The Bard of Avon wasn’t just a master playwright or a sonneteer. He was also a linguistic mastermind, a pioneer of the English language, who created many words and phrases that we use in our daily conversations. That’s precisely what we are going to cover today. All the words and phrases invented by Shakespeare.
As a literature student, my love for Shakespeare knows no bounds. What blew my mind the most was the fact that his influence extends far beyond the pages of grand soliloquies and tragic love stories. He has invented many funny words, fancy words, and everyday words. This is truly a testament to how The Immortal Poet’s language lives on even after 409 years. Read along and find out all about all the Shakespeare phrases and meanings that you can also incorporate in your vocabulary along with some fun facts about the sonneteer’s life.
30 Words And Phrases Invented By Shakespeare
When the world feels heavy, I like to curl up and read about Shakespeare’s life and work which brimmed with interesting characters, timeless themes, and poetic brilliance. You will be surprised to know that the playwright’s name is attributed to at least 1700 coined words in the English language. Let’s explore some of the most famous words and phrases we use today that are accredited to Shakespeare:
1. Bump (Romeo and Juliet, Act I, Scene 3)
“Nay, I had a bump as big as a young cockerel’s stone”
The word “Bump” first appeared in Shakespeare’s most famous play, Romeo and Juliet. It doesn’t mean bumping into one another. Bump means something that’s big.
2. Cold-blooded (King John, Act III, Scene 1)
“Thou cold-blooded slave,
Hast thou not spoke like thunder on my side?”
According to the Oxford Dictionary, the specific word was used in Shakespeare’s play King John. His definition of cold-blooded meant someone who didn’t have any mercy, emotions, or sensitivity.
3. Bedazzled (The Taming of the Shrew, Act IV, Scene 5)
“Pardon, old father, my mistaking eyes. That have been so bedazzled with the sun”
Today, the word bedazzled has many different meanings. However, when Shakespeare coined it back in 1590, he meant something different entirely. It means to be blinded by the light.
4. Inaudible (All’s Well That Ends Well, Act V, Scene 3)
“The inaudible and noiseless foot of Time Steals ere we can effect them”
The Bard uses this word to describe something that can’t be heard. He added the prefix “-in” to audible and made it inaudible just like other words influenced by Shakespeare which includes indistinguishable and inauspicious.
5. In a pickle (The Tempest, Act V, Scene 1)
“How camest thou in this pickle?”
In today’s times, the idiom “in a pickle” means to be in a difficult place. However, Shakespeare meant it in a different way. “Pickle” was slang for being drunk.
Fact 1: Shakespeare was the first one to invent many famous female names like Jessica, Miranda, and Olivia.
6. Wear my heart upon my sleeve (Othello, Act I, Scene 1)
“’tis not long after
But I will wear my heart upon my sleeve
For daws to peck at: I am not what I am.”
The idiom was coined in 1603 and it means to display love for everyone to see instead of keeping it hidden. These Shakespeare sayings about love are used even today by the romantics.
7. Arch-villain (Timon of Athens, Act V, Scene 1)
“You that way and you this, but two in company; each man apart, all single and alone, yet an arch-villain keeps him company.”
There are a few Shakespearean adjectives invented by the man himself. The word arch-villain was coined in 1605, which means someone who is very evil and powerful.
8. A sorry sight (Macbeth, Act II, Scene 2)
“A foolish thought, to say a sorry sight”
In Macbeth, when King Duncan gets murdered, the protagonist himself utters this line. It refers to the sin that Macbeth committed.
9. Madcap (Henry V, Act IV, Scene 1)
“The nimble-footed madcap Prince of Wales, And his comrades, that daff the world aside, And bid it pass?l
First performed in 1599, Henry V is a history play written by William Shakespeare. It tells the story of England’s King Henry V. Shakespeare introduced this word to describe his characters who were impulsive and reckless. It’s one of the classic Shakespeare insults that we use in our everyday conversations.
