Shakespeare’s Words, New

Words and Your Words

Romeo and Juliet
Part I: Shakespeare’s Words
Romeo and Juliet
Shakespeare’s Words
Shakespeare invented more words than
most people even know. In fact, there are
at least 1,500 different words and phrases
that don't appear anywhere prior to the
Bard of Avon putting them on paper. When
he got stuck trying to think up a word, the
man just made his own.
Shakespeare’s Words
It's kind of like what rappers do today,
except the words Shakespeare made
up were embedded into our culture.
Shakespeare’s Words
Alligator
First used: Romeo and Juliet
Act V, Scene I, Romeo Soliloquy
"And in his needie shop a Tortoyrs hung,
An Allegater stuft, and other skins
Of ill shap'd fishes, and about his shelues,
A beggerly account of emptie boxes."
Shakespeare’s Words
Eyeball

First used: A Midsummer Night's Dream

Act III, Scene ii, Oberon to Puck
"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."
Shakespeare’s Words
Puking
First Used: As You Like It
Act II, Scene vii, Jaques to Duke Senior.
"They have their exits and their entrances;
And one man in his time plays many parts,
His acts being seven ages. At first the
infant,
Mewling and puking in the nurse's arms."
Shakespeare’s Words
Break the ice (The Taming of the
Shrew)
Dead as a doornail (Henry VI)
Elbow room (King John)
Forever and a day (As You Like It)
In a pickle (The Tempest)
Knock knock! Who's there? (Macbeth)
Wear my heart upon my sleeve
(Othello)
Part II: New Words
Romeo and Juliet
New Words
As a class, let’s
brainstorm new words
created since you were
born, (or words used in a
new way).
Here are a couple of
examples:
Online
Web site
Click (as in click of a
mouse)
New Words
The Oxford English dictionary
The most recent edition (printed in 1989)
contains more than 600,000 words on more
than 21,000 pages in 20 volumes. It is
updated monthly online.
New Words
Words added to Oxford English
Dictionary in 2008:
Aerobicized: (adj.) toned by
aerobic exercise
Bahookie: (n.) Scottish for a
person’s buttocks
Mzee: (n.) In East Africa, an older
person; an elder
Obesogenic: (adj.)
Plank: (n.) In Great Britain, a
stupid person
Riffage: (n.) informal guitar riffs,
Part III: Your Words
Romeo and Juliet
Your Words
Directions: Now it’s your turn. As
homework, create ten new words.
Beside your words write what part
of speech each word is (n., v., adj.,
etc.) and write a definition for each
word.
Remember, we will share these in
class, so make all your words
appropriate!