Butler—The Vocabulary of Shakespeare. 51 
picked up by Scott till 1820, definement a birth of the same 
1602 first reappeared in 1867. Shakespeare’s “enfranchise¬ 
ment” of 1595 was adopted by Francis Bacon thirty-one years 
afterward. 
It is amazing that the word amazing is itself found nowhere 
back of Shakespeare nor is amazement in three of its four 
senses. It was used in a fourth sense, now obsolete, by Spen¬ 
ser, six years before the word occurs in Hamlet. 
But in this and hundreds of other cases where Shakespeare 
was not first to use a word it is easy to show that he was no bor¬ 
rower—but added a new and better sense of his own to an old 
form—or knew nothing of any such old form. Congealment, 
definement, hardiment, and interchaiigement are cases of this 
nature. 
In one instance I chance to notice that Shakespeare was first 
to use a word which has eluded the argusreyes of IST-E-T). 
Hist! Borneo, hist! cried Juliet. (2. 2. 159.) This was in 
1591, while the earliest citation in H-E-D was twenty-six years 
later, and that from a dictionary. 
Among Shakespearian words of which I find no coiner but 
him with the prefix en are end art, enfetter, enhearse, enmesh, 
enrank, enrapt, enround, ennoble, ensconce, ensear, ensky, en- 
tame, enthrone, enthrall, entreasure, enwheel, enguard, enjail, 
etc. 
But Shakespeare’s verbal creations; demand a treatise which 
cannot be begun till A-E-l) has dragged its slow length along 
to the very end of its appendix. May its “finis” hasten on! 
The school-day words he saved are presented in. evidence that 
the incipient or growing play-wright before entering his teens 
was already whether wittingly or unwillingly a snapper up of 
trifies close at hand—and so became a word-monger—a word- 
gatherer—a word-treasurer. His conceptions demanded con¬ 
stant kodak catches of words. It were easy to multiply illus¬ 
trations all pointing the same way and along many lines. Many 
which I cannot mention have been shown me by N-E-D. 
In 1569 strolling players had obtained permission from 
Shakespeare’s father then High Bailiff to perform before him 
seated in the place of honor with his five year old son standing 
