folk etymology
folk etymology
F f Transcription
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- 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
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
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 most of word are more popular. This word is almost not used. It has a much more popular synonym.
folk etymology usage trend in Literature
This diagram is provided by Google Ngram ViewerSee also
Matching words
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