q - quarrelsome
R - Rant
S - shooting star
T - torture
U - undress
V - varied
W - wild-goose chase
X - Xantippe
Y - yelping
Z - zany
B - ban
C - critic
D - dickens
E - epileptic
F - film
G - gossip
H - hush
I - investment
J - jig
K - kissing
L - luggage
M - manager
N - numb
O - obscene
P - puke
Q - quarrelsome
R - Rant
S - shooting star
T - torture
U - undress
V - varied
W - wild-goose chase
X - Xantippe
Y - yelping
Z - zany
Why was the Elizabethan Language and Vocabulary different to many of the words in the modern English language that we use today? Why were words spelled differently in the Elizabethan language? Why does the language in Elizabethan manuscripts seem so difficult to interpret and translate?
There are many reasons why we have problems interpreting and translating the Elizabethan language. Follow this link to find the answers to these questions and more!
There are many reasons why we have problems interpreting and translating the Elizabethan language. Follow this link to find the answers to these questions and more!
Watch the video to the right to learn even more words and expressions used today that were coined by Shakespeare! |
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Insults and Mudslinging
You can tell by the hundreds of imaginative biting quips in Shakespeare's plays that he adored a good insult. Shakespeare’s insults and put downs are second to none, and with his insults Shakespeare was most certainly a master of his trade!
Although we most heartily recommend that you DO NOT make a habit of using these insults in an inappropriate manner, it can be fun to play with the language by combining some common words and insults from the Elizabethan time-period to create clever and/or funny phrases! But a word to the wise: exercise caution and good judgment at all times!! |
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Write like the Bard!
Resources for writing insults-
Click here for Shakespeare Insult Kit Click here for another Insult Generator
(Same as handout given in class)
(Same as handout given in class)
Click here for English to Shakespearean
Translator
Translator