Readers of this column have perhaps noticed a few patterns emerging, not the least of which is the recurring appearance of one William Shakespeare. Of course it’s not surprising that the Bard has made frequent appearances in a column about words, since he’s unquestionably contributed more to the English language than anyone else.

Probably Shakespeare’s greatest contribution to English is the role he played in the standardization of its grammar, spelling and vocabulary rules. But what people remember most about his works are the myriad words and phrases he either coined from other languages (called neologisms) or created outright, some of which are still used so frequently that they’ve even become cliches.

In his oeuvre, the Bard used over 17,000 different words (in the way of comparison, the Old Testament uses fewer than 6,000 words) and has been credited with being the first to use about 1,700 of them.

Uh, make that “had been credited.” In the 1950s the Oxford English Dictionary had given him credit for the first use of more than 3,200 words; with continued research and analysis of his work, that figure has dwindled to under 2,000.

Still, William Shakespeare stands head and shoulders above all other writers. The late George Steiner, a literary critic at “The New Yorker,” once referred to the works of other English romantic poets as “feeble variations on Shakespearean themes.”

To help make Mr. Steiner’s point, “Hamlet” alone gives us not only several new words (generous, rant, mousetrap and outbreak), but the titles of several books and movies as well (“North by Northwest,” “Infinite Jest,” “Time Out of Joint” and “Something Rotten”).

“Macbeth” gives us “assassination” and has the title character pondering whether or not committing murder is the “be-all and end-all.”

In “Othello” the words “critical” and “addiction” show up for the first time, as does the warning that jealousy “is the green-eyed monster” as Iago tries to convince Othello that his wife, Desdemona, is having an affair.

“Courtship” comes from “The Merchant of Venice,” as does the caution from the Prince of Morocco that “all that glisters is not gold.”

“Much Ado About Nothing” is where we first find “frugal” and the related “negotiate,” while “Romeo and Juliet” warns us about going on “a wild goose chase,” probably because pursuing that “ladybird” could make you “uncomfortable.”

“Cold-blooded” and “savagery” originated in “King John,” while “King Lear” provided us with “hot-blooded” and “epileptic.”

And we’re reminded in “As You Like It” that “All the world is a stage.” (Hopefully stage fright doesn’t make you feel like “puking,” also a first found in that story.)

One of my favorite Shakespeare words is “gnarled,” from “Measure for Measure.” It’s my favorite because it once got me back into a spelling bee in Mrs. Perkins’ English class when all my classmates thought it started with a silent “k.”

I’ve barely scratched the surface of what William Shakespeare has given to the English language, and could write several more columns on his contributions to English. And probably will. For example, he was the father of the knock-knock joke, which was told by a hungover porter in “Macbeth.”

“Knock, knock! Who’s there i’ the name of Beelzebub?”

OK, it’s not that funny. Maybe Shakespeare hadn’t yet realized that “Brevity is the soul of wit” (“Hamlet”).

Jim Witherell of Lewiston is a writer and lover of words whose work includes “L.L. Bean: The Man and His Company” and “Ed Muskie: Made in Maine.”

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