Shakespeare invented the word "assassination" and "bump."
[ addenda: There is some debate over assassination - some say it was Shakespeare, others say it derives from an Arabic word, and it had a very interesting background;
The first documented use of assassination is indeed to be found in the works of the noble bard...
If th’ assassination could trammel up the consequence, and catch with his surcease, success.
- Macbeth, Act i, scene vi
It would be unreasonable to assume Shakespeare invented a hatful of new words each day, but he did indeed base his word on the word assassin, which is indeed Arabic in origin. I thought it of great interest to all, to post the information below;
"The Arabic original is hashshashin (or hashsihiyyin) both meaning "eaters of hashish". Yes, it was plural. For some unknown reason, it was the plural form of the word which took hold in Europe. One over-simplified account of this word claims that the assassins took hashish before murdering someone. This is not quite true, however.
The first assassins were followers of a minor Islamic sect called the Ishmaeli which achieved political power by murdering its opponents. Their leader was a man called Hassan ibn Sabbah, who was known to some western travelers as "The Old Man of the Mountains". Candidates for admission to his sect, on arrival at the gates of his mountain fortress, were fed quantities of a drug concoction (which probably included hashish) and promptly passed out. They awoke in a delightful garden where they were regaled with choice foods and exquisite drinks by beautiful young women. After a while, they were then fed more of the drug and awoke to find themselves outside the fortress once more. Hassan convinced them that what they had seen was a glimpse of the paradise to which they would go if they died while carrying out his orders. Naturally, they became fearless.
Now these guys didn't just murder people straight away, they gave them plenty of warning. First a stealthy assassin would leave a bag of gold on someone's pillow while they slept. If the "victim" didn't get that hint, a little later a dagger would be left. It is said that one mullah (preacher) in Baghdad was vociferous in his opposition to Hassan and his murderous crew until one day he suddenly would hear no word against them. When asked why this was he said "They have convinced me with arguments which were both weighty and pointed". People knew what he meant". -from, takeourworld.com ]
- I would also like to thank arion and sokita2u -
The name of all the continents end with the same letter that they start with.
The word "lethologica" describes the state of not being able to remember the word you want.
The word racecar and kayak are the same whether they are read left to right or right to left.
China has more English speakers than the United States.
The longest word in the English language is 1909 letters long and it refers to a distinct part of DNA.
The English-language alphabet originally had only 24 letters. One missing letter was "J," which was the last letter to be added to the alphabet. The other latecomer to the alphabet was "U."
The name of the Internet's most popular directory, is an acronym. According to the company, the name "Yahoo" stands for "Yet Another Hierarchical Officious Oracle."
The act of snapping one's fingers has a name. It is called a "fillip."
"Underground" is the only word in the English language that begins and ends with the letters "und."
A pregnant goldfish is called a twit.
There is a seven letter word in the English language that contains ten words without rearranging any of its letters, "therein" -- the, there, he, in, rein, her, here, ere, therein, herein.
To "testify" was based on men in the Roman court swearing to a statement made by swearing on their testicles.
[ addenda:
=origin of the word testify?
It is first recorded in English in the late 14th century as testifie, having come from Late Latin testificare "to bear witness, proclaim". That word was formed from testi(s) "witness" and ficus "making". Testis comes from the Indo-European root trei- "three", with the sense of a "third person standing by (as a witness)".
It is also believed that Latin testis "witness" is related to testis "testicle", by the idea that a testicle "bears witness" of virility. Some believe that testis "testicle" is actually related to Latin testa "pot, shell". ]
