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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.

Productive force

The technical term "folk etymology" refers to a change in the form of a word caused by erroneous popular suppositions about its etymology. Until the academic development of comparative linguistics and description of laws underlying sound changes, the derivation of a word was mostly guess-work. Speculation about the original form of words in turn feeds back into the development of the word and thus becomes a part of a new etymology.^[9]

Believing a word to have a certain origin, people begin to pronounce, spell, or otherwise use the word in a manner appropriate to that perceived origin. This popular etymologizing has had a powerful influence on the forms which words take. Examples in English include crayfish or crawfish, which are not historically related to fish but come from Middle English crevis, cognate with French écrevisse. Likewise chaise lounge, from the original French chaise longue ("long chair"), has come to be associated with the word lounge.^[10]

Related phenomena

Other types of language change caused by reanalysis of the structure of a word include rebracketing and back-formation.

In rebracketing, users of the language change, misinterpret, or reinterpret the location of a boundary between words or morphemes. For example, the Old French word orenge 'orange tree' comes from Arabic النَّرَنْج an-naranj 'the orange tree', with the initial ⟨n⟩ of naranj understood as part of the article.^[11] Rebracketing in the opposite direction saw the Middle English a napron become an apron.^[12]

In back-formation, a new word is created by removing elements from an existing word that are interpreted as affixes. For example, Italian pronuncia 'pronunciation, accent' is derived from the verb pronunciare 'to pronounce, to utter' and English edit derives from editor.^[13] Some cases of back-formation are based on folk etymology.

Examples in English

In linguistic change caused by folk etymology, the form of a word changes so that it better matches its popular rationalisation. Typically this happens either to unanalysable foreign words or to compounds where the word underlying one part of the compound becomes obsolete.

Loanwords

There are many examples of words borrowed from foreign languages, and subsequently changed by folk etymology.

The spelling of many borrowed words reflects folk etymology. For example, andiron borrowed from Old French was variously spelled aundyre or aundiren in Middle English, but was altered by association with iron.^[14] Other Old French loans altered in a similar manner include belfry (from berfrey) by association with bell, female (from femelle) by male, and penthouse (from apentis) by house.^[15] The variant spelling of licorice as liquorice comes from the supposition that it has something to do with liquid.^[16] Anglo-Norman licoris (influenced by licor 'liquor') and Late Latin liquirītia were respelled for similar reasons, though the ultimate origin of all three is Ancient Greek γλυκύρριζα glucúrrhiza 'sweet root'.^[17]

Reanalysis of loan words can affect their spelling, pronunciation, or meaning. The word cockroach, for example, was borrowed from Spanish cucaracha but was assimilated to the existing English words cock and roach.^[18] The phrase forlorn hope originally meant "storming party, body of skirmishers"^[19] from Dutch verloren hoop "lost troop". But confusion with English hope has given the term an additional meaning of "hopeless venture".^[20]

Sometimes imaginative stories are created to account for the link between a borrowed word and its popularly assumed sources. The names of the serviceberry, service tree, and related plants, for instance, come from the Latin name sorbus. The plants were called syrfe in Old English, which eventually became service.^[21] Fanciful stories suggest that the name comes from the fact that the trees bloom in spring, a time when circuit-riding preachers resume church services or when funeral services are carried out for people who died during the winter.^[22]

A seemingly plausible but no less speculative etymology accounts for the form of Welsh rarebit, a dish made of cheese and toasted bread. The earliest known reference to the dish in 1725 called it Welsh rabbit.^[23] The origin of that name is unknown, but presumably humorous, since the dish contains no rabbit. In 1785 Francis Grose suggested in A Classical Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue that the dish is "a Welch rare bit",^[24] though the word rarebit was not common prior to Grose's dictionary. Both versions of the name are in current use; individuals sometimes express strong opinions concerning which version is correct.^[25]

Obsolete forms

When a word or other form becomes obsolete, words or phrases containing the obsolete portion may be reanalyzed and changed.

Some compound words from Old English were reanalyzed in Middle or Modern English when one of the constituent words fell out of use. Examples include bridegroom from Old English brydguma 'bride-man'. The word gome 'man' from Old English guma fell out of use during the sixteenth century and the compound was eventually reanalyzed with the Modern English word groom 'male servant'.^[26] A similar reanalysis caused sandblind, from Old English sāmblind 'half-blind' with a once-common prefix sām- 'semi-', to be respelled as though it is related to sand. The word island derives from Old English igland. The modern spelling with the letter s is the result of comparison with the synonym isle from Old French and ultimately as a Latinist borrowing of insula, though the Old French and Old English words are not historically related.^[27] In a similar way, the spelling of wormwood was likely affected by comparison with wood.^[28]^[29]^: 449

The phrase curry favour, meaning to flatter, comes from Middle English curry favel 'groom a chestnut horse'. This was an allusion to a fourteenth-century French morality poem, Roman de Fauvel, about a chestnut-coloured horse who corrupts men through duplicity. The phrase was reanalyzed in early Modern English by comparison to favour as early as 1510.^[30]

Words need not completely disappear before their compounds are reanalyzed. The word shamefaced was originally shamefast. The original meaning of fast 'fixed in place' still exists, as in the compounded words steadfast and colorfast, but by itself mainly in frozen expressions such as stuck fast, hold fast, and play fast and loose.^{[citation needed]} The songbird wheatear or white-ear is a back-formation from Middle English whit-ers 'white arse', referring to the prominent white rump found in most species.^[31] Although both white and arse are common in Modern English, the folk etymology may be euphemism.^[32]

Reanalysis of archaic or obsolete forms can lead to changes in meaning as well. The original meaning of hangnail referred to a corn on the foot.^[33] The word comes from Old English ang- + nægel 'anguished nail, compressed spike', but the spelling and pronunciation were affected by folk etymology in the seventeenth century or earlier.^[34] Thereafter, the word came to be used for a tag of skin or torn cuticle near a fingernail or toenail.^[33]

Other languages

Several words in Medieval Latin were subject to folk etymology. For example, the word widerdonum meaning 'reward' was borrowed from Old High German widarlōn 'repayment of a loan'. The l → d alteration is due to confusion with Latin donum 'gift'.^[35]^[29]^: 157 Similarly, the word baceler or bacheler (related to modern English bachelor) referred to a junior knight. It is attested from the eleventh century, though its ultimate origin is uncertain. By the late Middle Ages its meaning was extended to the holder of a university degree inferior to master or doctor. This was later re-spelled baccalaureus, probably reflecting a false derivation from bacca laurea 'laurel berry', alluding to the possible laurel crown of a poet or conqueror.^[36]^[29]^: 17–18

