continuing a theme

("language exerts a hidden power")

oh the joys of homework. . . nevertheless, tonight I learnt this: Shakespeare coined these words (probably amongst others)

accessible, amazement, assassination, barefaced, bedazzle, belongings, circumstantial, courtship, critical, dewdrop, downstairs, employer, epileptic, exposure, fairyland, fanged, fashionable, frugal, homely, impartial, ladybird, lament, leapfrog, majestic, moonbeam, paternal, puke, rant, reclusive, roadway, sacrificial, schoolboy, silliness, useful, vulnerable, watchdog, zany. . .

perhaps another interesting homework might be to put as many of the above as possible into a paragraph (a meaningful paragraph). . .

what confuses me is how anyone pre-Shakespeare could decribe something as useful if the word hadn't yet been invented, in which case how did they describe something that was useful; and wasn't there a sacrificial lamb or two in a book written a little before Shakespeare came on the scene (or would the word just have been translated some other way?); and vulnerable - were people not vulnerable before Shakespeare came along? and how did people who had just gone upstairs describe getting back to ground floor level (or below) if the word downstairs hadn't been coined?*

mind you, on the other hand, I wonder what would Will have thought of doing this in one's spare moments. . .
.
(*I could continue - but I'll spare you. . . I mean, he seems to have been pretty adept at putting two words together to make another one - watchdog, ladybird, leapfrog, dewdrop, barefaced, moonbeam and the like - but if I just ramble on about my thoughts, you'll forget about writing the paragraph with all the words in it, won't you)

12 comments:

Mel said...

Dangit--I'm just wrapping my head around the album cover assignment!

<-- bit of a procrastinator

:-D

Mel said...

OR--could be I'm distracted by paints and crayons and pencils......

I, Like The View said...

no no no. . .

this was just a passing train of thought!

get back to your colouring-in and enjoy

(-:

no tasks here that need to be done. . .

(-;

I, Like The View said...

no no no. . .

this was just a passing train of thought!

get back to your colouring-in and enjoy

(-:

no tasks here that need to be done. . .

(-;

I, Like The View said...

no no no. . .

this was just a passing train of thought!

get back to your colouring-in and enjoy

(-:

no tasks here that need to be done. . .

(-;

I, Like The View said...

eh?

blogger gone mad! (or perhaps it's me. . .)

I, Like The View said...

eh?

blogger gone mad! (or perhaps it's me. . .)

I, Like The View said...

<---- was NOT her!!!

Dave said...

Presumably the Bible talked about lambs that were to be sacrificed, as long as it was just sacrificial he invented, and not all versions thereof.

Dave said...

Sorry. I've only posted this once. was I supposed to do it three times?

Mel said...

ROFL

Youse guys are funny.

:-)

I, Like The View said...

(-:

x