Holinshed

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A comprehensive historical narrative of England, Scotland, and Ireland compiled in the 16th century, widely used by Shakespeare and other writers as a source for historical plays and accounts
2. An extensive chronicle documenting the histories of the English, Scottish, and Irish kingdoms from ancient times through the Elizabethan era, originally published in the 1580s
3. A major historical compilation covering events and rulers across England, Scotland, and Ireland, serving as an influential source document for Renaissance writers and dramatists

Etymology: Raphael Holinshed was a 16th-century English chronicler whose name is now attached to a word for an entirely different kind of thing: a "holinshed" is a surname-derived term for a source that a writer has borrowed from heavily, but the name itself comes from a real person rather than a coined root. Holinshed compiled the "Chronicles of England, Scotland, and Ireland," first published in 1577 and expanded in 1587, and Shakespeare drew on it for many of his history plays, including "Macbeth" and "King Lear." The word is best understood as a proper noun used as a common one, in the same way that "Shakespearean" or "Bowdlerize" passes from a person's name into general vocabulary. Its usage is largely confined to literary and academic writing.