In the fourteenth or fifteenth century, French scholars began to spell the verb savoir 'to know' as sçavoir on the false belief it was derived from Latin scire 'to know'. In fact it comes from sapere 'to be wise'.^[37]

The Italian word liocorno, meaning 'unicorn' derives from 13th-century lunicorno (lo 'the' + unicorno 'unicorn'). Folk etymology based on lione 'lion' altered the spelling and pronunciation. Dialectal liofante 'elephant' was likewise altered from elefante by association with lione.^[29]^: 486

The Dutch word for 'hammock' is hangmat. It was borrowed from Spanish hamaca (ultimately from Arawak amàca) and altered by comparison with hangen and mat 'hanging mat'. German Hängematte shares this folk etymology.^[38]

Islambol, a folk etymology meaning 'Islam abounding', is one of the names of Istanbul used after the Ottoman conquest of 1453.^[39]

An example from Persian is the word شطرنج shatranj 'chess', which is derived from the Sanskrit चतुरङ्ग chatur-anga ("four-army [game]"; 2nd century BCE), and after losing the u to syncope, became چترنگ chatrang in Middle Persian (6th century CE). Today it is sometimes factorized as sad 'hundred' + ranj 'worry, mood', or 'a hundred worries'.^[40]

Some Indonesian feminists discourage usage of the term wanita ('woman') and replacing it with perempuan, since wanita itself has misogynistic roots. First, in Javanese, wanita is a portmanteau of wani ditata (dare to be controlled), also, wanita is taken from Sanskrit वनिता vanitā (someone desired by men).^[41]^[42]^[43]

In Turkey, the political Democrat Party changed its logo in 2007 to a white horse in front of a red background because many voters folk-etymologized its Turkish name Demokrat as demir kırat 'iron white-horse'.^[44]

References

^ ^a ^b Zuckermann, 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.
^ One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Etymology". Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 9 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 864–865.
^ Pyles, Thomas; Algeo, John (1993). The Origins and Development of the English Language (4th ed.). New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich. ISBN 0030970547.
^ "orange n.¹ and adj.¹". Oxford English Dictionary online. Oxford: Oxford University Press. 2013. doi:10.1093/OED/1138553349. Retrieved 2013-09-30.
^ "apron, n.". Oxford English Dictionary. Oxford University Press. March 2024. doi:10.1093/OED/6544240544.
^ Crystal, David (2011). Dictionary of Linguistics and Phonetics. John Wiley & Sons. ISBN 978-1-4443-5675-5.
^ "andiron, n.". Oxford English Dictionary (1st ed.). Oxford University Press. 1884.
^ "penthouse | Etymology, origin and meaning of penthouse by etymonline". www.etymonline.com. Retrieved 2022-11-30.
^ Barnhart, Robert K. (1988). The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology. H.W. Wilson. p. 593. ISBN 978-0-8242-0745-8. The development of Late Latin liquiritia was in part influenced by Latin liquēre 'to flow', in reference to the process of treating the root to obtain its extract.
^ "liquorice licorice, n.". Oxford English Dictionary (1st ed.). Oxford University Press. 1903.
^ "cockroach, n.". Oxford English Dictionary (1st ed.). Oxford University Press. 1891.
^ Brown, Lesley, ed. (2002). Shorter Oxford English Dictionary. Vol. 1: A–M (5th ed.). Oxford: Oxford University Press. p. 1600.
^ "forlorn hope, n.". Oxford English Dictionary (1st ed.). Oxford University Press. 1897.
^ "serve, n1". Oxford English Dictionary (1st ed.). Oxford University Press. 1912.
^ Small, Ernest (2013). North American Cornucopia: Top 100 Indigenous Food Plants. CRC Press. p. 597. ISBN 978-1-4665-8594-2.
^ Byrom, John (1854). The Private Journal and Literary Remains of John Byrom. Chetham society. p. 108.
^ Grose, Francis (1785). A Classical Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue. S. Hooper. p. 133.
^ "Welsh rabbit, Welsh rarebit". Merriam Webster's Dictionary of English Usage. 1994. p. 952. ISBN 978-0-87779-132-4.
^ Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Groom" . Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.
^ Wedgwood, Hensleigh (1862). A Dictionary of English Etymology: E–P. Trübner. p. 273.
^ Harper, Douglas. "wormwood". Online Etymology Dictionary. Retrieved 2017-01-05.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Smythe Palmer, Abram (1882). Folk-etymology: A Dictionary of Verbal Corruptions Or Words Perverted in Form Or Meaning, by False Derivation Or Mistaken Analogy. Johnson Reprint.
^ Martin, Gary (2017). "The meaning and origin of the expression: 'Curry favour'". Phrase Finder.
^ "White-ear". Merriam Webster Online. Retrieved 5 January 2017.
^ "Wheatear". Merriam Webster Online. Retrieved 13 May 2010.
^ ^a ^b "hangnail". Merriam Webster Online. Retrieved 5 January 2017.
^ Harper, Douglas. "hangnail". Online Etymology Dictionary. Retrieved 2017-01-05.
^ "guerdon". Oxford English Dictionary (1st ed.). Oxford University Press. 1900.
^ Brachet, Auguste (1882). An Etymological Dictionary of the French Language: Crowned by the French Academy. Clarendon Press. pp. 46–47.
^ Singleton, David (2016). Language and the Lexicon: An Introduction. London: Routledge. p. 141. ISBN 978-1-317-83594-3.
^ "Hängematte". Wörterbuch Deutsch. October 2016. Retrieved 2017-01-31.
^ Necdet Sakaoğlu (1993). "İstanbul'un adları". Dünden bugüne İstanbul ansiklopedisi (in Turkish). Kültür Bakanlığı. pp. 253–255. ISBN 978-975-7306-04-7.
^ A. C. Burnell; Henry Yule (11 January 1996). Hobson-Jobson: Glossary of Colloquial Anglo-Indian Words And Phrases. Taylor & Francis. p. 779. ISBN 978-1-136-60331-0.
^ Parhani, Siti (6 January 2021). "Antara Wanita dan Perempuan, Apa Bedanya?". Magdalene. Retrieved 2 May 2024.
^ Swaragita, Gisela. "Defining 'woman': Dictionary entry fans flames of sexist furor in Indonesia - Politics". The Jakarta Post. Retrieved 2 May 2024.
^ Rhani, Gloria Kristy (1 April 2014). "Gambaran Perempuan Karir Dalam Program "News For Women" SBO TV" (PDF). Commonline UNAIR. 3 (1): 137–151. Retrieved 2 May 2024.
^ Kaplan, Sam (2006). The Pedagogical State. Stanford University Press. p. 172. ISBN 0-8047-5433-0.

