Definitions for folk etymology
folk et·y·mol·o·gy

Princeton's WordNetRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. folk etymologynoun

   a popular but erroneous etymology

WiktionaryRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. folk etymologynoun

   A modification of a word resulting from a misunderstanding of its etymology, as with island, belfry, and hangnail.

2. folk etymologynoun

   Such a misunderstanding; a false etymology that incorrectly explains the origin of a word.

WikipediaRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Folk etymology

   Folk etymology (also known as popular etymology, analogical reformation, reanalysis, morphological reanalysis or etymological reinterpretation) is a change in a word or phrase resulting from the replacement of an unfamiliar form by a more familiar one. 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. Folk etymology is a productive process in historical linguistics, language change, and social interaction. 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. 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. When the alteration of an unfamiliar word is limited to a single person, it is known as an eggcorn.

ChatGPTRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. folk etymology

   Folk etymology is a phenomenon where the form or meaning of an unfamiliar or foreign word is altered to resemble more familiar words or phrases in one's own language. This is often based on incorrect assumptions about the origin or meaning of the word, leading to changes in spelling, pronunciation, or usage. It is a form of linguistic reinterpretation or reanalysis, typically driven by the desire to make foreign words easier to understand or pronounce.

WikidataRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Folk etymology

   Folk etymology is change in a word or phrase over time resulting from the replacement of an unfamiliar form by a more familiar one. Unanalyzable borrowings from foreign languages, like asparagus, or old compounds such as samblind which have lost their iconic motivation are reanalyzed in a more or less semantically plausible way, yielding, in these examples, sparrow grass and sandblind. The term folk etymology, a loan translation from the 19th-century academic German Volksetymologie, is a technical one in philology and historical linguistics, referring to the change of form in the word itself, not to any actual explicit popular analysis.

Matched Categories

1. • Etymology

How to pronounce folk etymology?

1. Alex

   US English

   David

   US English

   Mark

   US English

   Daniel

   British

   Libby

   British

   Mia

   British

   Karen

   Australian

   Hayley

   Australian

   Natasha

   Australian

   Veena

   Indian

   Priya

   Indian

   Neerja

   Indian

   Zira

   US English

   Oliver

   British

   Wendy

   British

   Fred

   US English

   Tessa

   South African

How to say folk etymology in sign language?

Numerology

1. Chaldean Numerology

   The numerical value of folk etymology in Chaldean Numerology is: 1

2. Pythagorean Numerology

   The numerical value of folk etymology in Pythagorean Numerology is: 1

References

1. ^ Princeton's WordNet
   http://wordnetweb.princeton.edu/perl/webwn?s=folk etymology
2. ^ Wiktionary
   https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Folk_Etymology
3. ^ Wikipedia
   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Folk_Etymology
4. ^ ChatGPT
   https://chat.openai.com
5. ^ Wikidata
   https://www.wikidata.org/w/index.php?search=folk etymology