Words fascinate me. The origin of words, otherwise known as etymology, I find to be such a fascinating exploration. We are so accustomed to the words we speak and write each day that it's not often that we stop and examine where they came from, how they were originally used, and who introduced them.

The word "etymology" comes from the Greek word etumos which means real or true; while ology is the study of something. Take the word hippopotamus. The Greeks called horses hippos, while "potamus" meant river: so a hippo is essentially a river horse.

There are endless examples of derivatives that make up the English language. One such word we use often in the modern world, yet didn't even exist not long ago, is blog, the contraction of the word weblog (which you just so happen to be on now).

Recently, while reading about the origins of words, I discovered that William Shakespeare was a master at introducing words into our language. Of the many sonnets, poems, and plays he wrote, 1,700 of the words included were FIRST written by Shakespeare himself. Many of them we use so frequently that it's hard to imagine them not being a part of our vocabulary. Some of those include:

accommodation admirable advertising (adj.) aerial Photo by THEORO amazement apostrophe assassination bedroom belongings to besmirch birthplace bloody bump changeful control (as a noun) countless courtship critic critical cruelhearted disgraceful dishearten dislocate dwindle employer employment engagement eventful exposure eyeball farmhouse fashionable fitful frugal generous gloomy gnarled hostile housekeeping hurry impartial indistinguishable invitation invulnerable lapse laughable lonely lustrous majestic mimic misplaced monumental motionless multitudinous obscene pious premeditated published radiance reliance road sanctimonious satisfying shipwrecked shooting star submerge suspicious unearthly unwillingness varied

This is obviously a short list of his impact on language and the usage of words. He also coined many phrases that have become accepted and regularly employed, like:

all that glitters is not gold

be all and end all break the ice catch a cold clothes make the man dog will have his day elbowroom fair play fancy-free foregone conclusion give the devil his due green eyed monster heart of gold hot-blooded housekeeping it's Greek to me lackluster leapfrog live long day long-haired method in his madness mind's eye naked truth one fell swoop primrose path strange bedfellows the course of true love never did run smooth the milk of human kindness to thine own self be true too much of a good thing wear one's heart on one's sleeve Next time you happen to use one of these words or phrases, give a small nod to Mr. Shakespeare. I'm sure he would dig that!

To read more about these words that Shakespeare's first introduced, check out the excellent book, "Coined by Shakespeare: Words and Meanings First Penned by the Bard" by Stanley Malless.