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
-{{Short description|Replacement of an unfamiliar linguistic form by a more familiar one}}
+{{Short description|Process of reinterpretive word formation}}
-{{About|a technical term in linguistics|incorrect popular etymologies|false etymology}}
+{{About|word change through popular usage|popular theories of word origins|false etymology}}
-'''Folk etymology''' (also known as <!--'''pseudo-etymology''',--> '''popular etymology''', '''analogical reformation''', '''reanalysis''', '''morphological reanalysis''' or '''etymological reinterpretation''')<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Cienkowski|first=Witold|date=January 1969|title=The initial stimuli in the processes of etymological reinterpretation(so‐called folk etymology)|journal=Scando-Slavica|volume=15|issue=1|pages=237–245|doi=10.1080/00806766908600524|issn=0080-6765}}</ref> is a change in a word or phrase resulting from the replacement of an unfamiliar form by a more familiar one.<ref>{{Cite OED1 |folk-etymology}}</ref><ref name="Sihler2000">{{cite book|last=Sihler|first=Andrew|title=Language History: An introduction|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BXlAYlCSoZQC|year=2000|publisher=John Benjamins|isbn=90-272-8546-2}}</ref><ref name="Trask2000">{{cite book|last=Trask|first=Robert Lawrence|author-link=Larry Trask|title=The Dictionary of Historical and Comparative Linguistics|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EHeGzQ8wuLQC|year=2000|publisher=Psychology Press|isbn=978-1-57958-218-0}}</ref> The form or the meaning of an archaic, foreign, or otherwise unfamiliar word is reinterpreted as resembling more familiar words or [[morpheme]]s.
+'''Folk etymology''' – also known as '''(generative) popular etymology''',<ref name="Zuckerman20032">{{cite book |last=Zuckermann |first=Ghil'ad |url=http://www.palgrave.com/br/book/9781403917232 |title=Language Contact and Lexical Enrichment in Israeli Hebrew |publisher=[[Palgrave Macmillan]] |year=2003 |isbn=978-1403917232 |author-link=Ghil'ad Zuckermann}}</ref> '''analogical reformation''', '''(morphological)''' '''reanalysis''' and '''etymological reinterpretation'''<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Cienkowski|first=Witold|date=January 1969|title=The initial stimuli in the processes of etymological reinterpretation(so-called folk etymology)|journal=Scando-Slavica|volume=15|issue=1|pages=237–245|doi=10.1080/00806766908600524|issn=0080-6765}}</ref> – is a change in a word or phrase resulting from the replacement of an unfamiliar form by a more familiar one through popular usage.<ref>{{Cite OED1 |folk-etymology}}</ref><ref name="Sihler2000">{{cite book|last=Sihler|first=Andrew|title=Language History: An introduction|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BXlAYlCSoZQC|year=2000|publisher=John Benjamins|isbn=90-272-8546-2}}</ref><ref name="Trask2000">{{cite book|last=Trask|first=Robert Lawrence|author-link=Larry Trask|title=The Dictionary of Historical and Comparative Linguistics|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EHeGzQ8wuLQC|year=2000|publisher=Psychology Press|isbn=978-1-57958-218-0}}</ref> The form or the meaning of an archaic, foreign, or otherwise unfamiliar word is reinterpreted as resembling more familiar words or [[morpheme]]s.
-The term ''folk etymology'' is a [[loan translation]] from [[German language|German]] '''''Volksetymologie''''', coined by  [[Ernst Förstemann]] in 1852.<ref name="Forstemann">{{cite book|last=Förstemann|first=Ernst|editor=Adalbert Kuhn|title=Zeitschrift für vergleichende Sprachforschung auf dem Gebiete des Deutschen, Griechischen und Lateinischen|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6kMNAAAAYAAJ|year=1852|publisher=F. Dümmler.|chapter=Ueber Deutsche volksetymologie}}</ref> Folk etymology is a [[Productivity (linguistics)|productive]] process in [[historical linguistics]], [[language change]], and [[social relation|social interaction]].<ref>See, e.g.[http://www.zuckermann.org/pdf/ENGINEERING.pdf ''''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.&nbsp;237–258.</ref> Reanalysis of a word's history or original form can affect its spelling, pronunciation, or meaning. This is frequently seen in relation to [[loanword]]s or words that have become archaic or obsolete.
+The term ''folk etymology'' is a [[loan translation]] from [[German language|German]] ''Volksetymologie'', coined by  [[Ernst Förstemann]] in 1852.<ref name="Forstemann">{{cite book|last=Förstemann|first=Ernst|editor=Adalbert Kuhn|title=Zeitschrift für vergleichende Sprachforschung auf dem Gebiete des Deutschen, Griechischen und Lateinischen|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6kMNAAAAYAAJ|year=1852|publisher=F. Dümmler.|chapter=Ueber Deutsche volksetymologie}}</ref> Folk etymology is a [[Productivity (linguistics)|productive]] process in [[historical linguistics]], [[language change]], and [[social relation|social interaction]].<ref>See, e.g.[http://www.zuckermann.org/pdf/ENGINEERING.pdf ''''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.&nbsp;237–258.</ref> Reanalysis of a word's history or original form can affect its spelling, pronunciation, or meaning. This is frequently seen in relation to [[loanword]]s 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.<ref name="Zuckerman20032" />
-Examples of words created or changed through folk etymology include the English dialectal form [[wikt:sparrowgrass|''sparrowgrass'']], originally from Greek {{lang|el|ἀσπάραγος}} ("[[asparagus]]") remade by analogy to the more familiar words ''sparrow'' and ''grass'',<ref name="Anttila1989">{{cite book|last=Anttila|first=Raimo|title=Historical and Comparative Linguistics|url=https://archive.org/details/historicalcompar00antt|url-access=registration|year=1989|publisher=John Benjamins|isbn=90-272-3556-2}}</ref> or the derived word ''burger'', created by reanalyzing the word [[hamburger]] as ''ham'' + ''burger'', even though the true original etymology consists of  ''[[Hamburg]]'' (name of city)+ ''-er'' ("a person from").<ref name="Shukla">{{cite book|last1=Shukla |first1=Shaligram |last2=Connor-Linton |first2=Jeff |chapter=8. Language Change |editor=R. Fasold and J. Connor-Linton |title=An Introduction to Language and Linguistics |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dlzthEZGkmsC&pg=PA296 |year=2006 |publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-0-521-84768-1}}</ref>