10. Green-eyed monster (Othello, Act III, Scene 3)
“It is the green-eyed monster which doth mock.”
The entire play is centered around themes of jealousy, manipulation, and prejudice. In Othello, Shakespeare refers to jealousy as the green-eyed monster.
Fact 2: Spelling wasn’t taught in schools, so people wrote words however they liked. Shakespeare signed his name in various ways, like Willm Shakp and Wm Shakspe.
11. All that glitters isn’t gold (The Merchant of Venice, Act II, Scene 7)
“All that glisters is not gold; Often have you heard that told: Many a man his life hath sold. But my outside to behold: Gilded tombs do worms enfold.”
Apart from the names Shakespeare invented, connecting words, turning nouns into verbs, verbs into adjectives, and creating new words, he also tried his hands at aphorism. He originally used the word “glisters” in the 16th century. It means that appearances could be deceptive.
12. Belongings (Measure for Measure, Act I, Scene 1)
“Thyself and thy belongings. Are not thine own so proper as to waste.”
Among the hundreds of new words invented by Shakespeare, belongings is one of them. This is a very deep quote by him that means your own self and your belongings aren’t just for you. It’s meant for a greater purpose like helping others. The word was first coined in the year 1604.
13. Gloomy (Titus Andronicus, Act IV, Scene 1)
“Forced in the ruthless, vast, and gloomy woods?”
According to modern usage, gloomy means being sad or sullen. However, Shakespeare wrote gloomy to describe a sight that is not bright or sunny.
14. Assassination (Macbeth, Act I, Scene VII)
“If it were done when ’tis done, then ’twere well. It were done quickly: if the assassination could trammel up the consequence”
As we all know, Shakespeare is a master of adding prefixes and suffixes to words and inventing a new word. Even though “assassin” existed before, it was Shakespeare’s genius mind that added a suffix “tion” and turned it into “assasination”.
15. Obscene (Love’s Labour Lost, Act I, Scene 1)
“Then for the place where; where, I mean, I did encounter that obscene and preposterous event,
that draweth from my snow-white pen the ebon-coloured ink”
The term describes something offensive, indecent, or morally repulsive. It was invented in the year 1597 and it is used to describe language, actions, or ideas that are considered vulgar or shocking.
Fact 3: Shakespeare went to London to become an actor. His acting career didn’t take off but his writing career did.
16. Bacchanal (A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Act V, Scene 1)
“The riot of the tipsy bacchanals
Tearing the Thracian singer in their rage.”
The word “Bacchanal” comes from the Roman God Bacchus, the God of wine. He was always partying, drinking, and indulging in obscene behavior. Shakespeare used the God “Bacchus” and turned it into “bacchanal” to describe a wild drunken party or celebration.
17. Star-crossed lovers (Romeo and Juliet, Prologue)
“From forth the fatal loins of these two foes
A pair of star-crossed lovers take their life;”
Star-crossed lovers is also one of the phrases invented by Shakespeare. He describes Romeo and Juliet’s affair as something that’s destined to fail. It refers to astrology and how their destinies are opposed by the stars in the sky.
18. Frugal (The Merry Wives of Windsor, Act II, Scene 1)
“I was then frugal of my mirth: Heaven forgive me!”
The Merry Wives of Windsor is a lesser-known play written by William Shakespeare. Here, he took the Latin word “frugalis”, which means being strict with money, and turned it into frugal. Today, it’s a widely used word to describe someone who is stingy.
19. Brave new world (The Tempest, Act V, Scene 1)
“How beauteous mankind is! O brave new world, That has such people in’t.”
In the category of expressions invented by Shakespeare, this one is quite popular and used often. The line expresses a positive outlook on humanity and the future.
20. Gamesome (Julius Caesar, Act I, Scene 2)
“I am not gamesome: I do lack some part of that quick spirit that is in Antony”
Did Shakespeare really invent words? He did. He came up with my creative words and one of them is “gamesome”, meaning being carefree, jovial, and good-humored.
