The Tudors
Home » Elizabethan English Language and Words

Elizabethan English Language and Words

When you consider how the Elizabethans spoke to one another, you can really see their uniqueness in their literature. For example, you can really feel the emotion and feelings about how they loved how their English sounded. Even the early plays were packed with rhythms and alliterations. As well, you can see that Shakespeare himself during the Elizabethan time adopted several unusual words.

Unlike today where sentences have to be well structured from a grammar perspective, this was not the case during Elizabethan times. It was much more important to have a nice-sounding sentence. Therefore, you will see many sentences with repeated words to give emphasis.

What is Elizabethan language?

Contents

Elizabethan language definition:

Elizabethan language refers to the kind of English spoken by the people during the reign of Queen Elizabeth in England. It was considerably different from the English we speak today from a stylistic and structural perspective.

Elizabethan English Language and Words
A Common household in the Elizabethan era

Another problem that you may have if you were to read writings from the Elizabethan period is that there are often less transitional words or grammatical signals. So often times it can be difficult to hear or read and find the subject of a sentence.

Elizabethan Language and Elizabethan words

Shakespeare is a classic example of how the English language has changed since the Elizabethan times. Throughout most of the literature he produced, you will find that he used the word “most” instead of the word “very”. So for example, if I were to say, “He is very high.” Shakespeare would have wrote, “He is most high”. This is confusing but just a slight change in the way the words were used.

As mentioned above, you would also find several repeated words to give emphasis. Such as in Hamlet you will see sayings such as, “Excellent, Excellent well”. While this is confusing, this is also how they would speak to one another. It has a very distinguished sound to it that even those who speak English may find difficult to understand by today’s standards.

Elizabethan English Language and Words

A classic example of how the Elizabethans likely talked can be seen in the King James Version of the Holy Bible. Several translations have been made since then simply based on the fact that many people find it difficult to read. Also, several words have different meanings than they used to so the right context of the writing in the King James Version must be evaluated while reading it.

History of Elizabethan language

The stylistic and grammatical structure of English during the Elizabethan times was quite different from those of today. Yet, the number of words used in the Elizabethan language was constantly changing and developing. The people were continuously expanding their vocabulary.

The average number of words used by a common man during the Elizabethan period was roughly five-hundred. Elizabethan scholars and writers invented new words. Shakespeare himself invented many new words and used them in his plays. He alone contributed around two-thousand words to the English language.

Some of the words invented and used by him were: Addiction, amazement, accuse, blushing, compromise, champion, critic, dawn, elbow, epileptic, excitement, frugal, gossip etc.

Elizabethan words in Romeo and Juliet

Some words used by Shakespeare in Romeo and Juliet were:

Adieu – goodbye

Anon – soon

Aye – yes

Attend – listen

Counsel – advise

Dispatch – kill

Decree – order

Doth – does

E’er – ever

Shakespearean words
Shakespearean words and meaning

What does hath mean in Shakespeare?

Hath in Shakespearean English means ‘have’ and in some cases also ‘had’.

What does woo mean in Shakespeare?

in Shakespearean English, the word woo means to pursue someone with romantic intentions or to try to win the support of someone.

What does hast mean in Shakespeare?

Hast was the second person singular term for have in Elizabethan English.

What does wherefore mean in Shakespeare?

Wherefore means “for what reason”.

Elizabethan alphabets
Elizabethan alphabets

English Language Usage

What was the difference in Thee and Thou?

“How art thou”, and not “how are thee”

I will go with thee.

When the following word begins with a vowel, thine is used for thy:
e.g.
I like thy face.
but
I applaud thine effort.

These were also some of the Shakespearean pronouns commonly used, for example, “thou” and “thee” for you, “thy” for your, “thine” for yours etc.

Informal forms of address

Thou and thee are used instead of you. Used while addressing family, friends, god. For parents
and superiors, formal version was used

Here are some phrases from medieval English.

Wow means Marry!
Excuse me can be replaced with Forgive me, Pray pardon, I crave your forgiveness
Please was Prithee (I pray thee), If you please
Thank you was Gramercy, God reward thee, I thank thee, My thanks
The bottom line was Finally, In the final analysis, In the end, At the bottom, In the main,
The bathroom was Privy, Ajax
Certainly! can be replaced with Certes! (sir-tees)

Other English Vocabulary
You used to live in a street and not on a street.

What are some common words and phrases in Elizabethan English?

Some common Shakespearean words and phrases were:

Abhor – disdain

Balk – to dispute

Coil – trouble, distress

Delation – accusation

Jealousy is a Green-eyed monster (Othello)

The World is my oyster (Merry Wives of Windsor)

In my heart of hearts (Hamlet)

How do you Hello in Elizabethan English?

Some ways of saying Hello in Elizabethan English were “Good morrow”, “Heigh-ho!”

How did Tudors speak?

The Tudors were the first rulers to replace French with English as the language of the court. They also made it mandatory for everyone in the kingdom to speak in English. Under them, the universities and law courts also switched to English as their official language.

The English language then spoken was naturally quite different from the kind of English we are accustomed to today, because English, at that time was still forming and taking shape; new words were being introduced and grammatical structures were not strictly determined.

The Tudors
The Tudors played an important role in the development of English

How were Titles used? What were the Forms of Address used?

Sir was used only with a man’s given name. Every knight is a lord but the other way round is not
true. So, My Lord was NOT used to someone not entitled. A woman married to a knight can be called
my lady.

Knight’s sons/daughters, baron, or viscount didn’t have titles other than Master and Mistress.
Eldest son of an earl was called lord. “Your Grace” was only used for royals like the queen and
dukes.

Esquires were the younger sons of peers, the heirs male of knights. Esquire was not a title.

More Info On- England education in Elizabethan Period, Literature, Dictionary, William Shakespeare Words

Found info useful?