+Examples of words created or changed through folk etymology include the English dialectal form [[wikt:sparrowgrass|''sparrowgrass'']], originally from Greek {{lang|el|ἀσπάραγος}} ("[[asparagus]]") remade by analogy to the more familiar words ''sparrow'' and ''grass''.<ref name="Anttila1989">{{cite book|last=Anttila|first=Raimo|title=Historical and Comparative Linguistics|url=https://archive.org/details/historicalcompar00antt|url-access=registration|year=1989|publisher=John Benjamins|isbn=90-272-3556-2}}</ref> When the alteration of an unfamiliar word is limited to a single person, it is known as an [[eggcorn]].
 == Productive force ==
-The technical term "folk etymology" refers to a change in the form of a word caused by erroneous popular suppositions about its [[etymology]]. Until academic linguists developed comparative philology (now "[[comparative linguistics]]") and described the laws underlying [[sound changes]], the derivation of a word was mostly guess-work. Speculation about the original form of words in turn feeds back into the development of the word and thus becomes a part of a new etymology.<ref name="EB1911">{{EB1911|inline=y|wstitle=Etymology|volume=9|pages=864–865}}</ref>
+The technical term "folk etymology" refers to a change in the form of a word caused by erroneous popular suppositions about its [[etymology]]. Until the academic development of [[comparative linguistics]] and description of laws underlying [[Sound change|sound changes]], the derivation of a word was mostly guess-work. Speculation about the original form of words in turn feeds back into the development of the word and thus becomes a part of a new etymology.<ref name="EB1911">{{EB1911|inline=y|wstitle=Etymology|volume=9|pages=864–865}}</ref>
 Believing a word to have a certain origin, people begin to pronounce, spell, or otherwise use the word in a manner appropriate to that perceived origin.  This popular etymologizing has had a powerful influence on the forms which words take. Examples in English include ''[[crayfish]]'' or ''crawfish'', which are not historically related to ''fish'' but come from [[Middle English]] ''crevis'', [[cognate]] with French ''écrevisse''. Likewise ''chaise lounge'', from the original French ''chaise longue'' ("long chair"), has come to be associated with the word ''lounge''.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Pyles |first1=Thomas |last2=Algeo |first2=John |title=The Origins and Development of the English Language |edition=4th |year=1993 |location=New York |publisher=Harcourt Brace Jovanovich|isbn=0030970547}}</ref>
@@ Line 18: / Line 20: @@
 Other types of language change caused by reanalysis of the structure of a word include [[rebracketing]] and [[back-formation]].
-In rebracketing, users of the language change misinterpret or reinterpret the location of a boundary between words or [[morpheme]]s. For example, the [[Old French]] word ''orenge'' ("orange tree") comes from [[Arabic]] {{lang|ar|rtl=yes|النرنج }} ''an nāranj'' ("the orange tree"), with the initial ''n'' of ''nāranj'' understood as part of the [[Article (grammar)|article]].<ref>{{cite encyclopedia | year = 2013 | title = orange ''n''.<sup>1</sup> and ''adj''.<sup>1</sup> | encyclopedia = Oxford English Dictionary online | publisher = Oxford University Press | location = Oxford | url =http://www.oed.com/view/Entry/132163 |access-date=2013-09-30}}{{subscription required}}</ref> Rebracketing in the opposite direction saw the Middle English ''a napron'' become ''an apron''.
+In rebracketing, users of the language change, misinterpret, or reinterpret the location of a boundary between words or [[morpheme]]s. For example, the [[Old French]] word {{lang|fro|orenge}} {{gloss|orange tree}} comes from [[Arabic]] {{lang|ar|rtl=yes|النَّرَنْج}} {{transl|ar|Wehr|an-naranj}} {{gloss|the orange tree}}, with the initial {{angbr|n}} of {{transl|ar|naranj}} understood as part of the [[Article (grammar)|article]].<ref>{{cite dictionary | year = 2013 | title = orange ''n''.¹ and ''adj''.¹ | dictionary= Oxford English Dictionary online | publisher = Oxford University Press | location = Oxford | url =http://www.oed.com/view/Entry/132163 |access-date=2013-09-30 |url-access=subscription |doi=10.1093/OED/1138553349}}</ref> Rebracketing in the opposite direction saw the Middle English {{lang|enm|a napron}} become ''an apron''.<ref>{{cite dictionary |dictionary=Oxford English Dictionary |entry=apron, n. |publisher=Oxford University Press |date=March 2024 |doi=10.1093/OED/6544240544 |entry-url=https://www.oed.com/dictionary/apron_n?tab=etymology#48918 |entry-url-access=subscription}}</ref>
-In back-formation, a new word is created by removing elements from an existing word that are interpreted as [[affix]]es. For example, [[Italian language|Italian]] ''pronuncia'' ('pronunciation; accent') is derived from the verb ''pronunciare'' ('to pronounce; to utter') and English ''edit'' derives from ''editor''.<ref>{{cite book|last=Crystal|first=David|title=Dictionary of Linguistics and Phonetics|year=2011|publisher=John Wiley & Sons|isbn=978-1-4443-5675-5}}</ref> Some cases of back-formation are based on folk etymology.<ref name="Shukla" />
+In back-formation, a new word is created by removing elements from an existing word that are interpreted as [[affix]]es. For example, [[Italian language|Italian]] {{lang|it|pronuncia}} {{gloss|pronunciation, accent}} is derived from the verb {{lang|it|pronunciare}} {{gloss|to pronounce, to utter}} and English ''edit'' derives from ''editor''.<ref>{{cite book|last=Crystal|first=David|title=Dictionary of Linguistics and Phonetics|year=2011|publisher=John Wiley & Sons|isbn=978-1-4443-5675-5}}</ref> Some cases of back-formation are based on folk etymology.
 == Examples in English ==
@@ Line 28: / Line 30: @@
 There are many examples of words borrowed from foreign languages, and subsequently changed by folk etymology.
