William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare was an English playwright, actor, and poet, who was a contemporary of Queen Elizabeth I. He is considered the most important figure in English literature. He is credited with adding over 1700 new words to the English language.[1][2] He is admired for his ability to coin memorable phrases, which remain widely re-used today.[3]
Shakespeare was born in Stratford. Early in his career troupes of actors he performed with toured all of England. But he built the Globe Theatre, in London, where the several dozen plays he wrote were performed.
Works
[edit | edit source]Shakespears's plays include:
References
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"A Closer Look at Everyday Words Shakespeare Invented". British Council English. 2024-08-01. Retrieved 2026-01-18.
In modern English, it’s almost impossible to have a conversation without using words and phrases Shakespeare invented. It’s thought that he created or introduced us to 1,700 words – from alligator right through to zany. As for Shakespeare phrases, he gave us a huge number of everyday idioms such as one fell swoop, elbow room and to eat out of house and home.
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"Shakespeare's Words". Shakespeare Birthplace Trust. Retrieved 2026-01-18.
William Shakespeare used more than 20,000 words in his plays and poems, and his works provide the first recorded use of over 1,700 words in the English language. It is believed that he may have invented or introduced many of these words himself, often by combining words, changing nouns into verbs, adding prefixes or suffixes, and so on. Some words stuck around and some didn't.
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"Shakespeare's Phrases: William Shakespeare coined many popular phrases that we still use today". Shakespeare Birthplace Trust. Retrieved 2026-01-18.
Even though William Shakespeare wrote over 400 years ago, we continue to use words and phrases found in his sonnets and plays today.