List Of Words Shakespeare Invented

In all of his works – the plays, the sonnets and the narrative poems – Shakespeare uses 17,677 different words. Amongst these words, it’s estimated that words invented by Shakespeare number as many as 1,700.

We say these are words invented by Shakespeare, though in reality, many of these 1,700 words would likely have been in common use during the Elizabethan and Jacobean era, just not written down prior to Shakespeare using them in his plays, sonnets and poems. In these cases, Shakespeare would have been the first known person to document these words in writing.

Historian Jonathan Hope also points out that Victorian scholars who read texts for the first edition of the Oxford English Dictionary read Shakespeare’s texts more thoroughly than most, and cited him more often, meaning Shakespeare is often credited with the first use of words which can be found in other writers.

Examples Of Commonly Used Words Shakespeare Created

It is Shakespeare who is credited with creating the below list of words that we still use in our daily speech – some of them frequently:

accommodation

aerial

amazement

apostrophe

assassination

auspicious

baseless

bloody

bump

castigate

changeful

clangor

control (noun)

countless

courtship

critic

critical

dexterously

dishearten

dislocate

dwindle

eventful

exposure

fitful

frugal

generous

gloomy

gnarled

hurry

impartial

inauspicious

indistinguishable

invulnerable

lapse

laughable

lonely

majestic

misplaced

monumental

multitudinous

obscene

palmy

perusal

pious

premeditated

radiance

reliance

road

sanctimonious

seamy

sportive

submerge

suspicious

Unusual (and Unused) Words Shakespeare Invented

Along with these everyday words invented by Shakespeare, he also created a number of words in his plays that never quite caught on in the same way. We do have some ideas as to what these words may mean, though much is guesswork. Take a guess at how you might use words like:

Armgaunt

Eftes

Impeticos

Insisture

Pajock

Pioned

Ribaudred

Wappened

And it wasn’t just words that Shakespeare created, documented, or brought into common usage – he also put words together and created a host of new phrases. Read all about the phrases that Shakespeare invented here. And see our complete Shakespeare dictionary, which lists hundreds of commonly used Shakespeare’s words that arent; so common today, along with a simple definition.

Seen enough words Shakespeare invented? Why not see them in action by reading our pick of the very best Shakespeare quotes (including the classic to be or not to be), or reading quotes by play, including Macbeth quotes, Romeo & Juliet quotes, Julius Caesar quotes and Hamlet quotes. Or perhaps you’re more of a romantic soul, and would like to read Shakespeare’s very best love quotes.

What do you think of these Shakespeare words – any words Shakespeare invented you think we should add? Let us know in the comments section below!