-The spelling of many borrowed words reflects folk etymology. For example, ''[[Wikt:andiron|andiron]]'' borrowed from Old French was variously spelled ''aundyre'' or ''aundiren'' in Middle English, but was altered by association with ''iron''.<ref>{{cite OED1|andiron, n.|year=1884}}</ref> Other Old French loans altered in a similar manner include ''[[belfry (architecture)|belfry]]'' (from ''berfrey'') by association with ''bell'', ''female'' (from ''femelle'') by ''male'', and ''penthouse'' (from ''apentis'') by ''house''.{{citation needed|date=January 2017}} The variant spelling of ''licorice'' as ''[[wikt:liquorice|liquorice]]'' comes from the supposition that it has something to do with liquid.<ref>{{cite book |title=The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology |last=Barnhart |first=Robert K. |year=1988 |publisher=H.W. Wilson |isbn=978-0-8242-0745-8|page=593|quote=The development of Late Latin ''liquiritia'' was in part influenced by Latin ''liquēre'' 'to flow', in reference to the process of treating the root to obtain its extract.}}</ref> Anglo-Norman ''licoris'' (influenced by ''licor'' "liquor") and [[Late Latin]] ''liquirītia'' were respelled for similar reasons, though the ultimate origin of all three is Greek ''{{lang|he|γλυκύρριζα}}'' (glycyrrhiza) "sweet root".<ref>{{Cite OED1|liquorice licorice, n.|year=1903}}</ref>
+The spelling of many borrowed words reflects folk etymology. For example, ''[[Wikt:andiron|andiron]]'' borrowed from Old French was variously spelled {{lang|enm|aundyre}} or {{lang|enm|aundiren}} in Middle English, but was altered by association with ''iron''.<ref>{{cite OED1|andiron, n.|year=1884}}</ref> Other Old French loans altered in a similar manner include ''[[belfry (architecture)|belfry]]'' (from {{lang|fro|berfrey}}) by association with ''bell'', ''female'' (from {{lang|fro|femelle}}) by ''male'', and ''penthouse'' (from {{lang|fro|apentis}}) by ''house''.<ref>{{Cite web |title=penthouse {{!}} Etymology, origin and meaning of penthouse by etymonline |url=https://www.etymonline.com/word/penthouse |access-date=2022-11-30 |website=www.etymonline.com |language=en}}</ref> The variant spelling of ''licorice'' as ''[[wikt:liquorice|liquorice]]'' comes from the supposition that it has something to do with liquid.<ref>{{cite book |title=The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology |last=Barnhart |first=Robert K. |year=1988 |publisher=H.W. Wilson |isbn=978-0-8242-0745-8|page=593|quote=The development of Late Latin {{lang|la|liquiritia}} was in part influenced by Latin {{lang|la|liquēre}} {{gloss|to flow}}, in reference to the process of treating the root to obtain its extract.}}</ref> Anglo-Norman {{lang|xno|licoris}} (influenced by {{lang|xno|licor}} {{gloss|liquor}}) and [[Late Latin]] {{lang|la|liquirītia}} were respelled for similar reasons, though the ultimate origin of all three is Ancient Greek {{lang|grc|γλυκύρριζα}} {{transl|grc|glucúrrhiza}} {{gloss|sweet root}}.<ref>{{Cite OED1|liquorice licorice, n.|year=1903}}</ref>
-Reanalysis of loan words can affect their spelling, pronunciation, or meaning. The word ''cockroach'', for example, was borrowed from Spanish ''cucaracha'' but was assimilated to the existing English words ''cock'' and ''[[Common Roach|roach]]''.<ref>{{cite OED1|cockroach, n.|year=1891}}</ref> The phrase ''[[forlorn hope]]'' originally meant "storming party, body of skirmishers"<ref name="Brown">Brown, Lesley (ed.). 2002. ''Shorter Oxford English Dictionary'', vol. 1, A–M. 5th ed. Oxford: Oxford University Press, p. 1600.</ref> from Dutch ''verloren hoop'' "lost troop". But confusion with English ''hope'' has given the term an additional meaning of "hopeless venture".<ref>{{cite OED1|forlorn hope, n.|year=1897}}</ref>
+Reanalysis of loan words can affect their spelling, pronunciation, or meaning. The word ''cockroach'', for example, was borrowed from Spanish {{lang|es|cucaracha}} but was assimilated to the existing English words ''cock'' and ''[[Common Roach|roach]]''.<ref>{{cite OED1|cockroach, n.|year=1891}}</ref> The phrase ''[[forlorn hope]]'' originally meant "storming party, body of skirmishers"<ref name="Brown">{{cite dictionary |editor-last=Brown |editor-first=Lesley |year=2002 |title=Shorter Oxford English Dictionary |volume=1: A–M |edition=5th |location=Oxford |publisher=Oxford University Press |page=1600}}</ref> from Dutch {{lang|nl|verloren hoop}} "lost troop". But confusion with English ''hope'' has given the term an additional meaning of "hopeless venture".<ref>{{cite OED1|forlorn hope, n.|year=1897}}</ref>
-Sometimes imaginative stories are created to account for the link between a borrowed word and its popularly assumed sources. The names of the ''[[serviceberry]]'', ''service tree'', and related plants, for instance, come from the Latin name ''[[sorbus]]''. The plants were called ''syrfe'' in Old English, which eventually became ''service''.<ref>{{cite OED1|serve, n1|year=1912}}</ref> Fanciful stories suggest that the name comes from the fact that the trees bloom in spring, a time when circuit-riding preachers resume church services or when funeral services are carried out for people who died during the winter.<ref>{{cite book|last=Small|first=Ernest|title=North American Cornucopia: Top 100 Indigenous Food Plants|year=2013|publisher=CRC Press|isbn=978-1-4665-8594-2|page=597}}</ref>
+Sometimes imaginative stories are created to account for the link between a borrowed word and its popularly assumed sources. The names of the ''[[serviceberry]]'', ''service tree'', and related plants, for instance, come from the Latin name {{lang|la|[[sorbus]]}}. The plants were called {{lang|ang|syrfe}} in Old English, which eventually became ''service''.<ref>{{cite OED1|serve, n1|year=1912}}</ref> Fanciful stories suggest that the name comes from the fact that the trees bloom in spring, a time when circuit-riding preachers resume church services or when funeral services are carried out for people who died during the winter.<ref>{{cite book|last=Small|first=Ernest|title=North American Cornucopia: Top 100 Indigenous Food Plants|year=2013|publisher=CRC Press|isbn=978-1-4665-8594-2|page=597}}</ref>
