The English language is rich because it isn't purely English. Emerson called it "the sea which receives tributaries from every region under heaven". It has taken about 2000 years to evolve.

The Kelts, Jutes, Angles, Saxons, Greeks, Romans, Danes, Normans, Dutch, Germans, French, Spanish, Italians, Indians, American Indians, Africans; to name just a few, have all made major contributions.

Shakespeare's word contributions include about 1,700 words, among them the following: assassinate, auspicious, barefaced, bump, castigate, countless, critical, dwindle, gnarled, hurry, impartial, lapse, laughable, leapfrog, lonely, misplaced, and monumental.