Time Traveler's Resource Guide

Elizabethan-Shakespearean  Language

Online Dictionary, Glossary, Expressions &Vocabulary

~ Common Words & Expressions ~

anon   (until later)

morrow   (day)

e'en   (even/evening)

fare-thee-well    (goodbye)

aye/yea   (yes)

nay     (no)

ne'r     (never)

oft     (often)

wherefore   (why)

mayhap/perchance/belike    (maybe)

enow    (enough)

aroint    (away)

verily   (very/truly)

prithee/pray    (please)

fie   (a curse)

grammarcy    (thank you)

Queene Elizabeth's Letter to the High Mayor of London

Hear how Shakespeare spoke - sample of the actual accent

The English Language During the Elizabethan Age

Ballads and Broadsides chiefly Of the Elizabethan Period

Elizabethan Online Dictionary: Learn about the Elizabethan Language and Vocabulary,  the 24 Letters in the Elizabethan Alphabet, and the Art of the Elizabethan Insult. The dictionary translates words in the Elizabethan language (Early Modern English) and vocabulary  into Contemporary Modern English.

The Glossary Language is constantly changing and evolving, not least because of writers like Shakespeare and his passion for adding new words to our vocabularies. The Glossary defines some of the lesser known Elizabethan words.

William Shakespeare Quotes and Quotations Many expressions that we use every day originated in Shakespeare's plays. We use the Bard's words  in everyday speech,  'borrowing' sayings from his work without knowing their origin! Shakespeare is attributed with writing 38 plays, 154 sonnets and 5 other poems and used about 21,000 different words. He is credited by the Oxford English Dictionary with the introduction of nearly 3,000 words into the language.

Shakespearean Insults Generator   This Random Generator of Shakespearean Insults combines Shakespearean words and insults with a click of the icon.