 A seemingly plausible but no less speculative etymology accounts for the form of ''[[Welsh rarebit]]'', a dish made of cheese and toasted bread. The earliest known reference to the dish in 1725 called it ''Welsh rabbit''.<ref>{{cite book|last=Byrom|first=John|title=The Private Journal and Literary Remains of John Byrom|url=https://archive.org/details/privatejournalli1132manc|year=1854|publisher=Chetham society|page=[https://archive.org/details/privatejournalli1132manc/page/108 108]}}</ref> The origin of that name is unknown, but presumably humorous, since the dish contains no rabbit. In 1785 [[Francis Grose]] suggested in ''A Classical Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue'' that the dish is "a Welch rare bit",<ref>{{cite book|last=Grose|first=Francis|title=A Classical Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue|year=1785|publisher=S. Hooper|page=133|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RyVKAAAAMAAJ&pg=133}}</ref> though the word ''rarebit'' was not common prior to Grose's dictionary. Both versions of the name are in current use; individuals sometimes express strong opinions concerning which version is correct.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia|title=Welsh rabbit, Welsh rarebit|encyclopedia=Merriam Webster's Dictionary of English Usage|page=952|year=1994|isbn=978-0-87779-132-4}}</ref>
@@ Line 39: / Line 41: @@
 When a word or other form becomes obsolete, words or phrases containing the obsolete portion may be reanalyzed and changed.
-Some [[compound word]]s from [[Old English]] were reanalyzed in Middle or Modern English when one of the constituent words fell out of use. Examples include ''[[wikt:bridegroom|bridegroom]]'' from Old English ''[[wikt:brydguma|brydguma]]'' "bride-man". The word ''[[wikt:gome|gome]]'' "man" from Old English ''[[wikt:guma|guma]]'' fell out of use during the sixteenth century and the compound was eventually reanalyzed with the Modern English word ''[[wikt:groom|groom]]'' "male servant".<ref>{{Cite EB1911|wstitle=Groom}}</ref> A similar reanalysis caused ''[[wikt:sandblind|sandblind]]'', from Old English ''sāmblind'' "half-blind" with a once-common prefix ''sām-'' "semi-", to be respelled as though it is related to ''sand''. The word ''island'' derives from Old English ''igland''. The modern spelling with the letter ''s'' is the result of comparison with the synonym ''[[wikt:isle|isle]]'' from Old French and ultimately as a [[Latinism|Latinist]] borrowing of ''insula'', though the Old French and Old English words are not historically related.<ref>{{cite book|last=Wedgwood|first=Hensleigh|title=A Dictionary of English Etymology: E–P|year=1862|publisher=Trübner|page=273}}</ref> In a similar way, the spelling of ''[[wikt:wormwood|wormwood]]'' was likely affected by comparison with ''wood''.<ref>{{OEtymD|wormwood|accessdate=2017-01-05}}</ref><ref name="Smythe Palmer">{{cite book|last=Smythe Palmer|first=Abram|title=Folk-etymology: A Dictionary of Verbal Corruptions Or Words Perverted in Form Or Meaning, by False Derivation Or Mistaken Analogy|year=1882|publisher=Johnson Reprint}}</ref>{{rp|449}}
+Some [[compound word]]s from [[Old English]] were reanalyzed in Middle or Modern English when one of the constituent words fell out of use. Examples include ''[[wikt:bridegroom|bridegroom]]'' from Old English {{lang|ang|[[wikt:brydguma|brydguma]]}} {{gloss|bride-man}}. The word ''[[wikt:gome|gome]]'' {{gloss|man}} from Old English {{lang|ang|[[wikt:guma|guma]]}} fell out of use during the sixteenth century and the compound was eventually reanalyzed with the Modern English word ''[[wikt:groom|groom]]'' {{gloss|male servant}}.<ref>{{Cite EB1911|wstitle=Groom}}</ref> A similar reanalysis caused ''[[wikt:sandblind|sandblind]]'', from Old English {{lang|ang|sāmblind}} {{gloss|half-blind}} with a once-common prefix {{lang|ang|sām-}} {{gloss|semi-}}, to be respelled as though it is related to ''sand''. The word ''island'' derives from Old English {{lang|ang|igland}}. The modern spelling with the letter ''s'' is the result of comparison with the synonym ''[[wikt:isle|isle]]'' from Old French and ultimately as a [[Latinism|Latinist]] borrowing of {{lang|la|insula}}, though the Old French and Old English words are not historically related.<ref>{{cite dictionary|last=Wedgwood|first=Hensleigh|title=A Dictionary of English Etymology: E–P|year=1862|publisher=Trübner|page=273}}</ref> In a similar way, the spelling of ''[[wikt:wormwood|wormwood]]'' was likely affected by comparison with ''wood''.<ref>{{OEtymD|wormwood|accessdate=2017-01-05}}</ref><ref name="Smythe Palmer">{{cite book|last=Smythe Palmer|first=Abram|title=Folk-etymology: A Dictionary of Verbal Corruptions Or Words Perverted in Form Or Meaning, by False Derivation Or Mistaken Analogy|year=1882|publisher=Johnson Reprint}}</ref>{{rp|449}}
-The phrase ''[[wikt:curry favor|curry favour]]'', meaning to flatter, comes from Middle English ''curry favel'', "[[horse grooming|groom]] a [[chestnut horse]]". This was an [[allusion]] to a fourteenth-century French morality poem, ''[[Roman de Fauvel]]'', about a chestnut-colored horse who corrupts men through duplicity. The phrase was reanalyzed in early Modern English by comparison to ''favour'' as early as 1510.<ref>{{cite web|last=Martin|first=Gary|year=2017|title=The meaning and origin of the expression: 'Curry favour'|work=Phrase Finder|url=http://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/curry-favour.html}}</ref>
+The phrase ''[[wikt:curry favor|curry favour]]'', meaning to flatter, comes from Middle English {{lang|enm|curry favel}} {{gloss|[[horse grooming|groom]] a [[chestnut horse]]}}. This was an [[allusion]] to a fourteenth-century French morality poem, ''[[Roman de Fauvel]]'', about a chestnut-coloured horse who corrupts men through duplicity. The phrase was reanalyzed in early Modern English by comparison to ''favour'' as early as 1510.<ref>{{cite web|last=Martin|first=Gary|year=2017|title=The meaning and origin of the expression: 'Curry favour'|work=Phrase Finder|url=http://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/curry-favour.html}}</ref>
-Words need not completely disappear before their compounds are reanalyzed. The word ''[[wikt:shamefaced|shamefaced]]'' was originally ''[[wikt:shamefast|shamefast]]''. The original meaning of ''fast'' 'fixed in place' still exists, as in the compounded words ''steadfast'' and ''colorfast'', but by itself mainly in frozen expressions such as ''stuck fast'', ''hold fast'', and ''[[wikt:play fast and loose|play fast and loose]]''.{{citation needed|date=January 2017}} The songbird ''[[wheatear]]'' or ''white-ear'' is a back-formation from Middle English ''whit-ers'' 'white arse', referring to the prominent white rump found in most species.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |title=White-ear|url=https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/white%E2%80%93ear |encyclopedia=Merriam Webster Online|access-date=5 January 2017}}</ref> Although both ''white'' and ''arse'' are common in Modern English, the folk etymology may be [[euphemism]].<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |title=Wheatear |url=http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/wheatear |encyclopedia=Merriam Webster Online |access-date=13 May 2010}}</ref>
