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The Bard of Avon, was not only a writer par excellence but is also said to have introduced close to 1700 words and phrases. Many scholars argue that these words have been spoken even before the Shakespearean era, although there is no written record to support the claim. Nevertheless, he still remains the master of the English language. Here are some of the words, Shakespeare introduced in his many works:
Swagger
Meaning: To strut in a defiant or insolent manner
Earliest recorded usage between the years 1590 – 1597 in Shakespeare’s Midsummer Night's Dream
Advertise
Definition: Make known, instruct, inform about
Earliest recorded usage in Measure for Measure, a play by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written in 1603 or 1604
Skim-milk
Definition: Milk from which the cream has been skimmed
First recorded usage in Henry IV, Part 1 by Shakespeare in the 1590s
Manager
Definition: one who manages
Earliest recorded usage between the years 1590 – 1597 in Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night's Dream, Act V, Scene I
Undress
Definition: To take your clothes off
Shakespeare was the first to add the prefix “un” in the play Taming of the shrew believed to have been written between 1590 and 1592
Investment
Definition: Act of putting on vestments or clothes
Earliest recorded usage in Henry IV, Part 2 by William Shakespeare believed written between 1596 and 1599
Addiction
Definition: State of being addicted to a particular substance or activity
Earliest recorded usage in Othello, Act II, Scene II by Shakespeare written in the year 1603
Fortune-teller
Definition: A person who is supposedly able to predict a person's future
It first appeared in The Comedy of Errors, one of William Shakespeare's early plays, first performed in 1594
Honourable Mentions:
Other words coined by Shakespeare are:
Source: Online Etymology Dictionary
Note: these are all Shakespeare’s coinages according to the OED. That doesn’t necessarily mean he invented every word, merely that in each case, the first recorded written usage was in one of his plays.
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