Can an author just make up new words?

Question

Is it acceptable for an author to coin his own words that have never existed anywhere else as he writes?
I have come across several words in Stephen Kings books that he seems to have made up and cannot be found in a standard dictionary

Words like 'moiling' What does that mean?

Answer 1

"moil

moil [moyl]
n (archaic) (regional)
1. drudgery: hard work
2. U.K. mud: sticky, slimy dirt or mud
3. U.K. turmoil: a state of agitation or confusion


v (past moiled, past participle moiled, present participle moil·ing, 3rd person present singular moils)
1. vi work hard: to work very hard
toiling and moiling

2. vt U.K. make something dirty: to dirty something, especially with soil or mud (archaic) (regional)


[14th century. Via Old French moillier “to moisten, paddle in mud” from, ultimately, Latin mollire “to soften,” from mollis “soft.”]


-moil·er, n
Encarta ® World English Dictionary © & (P) 1998-2004 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved."


Authors can make up words, usually if their writing fantasy or sci-fi though it can appear in other fiction. But they can also use words that are either no longer in use or less likely to be heard of on a regular basis. In these cases the word already exsists but fewer are used to it.

Answer 2

Sure, it happens all the time. Shakespeare was a master.
I used to have a book about the English language and it listed words constructed by authors and it is amazing how many words came into being because an author could not find one to fit or was too lazy to look.. I do not have the book anymore. I wish I did.

There must be a web site devoted to Shakespeare's linguistic inventions. There were hundreds and hundreds.

That is Evolution!

Answer 3

If the word is legitimately needed, then yes author's can make up words (and they have a good chance of actually becoming part of the English language). The word needs to make sense and seem like a logical extension of the language in order for readers to willingly accept it.

Unless you are Lewis Carrol; seems like the most nonsensical stuff of his still gets into the english language (the Jabberwocky being full of examples).

Answer 4

Depends upon the circumstance. In horror, fantasy, or science fiction, it happens all the time, because the author is describing something that doesn't exist. In mainstream fiction, you're not gonna see it much.

In any case, the important thing is to make up a word that fits within the context and conveys the meaning the author intends.

Answer 5

Heck yeah they can! That is part of drawing you into the book and the fictional world that is created. Surely before Lisey's Story, no one had ever even thought to use 'bool' for a word or sound, but now I am sure if y ou have read that story that it conjures up many pictures and situations. Robert Jordan's world could hardly exist at all had he not made up his own language and societies to define his Wheel of Time series.
I would definitely decidedly say yes!

Answer 6

Yes. New words, new meanings for words happen all the time in literature. Probably one of the main places where words come from.

Think of a 'fantasy' book (Lord of the Rings), and how many words aren't in an english dictionary, and yet, by the end of the book you know EXACTLY what he means...

Answer 7

Why not. Do you really think people in "Shakespeare Plays" talked like that for real.

Piers Anthony made up words in his Xanth novels

J. R. R. Tolkien
Made up words in his books

the trick is: Not to do it too much and do it in away that the reader knows what the word means.

Answer 8

Guess what.... Stephen King is a fictional writer, so yes, he can make up whatever he wants in his own books.

Answer 9

Yes, James Joyce made up words.

Answer 10

English is an amazingly flexible language. Almost anyone CAN create their own words. But what words are you referring to?