Shakespeare
UK /ˈʃeɪkspɪə/ · US /ˈʃeɪkspɪɹ/ proper noun, noun, verb
Forms Shakespeares Shakespearing Shakespeared Shakespere Shakspeare Shakspere
- proper noun A surname.
- proper noun William Shakespeare, an English playwright and poet of the late sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries.
- proper noun (metonymic) William Shakespeare's works or media adaptations of his works. “He is reading Shakespeare.”
- proper noun A village in Perth East township, Ontario, Canada, named after the playwright.
- proper noun A ghost town in Hidalgo County, New Mexico, United States.
- noun (uncountable) Any form or style of language that is eloquent, especially in English; poetry.
- noun (countable) A playwright of the standing of William Shakespeare.
- verb (intransitive) To act or perform in a play of the works of Shakespeare.
Synonyms
the Bard Shakey William Shakespeare Shakspere William Shakspere Bard of Avon
Etymology
A common Middle English surname meaning spearman, corresponding to shake (“to brandish a weapon”) + spear.
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 — from the Wiktionary entry “Shakespeare”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details