Shakespearean

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. Relating to the distinctive themes, styles, and language found in the works of a celebrated English writer known for his plays and poetry
2. Characteristic of the rich poetic and dramatic qualities commonly associated with the creations of a famous figure in English literature
3. Pertaining to the plays, poetry, or style of England's eminent dramatist and poet from the late 16th and early 17th centuries

Etymology: Shakespeare's name is the root here, and the surprise is how little of the word is his: the adjective is simply his surname plus a suffix that English has borrowed and reshaped many times. The ending "-ean" descends from Latin "-aeus" and "-eus", which marked belonging or origin, as in "Pompeian" or "Aristotelian." It arrived in Middle English through Old French "-ain", which had itself come from Latin "-ānus", and it took its modern shape "-ean" in English. Attaching it to a proper name is the same move that gives us "Victorian" and "Mozartian." The adjective therefore means nothing more than "of or relating to Shakespeare," and it can cover his plays, verse, or manner of writing. The name itself is English, and the word is a plain formation from it rather than a coinage with a dramatic story behind it.

Synonyms: dramatic, poetic