folk etymology

F f

Transcription

- US Pronunciation
- US IPA
- /foʊk ˌe-tə-ˈmä-lə-jē/

- US Pronunciation
- US IPA
- /foʊk ˌe-tə-ˈmä-lə-jē/

Definitions of folk etymology words

noun folk etymology a modification of a linguistic form according either to a falsely assumed etymology, as Welsh rarebit from Welsh rabbit, or to a historically irrelevant analogy, as bridegroom from bridegome. 1
noun folk etymology a popular but false notion of the origin of a word. 1
noun folk etymology the gradual change in the form of a word through the influence of a more familiar word or phrase with which it becomes associated, as for example sparrow-grass for asparagus 0
noun folk etymology a popular but erroneous conception of the origin of a word 0
noun folk etymology unscientific etymology; popular but incorrect notion of the origin and derivation of a word: folk etymology may bring about change, as in the case of “cole slaw” becoming “cold slaw” 0

See all 5 definitions of folk etymology

Information block about the term

Origin of folk etymology

First appearance:

before 1880

One of the 23% newest English words

First recorded in 1880-85

Historical Comparancy

Parts of speech for Folk etymology

noun

adjective

verb

adverb

pronoun

preposition

conjunction

determiner

exclamation

Full grammatical hierarchy of Folk etymology

folk etymology popularity

This term is known only to a narrow circle of people with rare knowledge. Only 29% of English native speakers know the meaning of this word.

According to our data about 74% of words is more used. This is a rare but used term. It occurs in the pages of specialized literature and in the speech of educated people.

folk etymology usage trend in Literature

This diagram is provided by Google Ngram Viewer

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