William Shakespeare invented two of the three words in the above title. I doubt, though, that he did so in one fell swoop
What an amazing wordplay enthusiast he must have been, that William Shakespeare. Had great range, too, didn't he: softhearted in his comedies, cold-blooded and ruthless the way he plotted his tragedies, always with an eyeball to pleasing his audience.
While googling the origins of the words "port" and "starboard," I found this post, discussing some of the many, many words and phrases coined by Shakespeare.
Academic researchers downstairs may press the authorship debate -- was he Ben Jonson? Roger Bacon? Or Robert de Vere, the Earl of Oxford? -- those of us mere readers find their arguments almost inaudible, caring only for the glory and radiance of Shakespeare's way with the English language.
Whoever he was.
Or, as my madcap faculty advisor, Dr. Charles Hazelrigg, put it when I was a pup: "Today it is generally accepted that the plays and sonnets were not written by William Shakespeare, but by another author of the same name."
Everything I've put in italics is a Shakespeare-invented word.
Amazing. Simply amazing.
Found "port" and "starboard," too, The Word Detective. Enjoy!
Posted by Craig Ceely at January 22, 2005 03:43 PM