Mythbusting: Sorry, no, Shakespeare did NOT "invent" this word

As a word lover, you no doubt come across this claim often: "Shakespeare invented this word/phrase".

"Cool," you probably think, "that Shakespeare was one smart dude with the words thing".

Me? *head explodes, jumps up and down* (as they say on twitter): "No he DIDN'T!!"

This persistent myth drives me CRAZY.

These claims are all over the place. Here's the latest one I've come across, and, lo, it has the imprimatur (the internetatur?) of the mighty TED, so it must be true:

A short list of verbs invented by the Bard:

arouse
besmirch
bet
drug
dwindle
hoodwink
hurry
puke
rant
swagger

Shakespeare also minted new metaphors, many now cliches, but fresh in his time:

it’s Greek to me
played fast and loose
slept not one wink
seen better days
knit your brows
have your teeth set on edge

Here's another paragraph claiming that every boldfaced word was coined by the Bard:

You cannot ignore him. He’s got you surrounded. You may think this claim baseless, perhaps even laughable, but he’s there at your elbow. Daily, he jumps trippingly off your tongue. He’s present when you wake at dawn and when the moonbeam slips through your window at night. You may chance upon him in the bedroom. You bump into him at the cinema. He’s there when you’re lonely; he’s there when you’re gloomy. That love letter? His idea. When your account dwindles and you go on a rant, think of him. The soft-hearted know him, and so does your hardhearted employer. Embrace this idea. It’s not just skim milk.

Great. If only it were true.

Shakespeare did not in fact coin most of those words.

The source of this myth seems to be a Merriam-Webster 1998 publication Coined by Shakespeare: Words & Meanings First Penned by the Bard, by Jeffrey McQuain and Stanley Malless, from which the writer of the above paragraph drew his inspiration.

Here's the problem. The authors of this book seem to have looked at every entry in the  Oxford English Dictionary 2nd edition for which Shakespeare provided the first quotation and come to the rather naive conclusion that this meant Shakespeare invented those words (or gave them a new meaning).

Of course this is not the case. There are two problems with concluding that Shakespeare was so prolific a wordsmith, based on his presence in the OED

1) Back in the 1880s, when the OED started publishing, Shakespeare was the most easily accessible source of a lot of evidence of 16th-century English.  Since then, much more research has been done on Early Modern English, and many more texts have become available, so that as the OED editors proceed at their majestic pace to revise the dictionary, many of the words whose earliest attestation was previously from Shakespeare have now been antedated, sometimes by more than a century.

But, and this is very important, most of the OED has not been revised. In the 3rd edition online, some of the entries, like “moonbeam,” have been updated with an antedating since the Merriam-Webster book came out. This will more than likely happen to many, perhaps most, of the words currently having a first quotation from Shakespeare, as revision proceeds on the dictionary.

It's essential, when you're looking at an OED online entry, to pay attention to the note to the right of the headword, which tells you how up to date (or not) the entry is. For instance, at "arouse", the note says "This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1885)."

At present, M-R and A-Alz, roughly, have been revised. Am-L and S-Z, roughly, have not been revised. Some words scattered around the alphabet within the unrevised letters have been revised; for instance, the verb "drug" was revised in 2009, and Shakespeare is indeed still the first attestation.But it is very risky indeed to make claims about Shakespeare “coining” the words for which he is the first evidence if they are in the unrevised stretches of the alphabet.

2) Even those words for which Shakespeare is the first written attestation as far as our most up-to-date scholarship reveals may not have been coined by him. Many  were probably kicking around Elizabethan English before he set them on paper.

That others should be on these lists or in the Merriam-Webster book at all mystifies me, since even in the unrevised edition of the OED, they were not the first attestation of the word or meaning. “Elbow” has been in the English language since Anglo-Saxon times, and even “at your elbow” to mean “nearby” is first attested in 1548, before Shakespeare was born. An expression for which the OED does have a first attestation from Shakespeare is “up to one’s elbows,” but since this is in an unrevised part of the dictionary, it may well yet be antedated.

For the record, I have listed below the words or meanings of words that are first exemplified by Shakespeare in the revised parts of the OED. Note how many of them are not part of common parlance, paying attention to the specific sense in which the word is illustrated by Shakespeare. They really don't have the makings of a "Gosh gee whillikers did you know that Shakespeare invented the words pullet sperm and nook-shotten?" piece for endless retweeting.  If anything, it's striking how few of these words and usages are part of everyday English.