Fact 4: Shakespeare survived a pandemic. He lived his entire life in the shadow of bubonic plague and also lost a son to it.
21. Caper (Twelfth Night, Act I, Scene)
“No, sir, it is legs and thighs. Let me see thee caper. Ha! Higher! Ha! Ha! Excellent!”
In the list of words William Shakespeare invented, Caper is a positive one. It means to dance wholeheartedly.
22. Own flesh and blood (The Merchant of Venice, Act III, Scene 1)
“My own flesh and blood to rebel!”
This is perhaps the most popular phrase used in today’s times to describe someone who is your close family. An immediate family member related by blood.
23. Faint-hearted (Henry VI, Part 3, Act I, Scene I)
“Farewell, faint-hearted and degenerate king,
In whose cold blood no spark of honour bides.”
Faint-hearted refers to someone who lacks courage. Shakespeare calls King Henry VI cowardly because he was weak and indecisive.
24. Mobled (Hamlet, Act II, Scene 2)
“But who, O, who had seen the mobled queen..”
Mobled is a rare Shakespearean word that isn’t used much in today’s times. The meaning of this weird word is still unclear. However, some scholars debate whether it means veiled or covered.
25. Eyeball (A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Act III, Scene 2)
“Then crush this herb into Lysander’s eye;
Whose liquor hath this virtuous property.
To take from thence all error with his might,
And make his eyeballs roll with wonted sight.”
The words eye and ball existed way before Shakespeare combined them into one and turned them into eyeballs. This again belongs to the category of everyday words used by the masses even today.
Fact 5: Shakespeare wrote a total of 38 plays, 154 poems, and two long narrative poems which have been translated into every language in the world.
26. The world’s your oyster (The Merry Wives of Windsor, Act II, Scene 2)
“Why then, the world’s mine oyster, which I with sword will open.”
The proverb first appeared in Shakespeare’s play The Merry Wives of Windsor which was published in 1602. It means to seize opportunities and make the most out of your potential. Today, the phrase has evolved into an idiom which is used frequently.
27. Break the ice (The Taming of the Shrew, Act I, Scene 2)
“If it be so, sir, that you are the man Must stead us all, and me amongst the rest, And if you break the ice and do this feat, Achieve the elder, set the younger free…”
We use this phrase today completely differently than what Shakespeare actually meant it. Modern usage refers to reducing initial social awkwardness between two people. But in Shakespearean context, it talks about breaking Katherine’s icy (hostile) personality.
28. Heart of gold (Henry V, Act IV, Scene 1)
“The king’s a bawcock, and a heart of gold, a lad of life, an imp of fame…”
A soldier describes King Henry as someone who is kind and giving. Gold was and is the most valuable metal of all time. Hence, the saying.
29. Apple of my eye (A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Act III, Scene 2)
“Flower of this purple dye,
Hit with Cupid’s archery,
Sink in apple of his eye”
Adding one more line to Shakespeare’s most used words and phrases, this one meant something else back in the day. If we decode that line as it is, it means to apply the purple dye in the center of one’s eye. Today, it means someone you are extremely fond of.
30. Wild-goose chase (Romeo and Juliet, Act II, Scene 4)
“Nay, if our wits run the wild-goose chase, I am done; for thou, hast more of the wild goose in one of thy wits than, I am sure, I have in my whole five.”
Another phrase invented by Shakespeare that we all use often. During that era, wild-goose chase was a type of horse race where riders followed a leader in a formation mimicking wild geese. Today it means a foolish or hopeless pursuit.
Fact 6: During Shakespeare’s time, there were no female actors. Even women’s characters were played by men who dressed up as women.
Conclusion
There are many words and phrases invented by Shakespeare that are not used in today’s times, such as welkin, fleshment, and sceptered. Therefore, the next time you use any of the above Shakespeare sayings about love or any Shakespeare insults, remember the man behind them and that he left a treasure trove of words for us to improve our vocabulary. Long live the Bard, the original wordsmith extraordinaire!
