A view of language and metaphoricity integrates perspectives of history and textual theory and practice. Metaphoricity in early modern English, as exemplified in Shakespeare, is examined in light of the prominence of Latin in literacy; awareness of Latin origins contributed to a proximity between literal and figurative meaning. The case of 'translatio' (translation) and examples from Robert Estienne's 'Thesaurus linguae latinae' illustrate the presence of literal meaning in Renaissance metaphors. Jacques Derrida's (e.g., 1975) concept of etymological trace is contrasted with Paul Ricoeur's (e.g., 1975) synchronic position that metaphors die when lexicalized. Early modern English uses of 'invest' and its derivatives are examined and illustrated from Shakespeare's '2 Henry IV' and 'Hamlet'; both literal and metaphorical senses are noted and sometimes found combined in wordplay. (E. Taylor in LLBA 1999, vol. 33, n. 5)