One thing that is clear is that Shakespeare was a fan of verbs created from nouns and adjectives (yes I know I harp on this, oh wait, "harp" is another one...):
portcullis, muddy, palate, pander, porter, prerogative, prologue

Please do not repeat this "coined by Shakespeare" cliché, and if you're an editor, beware of anyone who does.

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List of words with first attestations from Shakespeare in newly revised OED. Words first, followed by senses of words.

acture	The process of acting; action.	Louers Complaint	1609
affecting	Using affectation or pretentious style; = affected adj. 3.	Romeo & Juliet	1597
affectioned	Affected in style or behaviour; full of affectation.	Twelfth Night	1615
allicholly	= melancholy n. Cf. allicholly adj.	Merry Wives of Windsor	1615
malefaction	Evildoing; an instance of evildoing, a criminal act.	Hamlet	1604
mangling	That mangles, in the senses of mangle v.	Venus & Adonis	1593
meditance	Meditation.	Two Noble Kinsmen	1624
militarist	A soldier or warrior; a person who studies military phenomena or history. Also: person having militaristic attitudes and ideals.	All's Well that ends Well	1615
minutely	That occurs every minute, or minute by minute.	Macbeth	1615
misadventured	Unfortunate, hapless. In later use also: misguided.	Romeo & Juliet	1599
misbecomingly	Unbecomingly, unfittingly.	Two Noble Kinsmen	1624
mistership	Compositorial misreading of mistress-ship n.	Titus Andronicus	1615
mockable	Worthy of, or exposed to, mockery or derision.	As you like It	1615
morris	A board game played between two players, each with a number (usually nine) of pebbles…	Midsummer Night's Dream	1600
moy	App.: a coin of an imaginary type.	Henry V	1615
muddy	To confuse or muddle (a person, the mind); to render (a thing) more complex, to make…	Hamlet	1604
multipotent	Having much power; very powerful. Now rare.	Troilus & Cressida	1609
muset	A gap in a hedge or fence through which hares, rabbits, or other animals may pass; (also)…	Venus & Adonis	1594
nayword	A password, watchword; a catchphrase. Obs. rare.	Merry Wives	1615
near-legged	Of a horse: moving with the legs close together (perh.: knock-kneed). Cf. near adv. 11.	Taming of Shrew	1615
night-walking	That walks or goes about at night.	Richard III	1597
noncome	A state of bewilderment or insanity.	Much Ado about Nothing	1600
non-regardance	Failure or refusal to regard something.	Twelfth Night	1615
nook-shotten	Having many corners, angles, or projections; having an irregular form.	Henry V	1615
obduracy	The state or quality of being obdurate; stubbornness, resistance to all entreaty; persistence in wrongdoing or evil.	Henry IV, Pt. 2	1600
obscenely	In an obscene manner; offensively, repulsively, horribly; indecently, lewdly.	Love's Labour's Lost	1598
off-cap	intr. To take off or doff the cap, in reverence or respect to (a person).	Othello	1615
omittance	= omission n.	As you like It	1615
opposeless	Not to be opposed; unopposable; irresistible.	King Lear	1608
out-breast	intr. Prob.: to outdo another in singing high or loudly.	Two Noble Kinsmen	1624
outdare	trans. To overcome by daring; to outbrave, defy. Now rare.	Henry IV, Pt. 1	1598
outlustre	trans. To surpass in lustre; to outshine.	Cymbeline	1615
outpeer	trans. To outrival; to surpass in excellence.	Cymbeline	1615
outstay	trans. To stay beyond the end or limit of (one's expected or permitted time, an event…	As you like It	1615
outswear	trans. To outdo in swearing; to swear more or more coarsely than; to overcome or get the better of by swearing.	Love's Labour's Lost	1598
outsweeten	trans. To surpass in sweetening or in sweetness.	Cymbeline	1615
outswell	trans. To surpass in or by swelling; to surpass in size, quantity, or degree; to swell out more than.	Troilus & Cressida	1609
out-villain	trans. To surpass in villainy.	All's Well that ends Well	1615
overbeat	trans. To beat (a person or thing) down; to overpower, overwhelm. Now rare.	Coriolanus	1615
overdyed	That is dyed with a second colour; dyed too deeply. Also fig.	Winter's Tale	1615
overeaten	That has been eaten away on all sides; nibbled all over. Chiefly fig.	Troilus & Cressida	1609
overleaven	trans. To leaven too much; to cause to rise or swell excessively. Chiefly fig.	Hamlet	1604
overmounting	That mounts or rises too high.	Henry VI, Pt. 1	1615
over-picture	trans. To surpass in depiction; to depict or describe with exaggeration.	Antony & Cleopatra	1615
