Wikipedia<\/a>)<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\nThe next wave of innovation in English vocabulary came with the revival of classical scholarship known as the Renaissance. The English Renaissance roughly covers the 16th and early 17th Century (the European Renaissance had begun in Italy as early as the 14th Century), and is often referred to as the \u201cElizabethan Era\u201d or the \u201cAge of Shakespeare\u201d after the most important monarch and most famous writer of the period. The additions to English vocabulary during this period were deliberate borrowings, and not the result of any invasion or influx of new nationalities or any top-down decrees.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Latin (and to a lesser extent Greek and French) was still very much considered the language of education and scholarship at this time, and the great enthusiasm for the classical languages during the English Renaissance brought thousands of new words into the language, peaking around 1600. A huge number of classical works were being translated into English during the 16th Century, and many new terms were introduced where a satisfactory English equivalent did not exist.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Words from Latin or Greek (often via Latin) were imported wholesale during this period, either intact (e.g. genius<\/em>, species<\/em>, militia<\/em>, radius<\/em>, specimen<\/em>, criterion<\/em>, squalor<\/em>, apparatus<\/em>, focus<\/em>, tedium<\/em>, lens<\/em>, antenna<\/em>, paralysis<\/em>, nausea<\/em>, etc) or, more commonly, slightly altered (e.g. horrid<\/em>, pathetic<\/em>, iilicit<\/em>, pungent<\/em>, frugal<\/em>, anonymous<\/em>, dislocate<\/em>, explain<\/em>, excavate<\/em>, meditate<\/em>, adapt<\/em>, enthusiasm<\/em>, absurdity<\/em>, area<\/em>, complex<\/em>, concept<\/em>, invention<\/em>, technique<\/em>, temperature<\/em>, capsule<\/em>, premium<\/em>, system<\/em>, expensive<\/em>, notorious<\/em>, gradual<\/em>, habitual<\/em>, insane<\/em>, ultimate<\/em>, agile<\/em>, fictitious<\/em>, physician<\/em>, anatomy<\/em>, skeleton<\/em>, orbit<\/em>, atmosphere<\/em>, catastrophe<\/em>, parasite<\/em>, manuscript<\/em>, lexicon<\/em>, comedy<\/em>, tragedy<\/em>, anthology<\/em>, fact<\/em>, biography<\/em>, mythology<\/em>, sarcasm<\/em>, paradox<\/em>, chaos<\/em>, crisis<\/em>, climax<\/em>, etc). A whole category of words ending with the Greek-based suffixes \u201c-ize\u201d and \u201c-ism\u201d were also introduced around this time.<\/p>\n\n\n\nSometimes, Latin-based adjectives were introduced to plug “lexical gaps” where no adjective was available for an existing Germanic noun (e.g. marine<\/em> for sea<\/em>, pedestrian<\/em> for walk<\/em>), or where an existing adjective had acquired unfortunate connotations (e.g. equine<\/em> or equestrian<\/em> for horsey<\/em>, aquatic<\/em> for watery<\/em>), or merely as an additional synonym (e.g. masculine<\/em> and feminine<\/em> in addition to manly<\/em> and womanly<\/em>, paternal<\/em> in addition to fatherly<\/em>, etc). Several rather ostentatious French phrases also became naturalized in English at this juncture, including soi-disant<\/em>, vis-\u00e0-vis<\/em>, sang-froid<\/em>, etc, as well as more mundane French borrowings such as cr\u00eape<\/em>, \u00e9tiquette<\/em>, etc.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Early Modern English loans from Latin & French (from Google Books<\/a>, originally from T. Nevaleinen “An Introduction to Early Modern English”)<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\nSome scholars adopted Latin terms so excessively and awkwardly at this time that the derogatory term \u201cinkhorn\u201d was coined to describe pedantic writers who borrowed the classics to create obscure and opulent terms, many of which have not survived. Examples of inkhorn terms include revoluting<\/em>, ingent<\/em>, devulgate<\/em>, attemptate<\/em>, obtestate<\/em>, fatigate<\/em>, deruncinate<\/em>, subsecive<\/em>, nidulate<\/em>, abstergify<\/em>, arreption<\/em>, suppeditate<\/em>, eximious<\/em>, illecebrous<\/em>, cohibit<\/em>, dispraise<\/em> and other such inventions. Sydney Smith was one writer of the period with a particular penchant for such inkhorn terms, including gems like frugiverous<\/em>, mastigophorus<\/em>, plumigerous<\/em>, suspirous<\/em>, anserous<\/em> and fugacious<\/em>, The so-called Inkhorn Controversy was the first of several such ongoing arguments over language use which began to erupt in the salons of England (and, later, America). Among those strongly in favour of the use of such “foreign” terms in English were Thomas Elyot and George Pettie; just as strongly opposed were Thomas Wilson and John Cheke.<\/p>\n\n\n\nHowever, it is interesting to note that some words initially branded as inkhorn terms have stayed in the language and now remain in common use (e.g. dismiss<\/em>, disagree<\/em>, celebrate<\/em>, encyclopaedia<\/em>, commit<\/em>, industrial<\/em>, affability<\/em>, dexterity<\/em>, superiority<\/em>, external<\/em>, exaggerate<\/em>, extol<\/em>, necessitate<\/em>, expectation<\/em>, mundane<\/em>, capacity<\/em> and ingenious<\/em>). An indication of the arbitrariness of this process is that impede<\/em> survived while its opposite, expede<\/em>, did not; commit<\/em> and transmit<\/em> were allowed to continue, while demit<\/em> was not; and disabuse<\/em> and disagree<\/em> survived, while disaccustom<\/em> and disacquaint<\/em>, which were coined around the same time, did not. It is also sobering to realize that some of the greatest writers in the language have suffered from the same vagaries of fashion and fate. Not all of Shakespeare\u2019s many creations have stood the test of time, including barky<\/em>, brisky<\/em>, conflux<\/em>, exsufflicate<\/em>, ungenitured<\/em>, unhair<\/em>, questrist<\/em>, cadent<\/em>, perisive<\/em>, abruption<\/em>, appertainments<\/em>, implausive<\/em>, vastidity<\/em> and tortive<\/em>. Likewise, Ben Jonson\u2019s ventositous<\/em> and obstufact<\/em> died a premature death, and John Milton\u2019s impressive inquisiturient<\/em> has likewise not lasted.<\/p>\n\n\n\nThere was even a self-conscious reaction to this perceived foreign incursion into the English language, and some writers tried to deliberately resurrect older English words (e.g.