English Vocabulary: 10 adjectives invented by Shakespeare

Did you know that William Shakespeare added more than 2000 words to the English language? That's right! In this lesson, we'll look at 10 adjectives that were invented by Shakespeare. You'll learn the meaning of each of the words and how to pronounce them correctly. Often, Shakespeare invented these words by turning nouns into adjectives. Many of the words may have been used in English already, but Shakespeare was the first to put them down, and that's how they grew to become parts of the language that are still with us today. Native English speakers use this vocabulary in everyday speech and in writing. This lesson has excellent advanced vocabulary that you'll learn easily because you'll get the definitions and examples, and I'll tell you the most common contexts you'll hear these words in. To continue learning with Shakespeare, sign up for a free trial with Audible at http://www.engvid.com/out/audiblealex and you'll be able to download a FREE audiobook of one of Shakespeare's plays. Take the quiz on this lesson here: http://www.engvid.com/english-....vocabulary-10-adject

TRANSCRIPT

Shake, shake, shake. Shake, shake, shake. William Shakespeare. William Shakespeare. Ow!

Hey, everyone. I'm Alex. Thanks for clicking, and welcome to this lesson on learning English with William Shakespeare. Today, we are going to look at some vocabulary, specifically, some adjectives that are credited to William Shakespeare. Now, if you've been living under a rock, maybe you don't know that William Shakespeare is one of the most famous English playwrights and writers in general. He has almost 2,000 words that are credited to him. This doesn't mean the words didn't exist before him, but it is definitely the first time that people saw them in print. So, today, we are going to look at 10 adjectives.

Now, what was cool about William Shakespeare is that he would take verbs, he would take nouns, and he would just mash them together. And if a word, you know, didn't exist that he needed that he really felt would make the scene that was necessary for the dialogue, he created it. So, what we're going to do is look at some of those words now. Let me put my book down, and we can begin.

Okay, number one: "lackluster". So, this will also be a pronunciation lesson for you guys. Repeat after me: "lackluster". Okay. "Lackluster" means something is without vitality, without brilliance, or without spirit or life. So, a movie can be lackluster, a performance in a movie can be lackluster, or on stage. An experience can be lackluster, or a presentation can be lackluster. Many other things can be lackluster, but these are some common examples. And again, the examples I will give you today will be the most common ones that are associated with these adjectives. So, you can say: -"How was the movie?" -"Mm, it was lackluster." Okay? It didn't have enough light or life to it. "How was the performance?" if you go to see a stage play, a Cirque du Soleil. Cirque du Soleil is never lackluster, but imagine, you know, maybe the performers on that day, they were all sick, and there were lots of accidents. That might be entertaining, but anyway, you can say: "It was lackluster." There wasn't enough vitality, enough spirit, enough life in it.

Next: "cold-blooded", so you see the word "cold", you see the word "blood", Shakespeare took the word "blood" and added "ed" to it, and basically turned a noun, "blood", into an adjective. "Cold-blooded". "Cold-blooded" means without emotion. So, a killer, a criminal, a murderer, or a villain. A villain is the opposite of a hero. Now, you might think: "When am I ever going to use this word?" Well, this word is very common in crime dramas, like CSI or like Law & Order, or in movies where there are killers and murderers. A very happy topic. It's why I'm wearing all black today.

So, next, we have "worthless". "Worthless" means without value; zero, nada, zilch. Okay? If something is worthless, it has no value. An object can be worthless. An effort to do something can be worthless. An idea, you might say, is worthless. It can't be used. It has no use. So, for example, I have a rock, and this rock has no value. And we say the rock is worthless. Or if you're in a fight and in the fight you have a feather... Does...? You know, does a feather have any use in a fight? Say: "No, this is worthless. I can't use this to fight", unless it's a very sharp feather, maybe.

Next: "tranquil". Now, "tranquil" means-breathe-peaceful, calm, serene. Okay? So, a place, usually, we say is tranquil. An experience or a feeling that you have can be tranquil as well. So, if I go to, you know, a place to meditate on top of a mountain and I am at peace with everything, the mood is tranquil. Okay? This is also where we get tranquilizer darts-right?-that make someone just fall down, and be calm, and fall asleep. So, that's "tranquil".