+Words need not completely disappear before their compounds are reanalyzed. The word ''[[wikt:shamefaced|shamefaced]]'' was originally ''[[wikt:shamefast|shamefast]]''. The original meaning of ''fast'' 'fixed in place' still exists, as in the compounded words ''steadfast'' and ''colorfast'', but by itself mainly in frozen expressions such as ''stuck fast'', ''hold fast'', and ''[[wikt:play fast and loose|play fast and loose]]''.{{citation needed|date=January 2017}} The songbird ''[[wheatear]]'' or ''white-ear'' is a back-formation from Middle English {{lang|enm|whit-ers}} {{gloss|white arse}}, referring to the prominent white rump found in most species.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |title=White-ear|url=https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/white%E2%80%93ear |encyclopedia=Merriam Webster Online|access-date=5 January 2017}}</ref> Although both ''white'' and ''arse'' are common in Modern English, the folk etymology may be [[euphemism]].<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |title=Wheatear |url=http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/wheatear |encyclopedia=Merriam Webster Online |access-date=13 May 2010}}</ref>
-Reanalysis of archaic or obsolete forms can lead to changes in meaning as well. The original meaning of ''[[hangnail]]'' referred to a [[Corn (medicine)|corn]] on the foot.<ref name="MW-hangnail">{{cite encyclopedia |title=hangnail|url=https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hangnail |encyclopedia=Merriam Webster Online|access-date=5 January 2017}}</ref> The word comes from Old English ''[[wikt:ang-|ang-]]'' + ''[[wikt:nægel|nægel]]'' ("anguished nail" or "compressed spike"), but the spelling and pronunciation were affected by folk etymology in the seventeenth century or earlier.<ref>{{OEtymD|hangnail|accessdate=2017-01-05}}</ref> Thereafter, the word came to be used for a tag of skin or torn [[cuticle]] near a [[fingernail]] or toenail.<ref name="MW-hangnail" />
+Reanalysis of archaic or obsolete forms can lead to changes in meaning as well. The original meaning of ''[[hangnail]]'' referred to a [[Corn (medicine)|corn]] on the foot.<ref name="MW-hangnail">{{cite encyclopedia |title=hangnail|url=https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hangnail |encyclopedia=Merriam Webster Online|access-date=5 January 2017}}</ref> The word comes from Old English {{lang|ang|[[wikt:ang-|ang-]]}} + {{lang|ang|[[wikt:nægel|nægel]]}} {{gloss|anguished nail, compressed spike}}, but the spelling and pronunciation were affected by folk etymology in the seventeenth century or earlier.<ref>{{OEtymD|hangnail|accessdate=2017-01-05}}</ref> Thereafter, the word came to be used for a tag of skin or torn [[cuticle]] near a [[fingernail]] or toenail.<ref name="MW-hangnail" />
 == Other languages ==
-Several words in [[Medieval Latin]] were subject to folk etymology. For example, the word ''widerdonum'' meaning 'reward' was borrowed from [[Old High German]] ''widarlōn'' "repayment of a loan". The ''l{{nbsp}}→{{nbsp}}d'' alteration is due to confusion with Latin ''donum'' 'gift'.<ref>{{Cite OED1 |guerdon|year=1900}}</ref><ref name="Smythe Palmer" />{{rp|157}} Similarly, the word ''baceler'' or ''bacheler'' (related to modern English [[Bachelor#Etymology and historical meanings|''bachelor'']]) referred to a junior knight. It is attested from the eleventh century, though its ultimate origin is uncertain. By the late Middle Ages its meaning was extended to the holder of a university degree inferior to master or doctor.  This was later re-spelled ''baccalaureus'', probably reflecting a false derivation from ''bacca laurea'' 'laurel berry', alluding to the possible laurel crown of a poet or conqueror.<ref>{{cite book|last=Brachet|first=Auguste|title=An Etymological Dictionary of the French Language: Crowned by the French Academy|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TvENAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA354|year=1882|publisher=Clarendon Press|pages=46–47}}</ref><ref name="Smythe Palmer" />{{rp|17–18}}
+Several words in [[Medieval Latin]] were subject to folk etymology. For example, the word {{lang|la|widerdonum}} meaning 'reward' was borrowed from [[Old High German]] {{lang|goh|widarlōn}} {{gloss|repayment of a loan}}. The ''l{{nbsp}}→{{nbsp}}d'' alteration is due to confusion with Latin {{lang|la|donum}} {{gloss|gift}}.<ref>{{Cite OED1 |guerdon|year=1900}}</ref><ref name="Smythe Palmer" />{{rp|157}} Similarly, the word {{lang|la|baceler}} or {{lang|la|bacheler}} (related to modern English [[Bachelor#Etymology and historical meanings|''bachelor'']]) referred to a junior knight. It is attested from the eleventh century, though its ultimate origin is uncertain. By the late Middle Ages its meaning was extended to the holder of a university degree inferior to master or doctor.  This was later re-spelled {{lang|la|baccalaureus}}, probably reflecting a false derivation from {{lang|la|bacca laurea}} {{gloss|laurel berry}}, alluding to the possible laurel crown of a poet or conqueror.<ref>{{cite book|last=Brachet|first=Auguste|title=An Etymological Dictionary of the French Language: Crowned by the French Academy|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TvENAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA354|year=1882|publisher=Clarendon Press|pages=46–47}}</ref><ref name="Smythe Palmer" />{{rp|17–18}}
-In the fourteenth or fifteenth century, French scholars began to spell the verb ''savoir'' ('to know') as ''sçavoir'' on the false belief it was derived from Latin ''scire'' 'to know'.  In fact it comes from ''sapere'' 'to be wise'.<ref>{{cite book|last=Singleton|first=David|title=Language and the Lexicon: An Introduction|year=2016|location=London|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1-317-83594-3|page=141}}</ref>
