It's Wednesday, which means another installment of our new themed posts about Shakespeare and his extensive wordplay. We're delving into words the Bard is credited with coining - at least in as far as their current meanings are concerned!
And as I am literally leaving for the airport as soon as I hit "post", off to far-flung, far-off lands, it seems only fitting that today's Shakespearean Imagination word of the day should be:
luggage : lug·gage : \ˈlə-gij\ (n): something that is lugged; especially: suitcases for a traveler's belongings.
Synonyms: baggage - trunk - valise
The Oxford English Dictionary says that the word's meaning hasn't changed much since the 16th century; the original meaning denoted inconveniently heavy baggage.
First seen in Shakespeare's King Henry IV, Part I (written 1597-1598). The full text of the play may be found here.
Cheers until next week!