overpost	trans. To cover (ground) quickly and easily (fig. in quot. 1600).	Henry IV, Pt. 2	1600
overpower	trans. To defeat or overcome with superior power or force; to reduce to submission.	Richard II	1597
over-roasted	That has been roasted too much or for too long.	Taming of Shrew	1615
overteemed	Excessively productive or fertile; put under strain by excessive breeding or production.	Hamlet	1604
palate	trans. To perceive or try with the palate, to taste; to gratify the palate with; to enjoy the taste of, relish. Also fig.	Troilus & Cressida	1609
pander	trans. To act as a pander to; to minister to the gratification of (another's desire or lust). Also fig. Obs.	Hamlet	1615
parti-	having a parti-coat.	Love's Labour's Lost	1598
pauser	A person who pauses; a person who stops something.	Macbeth	1615
pausingly	With a pause or pauses; haltingly, hesitantly.	Henry VIII	1623
paying back	The action of repaying something; an instance of this.	Henry IV, Pt. 1	1598
pelting	The action of pelt v.; beating with missiles; persistent striking or beating; an instance of this.	King Lear	1608
pensived	Saddened.	Louers Complaint	1609
phantasim	A fantastic being; a fantasizer, a fantast.	Love's Labour's Lost	1598
piglike	In a manner resembling or suggestive of that of a pig.	Two Noble Kinsmen	1624
pignut	The sweetish edible tuber of Conopodium majus, a fine-leaved plant of the family Apiaceae…	Tempest	1615
plantage	Vegetation, herbage. Obs.	Troilus & Cressida	1609
pleached	Chiefly poet. Fenced, bordered, or overarched with pleached boughs.	Much Ado about Nothing	1600
pleading	That pleads; esp. entreating, beseeching, imploring.	Venus & Adonis	1594
plighter	A person who makes a pledge or promise (fig. in quot. 1616).	Antony & Cleopatra	1615
plumpy	Characterized by plumpness; plump.	Antony & Cleopatra	1615
portcullis	trans. To furnish with a portcullis; to close with a portcullis; (fig.) to close securely.	Richard II	1597
porter	trans. with it and intr. To act as a gatekeeper or porter.	Macbeth	1615
preceptial	Consisting of or conveying precepts; instructive.	Much Ado about Nothing	1600
precipitance	= precipitancy n. 2.	Two Noble Kinsmen	1624
preformed	Formed or shaped beforehand; formed prior to some subsequent operation. Cf. preform v.	Julius Caesar	1615
prerogative	trans. (in pass.). To endow (a person) with a prerogative, right, or privilege.	Othello	1615
priceless	Beyond price; having an inestimable value; invaluable. Occas. also: having no market price; not obtainable for money.	Lucrece	1594
primogenitive	= primogeniture n. 3. Obs. rare.	Troilus & Cressida	1615
primy	That is in its prime; indicative of (a person's) prime.	Hamlet	1604
printless	Making or leaving no print or trace. Now rare.	Tempest	1615
prizer	A person who fights a prize (prize n.); a prizefighter.	As you like It	1615
prologue	trans. To introduce; to precede (something) as an introduction; to come before or in front of.	All's Well that ends Well	1615
prompture	Prompting, suggestion, instigation.	Measure for Measure	1615
pudency	Modesty, bashfulness, or reticence; embarrassment; an instance or expression of this.	Cymbeline	1615
pugging	Of uncertain meaning; perhaps: ‘that pulls or tugs, thieving’.	Winter's Tale	1615
pulsidge	Humorous blunder for pulse n.	Henry IV, Pt. 2	1600
pupil age	In early use: the period during which one is a pupil, minority. In later use: the age or…	Henry IV, Pt. 1	1598
pupil-like	In the manner of a pupil. Obs.	Richard II	1597
purr	An act of purring; the low vibrating sound made by a cat, usually when pleased or contented. Also: any sound resembling this.	All's Well that ends Well	1615
reclusive	Characterized by seclusion from society or human interaction, esp. as part of a religious discipline.	Much Ado about Nothing	1600
recollected	Gathered painstakingly; studied, artificial; practised, refined. Obs.	Twelfth Night	1615
remediate	= remedial adj. 1a.	King Lear	1608
repine	The action of repining, discontent; an instance of this, a complaint.	Venus & Adonis	1593
revengive	Vengeful, vindictive.	King Lear	1608
reverb	trans. = reverberate v. 4c.	King Lear	1608
revolving	Of the mind, thoughts, etc.: turning something over, considering, actively…	Richard III	1597
rondure	Roundness; (also) a circle or round object. Cf. roundure n.	Sonnets	1609
rubious	Ruby-coloured.	Twelfth Night	1615
rumourer	A person who spreads rumours.	Coriolanus	1615

