Folk etymology definition and meaning collins english dictionary. Folk etymology is defined as a change in word or phrase form resulting from an incorrect popular idea of its origin or meaning. Definition and synonyms of folk from the online english dictionary from macmillan education this is the british english pronunciation of folk view american english pronunciation of folk. Listen to the audio pronunciation in the cambridge english dictionary. Folketymology synonyms, folketymology pronunciation, folketymology translation, english dictionary definition of folketymology. A dictionary of verbal corruptions or words perverted in form or meaning, by false derivation or mistaken analogy 1882 palmer, abram smythe on. The form or the meaning of an archaic, foreign, or otherwise unfamiliar word. The muskrat is a north american animal for which there was no name in english, so the indigenous name was altered to make it seem more familiar to english speakers in the 1600s. Download the oxford dictionary of english etymology ebook in pdf, epub, mobi. Etymology definition is the history of a linguistic form such as a word shown by tracing its development since its earliest recorded occurrence in the language where it is found, by tracing its transmission from one language to another, by analyzing it into its component parts, by identifying its cognates in other languages, or by tracing it and its cognates to a common ancestral form in. Palmers dictionary of folketymologies 1890, but have been scrutinised in the light of. Folk etymology, pseudoetymology, or reanalysis is change in the word or phrase over time resulting from the replacement of an unfamiliar form by the more familiar one. Online etymology dictionary origin, history and meaning of english. Dr durkin investigates folk etymology and other changes which words undergo in everyday use.
Folk etymology is a linguistic phenomenon whereby borrowed or archaic phrases are reinterpreted according to analogy with other comon words or phrases in the language. Folk etymology definition, 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. Folk etymology as a linguistic phenomenon publish your. Examples of folk etymology in a sentence, how to use it. Folk etymology, also known as popular etymology, in etymology, is when an unfamiliar word is altered through. Folk etymology involves a change in the form or pronunciation of a word or phrase resulting from a mistaken assumption about its composition or meaning. In short, false analogy may occur after adaptation has taken place and be. The site has become a favorite resource of teachers of reading, spelling, and english as a second language. This book may have occasional imperfections such as missing or blurred pages. Folk etymology is a productive process in historical linguistics, language change, and social interaction. For example, the etymology of etymology can be traced through old english and latin to the greek roots etymo, meaning true, and logos, meaning word. How to pronounce folk in english cambridge dictionary. There is an expression that originated in transatlantic ocean travel relating to the best side of the ship to travel on.
My favorite etymological website, online etymology dictionary has the following. The underlying principle of folk etymology is that speakers of a language expect all the wordsand every part of a wordin their language to be legitimate english words or affixes suffix or prefix. It is professional enough to satisfy academic standards, but accessible enough to be used by anyone. A dictionary of verbal corruptions or words perverted in form or meaning, by false derivation or mistaken analogy 1882.
Compare old norse folk people, also army, detachment. Folk etymology meaning in the cambridge english dictionary. The oxford dictionary of english etymology book pdf download. The online etymology dictionary is the internets goto source for quick and reliable accounts of the origin and history of english words, phrases, and idioms. Free kindle the new oxford american dictionary ebooks. The term folk etymology is a loan translation from german volksetymologie, coined by ernst forstemann in 1852. Pdf proposes etymologies of two words in the oed, one of which grapefruit is problematical, the other posh designated as origin. Folk etymology is a process that adapts unknown words or parts of words to known ones in certain languages, thus integrating them into the lexical system and making them more transparent. The form or the meaning of an archaic, foreign, or otherwise unfamiliar word is reanalyzed as resembling more familiar words or morphemes. Folk etymology is too complex a phenomenon to be dismissed as a mere source of mistakes based on ignorance. Change in the form of a word or phrase resulting from a mistaken assumption about its composition or meaning, as in shamefaced for earlier shamfast. The present paper reflects the opinions of a romanian linguist and anglicist on irregular phoneticsemantic shifts produced by interlanguage borrowing, or by intralanguage passage from one period to another.
This supposition is triggered by some associations of form or meaning between the changing word, unfamiliar to the speakers. Folk etymology definition is the transformation of words so as to give them an apparent relationship to other betterknown or betterunderstood words as in the change of. Trasks dictionary of historical and comparative linguistics or the entry p 142 in the concise oxford dictionary of linguistics or folk etymology in winfred lehmanns historical linguistics. Free kindle the new oxford american dictionary ebooks download. The oxford guide to etymology kindle edition by philip durkin. Book cover of john oswald a dictionary of etymology of the english language, and. David saith the rich folk that embraceden and oieden all hir herte to treasour of.
Folk etymology definition of folk etymology by merriam. Kronenfeld identify two main groups of folk etymology, which they call class i and class ii. Irregular phoneticsemantic shifts are produced by interlanguage borrowing or by intralanguage passage from one period to another. Folk etymology definition and meaning collins english. Then you can start reading kindle books on your smartphone, tablet, or computer no kindle device required. Contrary to misconceptions, folk etymology should not be used to describe an urban legend behind a word or phrases origin. Dr durkin investigates folk etymology and other changes which words. The inhabitants of a region, especially the native inhabitants.
A very readable, informative, contentpacked introduction for the. A small number of words change their shape in fairly obvious ways due to processes like. The noad will give folk etymology of some words, and like the american heritage will give notes on proper usage and help the readerwriter use the right word with synonyms. Pdf the oxford english dictionarys etymologies of posh and. The second chapter is devoted to the termetymology, distinguishing this term fromfolk etymologyby giving definitions for both terms and providing some examples of folk etymology. A dictionary of verbal corruptions or words perverted in form or meaning, by false derivation or mistaken analogy. Eric ed335917 folk etymology in english and elsewhere. These shifts are more common in periods when there are no, or few, normative factors such as schooling or scholarly preoccupation with. He shows how language families are established, how words in different languages can have a common ancester, and the ways in which the latter can be. Folk etymology or reanalysis sometimes called popular etymology, analogical reformation, or etymological reinterpretation is a change in a word or phrase resulting from the replacement of an unfamiliar form by a more familiar one. Folk etymology or reanalysis sometimes called pseudoetymology, popular etymology, or analogical reformation is a change in a word or phrase 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 air iconic motivation since one or more of the morphemes making am up, like sam, which meant semi, has. Folk etymologies are based on misperceptions of foreign words as native words. The algonquian language massachusett had the word musquashlater borrowed into englishbut the essential rodentness of the animal caused the second syllable to be interpolated as rat, combined with musk, a word.
527 1233 256 1195 1085 1548 275 1391 992 183 1241 1079 260 1529 889 820 589 1111 819 724 1302 169 1263 7 28 113 1294 183 508 812 1185