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William Shakespeare

William Shakespeare (1564–1616), playwright and poet.
The 2nd most frequently quoted source in the OED, with a total of 33104 quotations (about 1.06% of all OED quotations).
See article in the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography

Total number of quotations33104Find quotations
Quotations providing first evidence of a word1595Find quotations
Quotations providing first evidence of a particular meaning8033Find quotations
NameTotal QuotationsPercentage of quotations
1.Hamlet16055.0%Find quotations in OED
2.Tempest10793.0%Find quotations in OED
3.King Lear10513.0%Find quotations in OED
4.Macbeth10423.0%Find quotations in OED
5.Love's Labour's Lost10423.0%Find quotations in OED
6.Henry IV, Pt. 210243.0%Find quotations in OED
7.Merchant of Venice10163.0%Find quotations in OED
8.Othello10003.0%Find quotations in OED
9.Henry IV, Pt. 19743.0%Find quotations in OED
10.Henry V9633.0%Find quotations in OED

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The top one thousand authors and works cited in the OED

The Sources page contains details about the most frequently cited authors and works in the OED.

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