abhorring	The condition or state of being abhorrent. Obs. rare.	Antony & Cleopatra	1615
acorned	Of a boar or hog: fed or filled with acorns. Obs.	Cymbeline	1615
air	Without qualification or following construction. Obs.	Winter's Tale	1615
all hid	The game of hide-and-seek. Also as int.: the call used in the game (see note).	Love's Labour's Lost	1598
making	The material out of which something may be made; the potentiality of becoming something.…	Henry VIII	1623
malignancy	Malign or baleful character; unpropitiousness; great injuriousness. Obs.	Twelfth Night	1615
man-monster		Tempest	1615
mangling	That mangles, in the senses of mangle v.	Venus & Adonis	1593
manly	Excellently. Cf. bravely adv. 3. Obs. rare.	Macbeth	1615
manner	Forms of behaviour exemplifying politeness or respect. Now only in to make (also do) one's manners…	Taming of Shrew	1615
march	intr. Mil. Used in the imperative as a word of command. Also march on. Also in extended…	Richard II	1597
mask	Theatre. An image of a face worn by an actor; (Classical Theatre) a hollow figure of a…	Midsummer Night's Dream	1600
meeting	That meets or comes together.	Venus & Adonis	1593
mercury	A person entrusted with messages between parties, esp. in a clandestine love affair; a go-between.	Merry Wives of Windsor	1602
merit	In clauses with as or than.	Much Ado about Nothing	1600
mettle	In an animal, esp. a horse: liveliness, eagerness, friskiness.	Henry IV, Pt. 1	1598
mince	trans. Usu. in negative contexts: to moderate or restrain (one's language) so as to keep…	Henry V	1615
mincing	The action or habit of speaking or acting in an affectedly refined or elegant manner. In…	Henry VIII	1623
mingle	fig. To put together so as to make one; to pool. Obs. rare.	Cymbeline	1615
miracle	trans. (refl.) To reveal by a miracle. Obs. nonce-use.	Cymbeline	1615
misplaced	That has been put in a wrong place; devoted to or bestowed on a wrong or…	King John	1615
moral	Import, meaning, significance. Obs. rare.	Taming of Shrew	1615
mountain squire		Henry V	1615
mountainous	Resembling a mountain or mountains in size or shape; huge, enormous. Also fig.	Coriolanus	1615
muster	trans. Perh.: to exemplify (a particular skill or quality). Obs. rare.	All's Well that ends Well	1615
nave	The navel. In recent use only with allusion to quot. 1616.	Macbeth	1615
neither	With negative implied contextually. Obs.	Comedy of Errors	1615
new-fallen	Of a right, property, etc.: that has newly fallen or passed to a person. Obs.	Henry IV, Pt. 1	1598
night-swift		Midsummer Night's Dream	1615
night-brawler		Othello	1615
nighted	Dark or black as night. Freq. fig.	Hamlet	1604
night-fly	A flying insect which is active at night.	Henry IV, Pt. 2	1600
obsequious	Dutiful in performing obsequies or showing respect for the dead; appropriate to obsequies. Obs.	Titus Andronicus	1594
obstruction	The action or an act of preventing, impeding, or hindering the motion or passage of a…	Twelfth Night	1615
off	Naut. At a distance from the land; offshore.	Henry IV, Pt. 1	1598
offering	That offers (in various senses): see offer v.	Henry IV, Pt. 1	1598
old	Wearing old clothes, shabby. Obs. rare.	Taming of Shrew	1615
old	In ancient times, long ago.	Pericles	1609
out-jest		King Lear	1608
out-breast	intr. Prob.: to outdo another in singing high or loudly.	Two Noble Kinsmen	1624
outswell	trans. To surpass in or by swelling; to surpass in size, quantity, or degree; to swell out more than.	Troilus & Cressida	1609
over-bulk		Troilus & Cressida	1609
overteeming	Excessively fertile or productive; too active or vigorous.	Hamlet	1603
paddle	trans. To finger idly or playfully; to fondle. Now arch. and rare.	Winter's Tale	1615
pagan	euphem. A prostitute. Obs.	Henry IV, Pt. 2	1600
