This article is about generative popular etymology. For derivational-only popular etymology, see false etymology.
Folk etymology – also known as (generative) popular etymology,[1]analogical reformation, (morphological)reanalysis and etymological reinterpretation[2] – is a change in a word or phrase resulting from the replacement of an unfamiliar form by a more familiar one through popular usage.[3][4][5] The form or the meaning of an archaic, foreign, or otherwise unfamiliar word is reinterpreted as resembling more familiar words or morphemes.
The term folk etymology is a loan translation from German Volksetymologie, coined by Ernst Förstemann in 1852.[6] Folk etymology is a productive process in historical linguistics, language change, and social interaction.[7] Reanalysis of a word's history or original form can affect its spelling, pronunciation, or meaning. This is frequently seen in relation to loanwords or words that have become archaic or obsolete.
Folk/popular etymology may also refer to a popular false belief about the etymology of a word or phrase that does not lead to a change in the form or meaning. To disambiguate the usage of the term "folk/popular etymology", Ghil'ad Zuckermann proposes a clear-cut distinction between the derivational-only popular etymology (DOPE) and the generative popular etymology (GPE): the DOPE refers to a popular false etymology involving no neologization, and the GPE refers to neologization generated by a popular false etymology.[1]
Examples of words created or changed through folk etymology include the English dialectal form sparrowgrass, originally from Greek ἀσπάραγος ("asparagus") remade by analogy to the more familiar words sparrow and grass.[8] When the alteration of an unfamiliar word is limited to a single person, it is known as an eggcorn.
^ abZuckermann, Ghil'ad (2003). Language Contact and Lexical Enrichment in Israeli Hebrew. Palgrave Macmillan. ISBN 978-1403917232.
^Cienkowski, Witold (January 1969). "The initial stimuli in the processes of etymological reinterpretation(so-called folk etymology)". Scando-Slavica. 15 (1): 237–245. doi:10.1080/00806766908600524. ISSN 0080-6765.
^"folk-etymology". Oxford English Dictionary (1st ed.). Oxford University Press. 1933.
^Sihler, Andrew (2000). Language History: An introduction. John Benjamins. ISBN 90-272-8546-2.
^Trask, Robert Lawrence (2000). The Dictionary of Historical and Comparative Linguistics. Psychology Press. ISBN 978-1-57958-218-0.
^Förstemann, Ernst (1852). "Ueber Deutsche volksetymologie". In Adalbert Kuhn (ed.). Zeitschrift für vergleichende Sprachforschung auf dem Gebiete des Deutschen, Griechischen und Lateinischen. F. Dümmler.
^See, e.g.'Etymythological Othering' and the Power of 'Lexical Engineering' in Judaism, Islam and Christianity. A Socio-Philo(sopho)logical Perspective, by Ghil'ad Zuckermann in Explorations in the Sociology of Language and Religion (2006), ed. by Tope Omoniyi & Joshua A. Fishman, Amsterdam: John Benjamins, pp. 237–258.
^Anttila, Raimo (1989). Historical and Comparative Linguistics. John Benjamins. ISBN 90-272-3556-2.
Folketymology – also known as (generative) popular etymology, analogical reformation, (morphological) reanalysis and etymological reinterpretation – is...
Etymology (/ˌɛtɪˈmɒlədʒi/, ET-im-OL-ə-jee) is the scientific study of the origin and evolution of a word's semantic meaning across time, including its...
cultural/linguistic community, it is a folketymology (or popular etymology). Nevertheless, folk/popular etymology may also refer to the process by which...
measured by comparison to the width or length of a thumb. A modern folketymology holds that the phrase is derived from the maximum width of a stick allowed...
a folketymology Reto [de], a purported deity potentially stemming from a folketymology Stuffo, a purported deity potentially stemming from a folk etymology...
copy/context", "spelling is correct", "spelled incorrectly", and other such folketymology phrases. These are all incorrect and are simply backronyms from sic...
folketymology caused animal rights groups such as PETA to lobby that the town should be renamed. Common English usage misconceptions Folketymology Pseudo-etymology...
Pee and Kew,'" possibly the initials of "Prime Quality" (folketymology). Another folketymology comes from the pubs in Scotland and England. The reason...
An etymological fallacy is an argument of equivocation, arguing that a word is defined by its etymology, and that its customary usage is therefore incorrect...
origins of "coonass" are obscure, and Cajuns have put forth several folketymologies in an effort to explain the word's origin. Some of these hold that...
hermeneutic) could determine the truth or falsity of the message.: 21–22 Folketymology places its origin with Hermes, the mythological Greek deity who was...
also documented controversy surrounding OK and the history of its folketymologies, both of which are intertwined with the history of the word itself...
from the Vulgate Bible. There is also a commonly repeated incorrect folketymology. The expression "cold shoulder" has been used in many literary works...
by football fans of the Cleveland Browns in Hall’s home town. Many folketymologies exist, but the written record is clear: the term appears widely in...
mid-18th century, some Cornish language surnames underwent change through folketymology. The Cornish meaning of the name was no longer understood and so it...
is not cognate with English "hope": this is an example of folketymology. This folketymology has been strengthened by the fact that in Dutch, the word...
this etymology could also explain the nickname "Egyptian black arts". However, according to Mahn, this theory may be an example of folketymology. Assuming...
similar origin, is associated with the healing-well of Evaux in France. For etymology of Ì and Latinised derivative Iona, see Watson (2004), pp. 87–90. The...
literally expensive (Surname)) are equally meaningless. See Char koay teow: Etymology for more information. according to KWF Diksiyonáryo ng Wíkang Filipíno...
the "gate of god" interpretation is increasingly viewed as a Semitic folketymology to explain an unknown original non-Semitic placename. I. J. Gelb in...
('shallow sea'). Wolfgang Ahrens of York University argues that this is a folketymology. Alternatively, it may originate from Guanahani, a local name of unclear...
Orani, officially the Municipality of Orani (Tagalog: Bayan ng Orani), is a 1st class municipality in the province of Bataan, Philippines. According to...
tablet PY Tn 316, and tentatively reconstructed as *Preswa. A Greek folketymology connected Perseus to the name of the Persian people, whom they called...
white and soft type of steamed bread or bun popular in northern China. Folketymology connects the name mantou to a tale about Zhuge Liang. Mantou are typically...
History of Christian names, Volume 1, pg. 359// 2: Abraham Smythe Palmer "FolkEtymology; Verbal Corruptions Or Words Perverted In Form Or Meaning pg. 196//...