#  Key Terms for Early Modern English 

 



These terms and dates form part of the discussion of the readings for this section, and you should become familiar with them. You can find them defined separately in the Glossary in the back of our textbook, as well as the [online glossary on this site](/glossary). Some of these terms may also come from our lectures, supplementary readings, and workbook exercises for the unit. *You may find it helpful to continually refer back to this list as you progress through the material and lectures of this unit.*

Great Vowel Shift (Tudor Vowel Shift)  
etymological respelling  
his-genitive  
group genitive  
polite pronoun forms  
loss of final -e  
Latinate diction  
humanism

1450-1700 Great Vowel Shift  
1588 Spanish Armada  
1611 King James Bible  
1616 William Shakespeare  
1700 John Dryden