at pause	at (also in) pause: temporarily inactive or motionless; not proceeding; hesitating…	Hamlet	1604
pawn	= gage n. 2. Obs.	Richard II	1597
pebbled	Covered, strewn, or heaped with pebbles; pebbly.	Sonnets	1609
persistency	The quality, fact, or condition of being persistent; esp. firmness or obstinacy in adhering…	Henry IV, Pt. 2	1600
place	In Falconry: the high position or pitch to which a falcon or other bird of prey…	Macbeth	1615
to play off	trans. colloq. To drain or finish (a drink, esp. an alcoholic one). Obs.	Henry IV, Pt. 1	1598
pleading	That pleads; esp. entreating, beseeching, imploring.	Venus & Adonis	1594
plough	To furrow (a surface) with a ploughing action; to tear, scratch up, as if by ploughing.…	Titus Andronicus	1594
porch	fig.	Hamlet	1603
potent	Of an argument, idea, theory, etc.: cogent, effective, convincing.	Troilus & Cressida	1609
prenzie	Prob. a compositorial misreading of precise adj.	Measure for Measure	1615
presage	A presentiment, a foreboding; a prophetic or anticipatory perception of the future. Now rare.	Richard II	1597
prime	Of a thought, aim, etc.: principal, chief, main; of primary importance; most valuable. Also in extended use.	Tempest	1615
primy	That is in its prime; indicative of (a person's) prime.	Hamlet	1604
I prithee	=.	Henry IV, Pt. 1	1598
prodigal	Having or providing a lavish amount of a resource or quality; generously or…	Love's Labour's Lost	1598
prodigal	A person who has lived a reckless or extravagant life away from home, but subsequently…	Merchant of Venice	1600
promise	intr. To appear likely to turn out in a specified way; to encourage expectation. Usually with adverb, as fair, well, etc.	All's Well that ends Well	1615
proportion	An allotted portion (of land, etc.). Now hist. and rare.	Henry V	1615
pudency	Modesty, bashfulness, or reticence; embarrassment; an instance or expression of this.	Cymbeline	1615
pugging	Of uncertain meaning; perhaps: ‘that pulls or tugs, thieving’.	Winter's Tale	1615
pullet sperm	(prob. chiefly after Shakespeare's use: see quot. 1616) eggs.	Merry Wives of Windsor	1615
punch	To pierce, cut, or perforate with or as with a punch (punch n. 3); to make a hole or holes in.	Richard III	1597
puzzle	To perplex, bewilder, confound (the brain, mind, will, etc.); (also) to apply (one's…	Hamlet	1603
quail	A courtesan. Also: a prostitute. Obs.	Troilus & Cressida	1609
queen	With it. Of a woman: to be a queen; to act or rule as queen; to behave in a queenly…	Winter's Tale	1615
quick-answered		Cymbeline	1615
quietus	A release or respite from life; an ending of life, death; something that causes death.	Hamlet	1603
ranged	Systematically arranged; ordered. Obs.	Antony & Cleopatra	1615
rank	Of a payment, financial gain, etc.: high or excessive. In later use only in…	Hamlet	1604
rash	Urgent, pressing. Obs. rare.	Troilus & Cressida	1609
rash-levied		Richard III	1597
re	trans. Used as a humorous threat to a musician: to give ‘re’ to. Cf. re n.	Romeo & Juliet	1597
reel	trans. To stagger drunkenly through or along (a street). Obs. rare.	Antony & Cleopatra	1615
remain	Of an impression, object of perception, etc.: to stay with a person; to stick in the mind.	Timon of Athens	1615
reservation	The action or fact of reserving (for oneself or another) a right, entitlement, privilege…	King Lear	1608
return	To travel back along. Obs. rare.	Richard III	1597
right	Of a person: judging, thinking, or acting in accordance with truth or the facts of…	Henry IV, Pt. 2	1600
rival	With present participles forming adjectives, as rival-hating, etc.	Richard II	1597
rivet	With to or into.	Merchant of Venice	1600
rub	trans. To impede, hinder. Cf. rub n. 3. Obs. rare.	King Lear	1608
ruffle	Ostentatious bustle or display. rare.	Louers Complaint	1609
ruin	Any ruined thing, situation, or (esp.) person.	King John	1615