“What’s another word for thesaurus?” (Stephen Wright)

A thesaurus is a great help if you want to increase your vocabulary. Whereas a dictionary gives you a definition and the pronunciation of a word, a thesaurus lists synonyms (a word or phrase which has the same or similar meaning as another word or phrase) and also sometimes antonyms (a word or phrase which has the opposite meaning of another word or phrase) of it.

The word ‘thesaurus’ comes from Latin and Ancient Greek, and means a collection of important or valuable things. The most well known modern thesaurus is ‘Roget’s Thesaurus of English Words and Phrases’ which the British Dr. Peter Mark Roget began work on in 1805, publishing it in 1852; it has not been out of print since. However, there are other examples even dating back to around 100AD – the Greek author Philo of Byblos wrote a dictionary of synonyms around this time.

It took Roget almost fifty years to single-handedly complete his thesaurus, although he did not devote himself entirely to it until he had retired from medicine in 1840. Even so, it was a huge achievement for one person. In comparison Samuel Johnson devoted nine years of his life to compiling the first English language dictionary and he had six assistants (all crammed into his attic, by the way).

The University of Glasgow’s English Language Department has spent more than forty years producing the ‘Historical Thesaurus of English’ (HTE). As its name suggests, this latest thesaurus does not just list synonyms, but groups words in chronological order beginning with the oldest from Old English up until the newest words of 2003; in total it covers more than 920,000 words. It is claimed to be the largest ever thesaurus and the first historical one in any language. You can find where a word came from and how it evolved over time. You can also search for words which were used during a particular period of time enabling you to find all the words Shakespeare had available to him meaning ‘happiness’, for instance. No wonder it took such a large team of people so many decades to complete it and from such humble beginnings (they started by writing words on individual slips of paper).

While for most of us the HTE will be too expensive (around £250) and even too cumbersome to have our own copy when it is published in October, the good news is it will be available online in the future, linked to the online version of the Oxford English Dictionary.

A man for all time

A new image believed to be of Shakespeare, which would be the only authenticated portrait made while he was still alive, could give us more of a sense of the man he was. The face which looks out from this portrait is much younger (supposedly the playwright was 39 at the time) than the engraved image always used. Instead of the somewhat lifeless and stiff mature gentleman we are so used to seeing, with his receding hairline and tired expression, we see a vibrant man, looking at us with the confident air of an achiever. He also has a much more elegant nose!

Regardless of the debate that will, no doubt, last for some time over the authenticity of the painting, looking at this more youthful, energetic man brought to mind the countless words and expressions still commonly used and attributed to Shakespeare. We can forget the extent of Shakespeare’s influence on the development of modern English; it is amazing how much of an impact one man has had. Looking at this new portrait I definitely get more of a sense of the person who enjoyed playing with words, even forming new ones, although not all of them caught on.

Some of my favourites that did not become accepted into the language are to congreet (meaning to greet each other), to friend (befriend), co-mate (‘co’ meaning ‘together’ as in the word ‘co-worker’), fracted (broken), relume (relight) and needly (a more concise form of ‘needfully’).

However, more important are those which did become accepted. Phrases such as ‘a heart of gold’ (Henry V), ‘a foregone conclusion’ (Othello), ‘for goodness sake’ (Henry VIII), ‘with bated breath’ (The Merchant of Venice), ‘the world is my oyster’ (Henry IV, Part 2), ‘own flesh and blood’ (Hamlet), ‘not sleep a wink’ (Cymbeline), ‘mum’s the word’ (Henry VI, Part 2), ‘love is blind’ (The Merchant of Venice) and ‘break the ice’ (The Taming of the Shrew).

It may never become clear if Shakespeare actually invented these phrases (they may have already been commonly used and he merely wrote them down). Nevertheless, what we can be certain about is the enormous influence the works of this man had on language as we know it. A man whose words live on, so pervasively, almost four hundred years after his death.

He was not of an age, but for all time – Ben Jonson (1618)