In the Early Modern period, writers like Christopher Marlowe, Edmund Spenser and Sir Philip Sidney borrowed words from the classical languages like Latin and Greek
Extensive use was made of processes like compunding (e.g. 'tragicomedy', 'thermometer') and conversion (e.g. 'essay', 'season')
Prefixation (e.g. 'nonsense', 'ampitheatre') and suffixation (e.g. 'relaxation', 'alienate') were also commonplace
These new words became known as 'inkhorn' terms, a word that refers to the inkwells of the writers, and controversy raged over their use
Some writers complained about the addition of foreign words, seeing it as helping to create an unnecessarily large and unwieldy language
They adopted a prescriptivist and even purist viewpoint
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