I was using Google to confirm the spelling of the word “Bated”, as in, “Bated breath,” the other day, and I came across its origins.

It turns out that it’s a diminutive form of the word “abated”, and the first recorded use was by William Shakespeare, specifically, Merchant of Venice, “Shall I bend low and in a bondman’s key, With bated breath and whispering humbleness, Say this; ‘Fair sir, you spit on me on Wednesday last; You spurn’d me such a day; another time You call’d me dog; and for these courtesies I’ll lend you thus much moneys’?”

I already knew that the first recorded use of puke, actually the word puking, came from The Scottish Play.

I just think that it’s kinda cool.

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