Folk etymology

Folk etymology (or popular etymology) is a linguistic term for a category of false etymology which has grown up in popular lore, as opposed to one which arose in scholarly usage.

Instances of word change by folk etymology

In linguistic change caused by folk etymology, the form of a word changes so that it better matches its popular rationalisation. For example, the old English sam-blind ('semi-blind' or 'half-blind') became sand-blind (as if 'blinded by the sand') when people were no longer able to make sense of the element sam ('half'), and the old English bryd-guma ('bride-man') became bridegroom after the loss of the Old English word guma ('man', compare French 'homme') rendered the compound semantically obscure. The silent s in island is also a result of folk etymology. The word, which derives from an Old English compound of ig ('water', surprisingly, cognate to Latin aqua) with land, was erroneously believed to be related to isle, which has a similar meaning but derives from Latin insula ('island'). More recent examples are the French (e)crevisse (likely from Germanic krebiz) which became the English cray-fish, and asparagus, which in England became sparrow-grass. Similarly, cater-corner became kitty-corner or catty-corner when the original meaning of cater ("four") had become obsolete.

Related Topics:
Old English - Latin - Germanic

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Other changes due to folk etymology include:

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:buttonhole from buttonhold (originally a loop of string that held a button down)

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:hangnail from agnail

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:penthouse from pentice

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:sweetheart from sweetard (the same suffix as in dullard and dotard)

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:shamefaced from shamefast

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:chaise lounge from chaise longue

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When a back-formation rests on a misunderstanding of the morphology of the original word, it may be regarded as a kind of folk etymology.

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In heraldry, a rebus coat-of-arms may reinforce a folk etymology for a placename.

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For further examples, see the following articles that discuss folk etymologies for their subjects:

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• Belfry
• Brass monkey
• Brent goose
• Caesarean section
• Ducking stool
• Gringo
• Jerusalem artichoke
• Poll tax
• Rake-hell
• Serviceberry
• Welsh rarebit