Literature's contribution to the English Language

• a Daniel : A Daniel is someone who makes a wise judgment that has previously been difficult to solve. It refers to the biblical character Daniel who was attributed with fine powers of judgment
• malapropism : from the character Mrs. Malaprop from Sheridan’s play-The Rivals (meaning : an act or habit of misusing words ridiculously, especially by the confusion of words that are similar in sound.)
• Jekyl and Hyde :  The phrase Jekyll and Hyde is used to describe a  person who has two separate personalities – one good  and the other evil. The expression derives from the name of the main characters in the novel “The strange  case of Dr.Jekyll and Mr.Hyde” by the Scottish writer Robert Louis Stevenson
• Aladin's cave : Aladin is the poor son of a Chinese tailor and is used by a Moorish magician to fetch a magical lamp from an underground cave. When Aladin enters the cave he finds it filled with several chests of treasure and riches.Hence Aladin’s cave refers to a place of great riches or a place where valuable things are found
• To raise a Cain : To raise Cain means to create an uproar or to cause trouble. Cain was the son of Adam and Eve and the brother of Abel. He became jealous of Abel because only Abel’s offering to God was accepted. So he slew his brother Abel. Hence Eve who had raised Cain raised trouble in the form of Cain.