Shakespearisms

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. Words, phrases or turns of expression coined or popularized by the playwright William Shakespeare and later absorbed into everyday English
2. Distinctive expressions, idioms or word forms originating in the works of William Shakespeare that have entered the wider language
3. Phrases and vocabulary items first used by William Shakespeare in his plays and poems that remain part of the English language today

Etymology: "Shakespearisms" is the plural of "Shakespearism," a noun formed by attaching the suffix "-ism" to the name of the English playwright William Shakespeare. The suffix, borrowed through Latin and Greek, denotes a distinctive practice, usage or characteristic associated with a particular person, so a Shakespearism is a word, phrase or turn of expression that is characteristic of Shakespeare's writing. Like many such formations, it follows the familiar pattern of naming a linguistic habit after the person most identified with it, much as "Johnsonian" describes the style of Samuel Johnson.