The Beauty of Words

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: 

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