+In the fourteenth or fifteenth century, French scholars began to spell the verb {{lang|fr|savoir}} {{gloss|to know}} as {{lang|fr|sçavoir}} on the false belief it was derived from Latin {{lang|la|scire}} {{gloss|to know}}.  In fact it comes from {{lang|la|sapere}} {{gloss|to be wise}}.<ref>{{cite book|last=Singleton|first=David|title=Language and the Lexicon: An Introduction|year=2016|location=London|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1-317-83594-3|page=141}}</ref>
-The Italian word ''liocorno, ''meaning 'unicorn' derives from 13th-century ''lunicorno'' (''lo'' 'the' + ''unicorno'' 'unicorn'). Folk etymology based on ''lione'' 'lion' altered the spelling and pronunciation. Dialectal ''liofante'' 'elephant' was likewise altered from ''elefante'' by association with ''lione''.<ref name="Smythe Palmer" />{{rp|486}}
+The Italian word {{lang|it|liocorno}}, meaning 'unicorn' derives from 13th-century ''lunicorno'' (''lo'' 'the' + ''unicorno'' 'unicorn'). Folk etymology based on ''lione'' 'lion' altered the spelling and pronunciation. Dialectal ''liofante'' 'elephant' was likewise altered from ''elefante'' by association with ''lione''.<ref name="Smythe Palmer" />{{rp|486}}
-The [[Dutch language|Dutch]] word for '[[hammock]]' is ''hangmat''. It was borrowed from Spanish ''hamaca'' (ultimately from [[Arawak language|Arawak]] ''amàca'') and altered by comparison with ''hangen'' and ''mat'', 'hanging mat'. German ''Hängematte'' shares this folk etymology.<ref>{{cite web|title=Hängematte|work=Wörterbuch Deutsch|url=http://en.worterbuchdeutsch.com/de/hangematte |date=October 2016|access-date=2017-01-31}}</ref>
+The [[Dutch language|Dutch]] word for '[[hammock]]' is {{lang|nl|hangmat}}. It was borrowed from Spanish {{lang|es|hamaca}} (ultimately from [[Arawak language|Arawak]] {{lang|arw|amàca}}) and altered by comparison with {{lang|nl|hangen}} and {{lang|nl|mat}} {{gloss|hanging mat}}. German {{lang|de|Hängematte}} shares this folk etymology.<ref>{{cite web|title=Hängematte|work=Wörterbuch Deutsch|url=http://en.worterbuchdeutsch.com/de/hangematte |date=October 2016|access-date=2017-01-31}}</ref>
 ''[[Names of Istanbul#Islambol|Islambol]]'', a folk etymology meaning 'Islam abounding', is one of the names of [[Istanbul]] used after the [[Ottoman Empire|Ottoman]] conquest of 1453.<ref>{{cite book|author=Necdet Sakaoğlu|title=Dünden bugüne İstanbul ansiklopedisi|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=t51PAQAAMAAJ|year=1993|publisher=Kültür Bakanlığı|language=tr|isbn=978-975-7306-04-7|pages=253–255|chapter=İstanbul'un adları}}</ref>
-An example from [[Persian language|Persian]] is the word ''[[shatranj]]'' 'chess', which is derived from the [[Sanskrit]] [[chaturanga|''chatur-anga'']] ("four-army [game]"; 2nd century BCE), and after losing the ''u'' to [[Syncope (phonetics)|syncope]], became ''chatrang'' in [[Middle Persian]] (6th century CE). Today it is sometimes factorized as ''sad'' 'hundred' + ''ranj'' 'worry, mood', or 'a hundred worries'.<ref name="BurnellYule1996">{{cite book|author1=A. C. Burnell|author2=Henry Yule|title=Hobson-Jobson: Glossary of Colloquial Anglo-Indian Words And Phrases|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Mnl0DwAAQBAJ&q=Shatranj&pg=PA779|date=11 January 1996|publisher=Taylor & Francis|isbn=978-1-136-60331-0|page=779}}</ref>
+An example from [[Persian language|Persian]] is the word {{lang|fa|شطرنج}} {{transl|fa|[[shatranj]]}} 'chess', which is derived from the [[Sanskrit]] {{lang|sa|चतुरङ्ग}} {{transl|sa|[[chaturanga|chatur-anga]]}} ("four-army [game]"; 2nd century BCE), and after losing the ''u'' to [[Syncope (phonetics)|syncope]], became {{lang|pal-Arab|چترنگ}} {{transl|pal|chatrang}} in [[Middle Persian]] (6th century CE). Today it is sometimes factorized as {{transl|fa|sad}} {{gloss|hundred}} + {{transl|fa|ranj}} {{gloss|worry, mood}}, or {{gloss|a hundred worries}}.<ref name="BurnellYule1996">{{cite book|author1=A. C. Burnell|author2=Henry Yule|title=Hobson-Jobson: Glossary of Colloquial Anglo-Indian Words And Phrases|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Mnl0DwAAQBAJ&q=Shatranj&pg=PA779|date=11 January 1996|publisher=Taylor & Francis|isbn=978-1-136-60331-0|page=779}}</ref>
+Some Indonesian [[feminist]]s discourage usage of the term ''wanita'' ('woman') and replacing it with ''perempuan'', since ''wanita'' itself has [[misogynistic]] roots. First, in [[Javanese language|Javanese]], ''wanita'' is a portmanteau of ''wani ditata'' (dare to be controlled), also, ''wanita'' is taken from [[Sanskrit]] {{lang|sa|वनिता}} {{transl|sa|vanitā}} (someone desired by men).<ref>{{cite web |last1=Parhani |first1=Siti |title=Antara Wanita dan Perempuan, Apa Bedanya? |url=https://magdalene.co/story/antara-wanita-dan-perempuan-apa-bedanya/ |website=Magdalene |access-date=2 May 2024 |date=6 January 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Swaragita |first1=Gisela |title=Defining 'woman': Dictionary entry fans flames of sexist furor in Indonesia - Politics |url=https://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2021/02/11/indonesias-language-agency-fans-flames-of-sexist-furor-over-perempuan-dictionary-entry.html |website=The Jakarta Post |access-date=2 May 2024 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Rhani |first1=Gloria Kristy |title=Gambaran Perempuan Karir Dalam Program "News For Women" SBO TV |journal=Commonline UNAIR |date=1 April 2014 |volume=3 |issue=1 |pages=137-151 |url=https://journal.unair.ac.id/filerPDF/comm0b09f80fe1full.pdf |access-date=2 May 2024}}</ref>
-In Turkey, the political [[Democratic Party (Turkey, current)|Democratic Party]] changed its logo in 2007 to a white horse in front of a red background because many voters folk-etymologized its Turkish name ''Demokrat'' as ''demir kırat'' ("iron white-horse").<ref>{{cite book|first=Sam|last=Kaplan|year=2006|title=The Pedagogical State|publisher=Stanford University Press|isbn=0-8047-5433-0|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lHPuoNJqaUAC&q=demir&pg=PA172|page=172}}</ref>
+In Turkey, the political [[Democrat Party (Turkey, current)|Democrat Party]] changed its logo in 2007 to a white horse in front of a red background because many voters folk-etymologized its Turkish name {{lang|tr|Demokrat}} as {{lang|tr|demir kırat}} {{gloss|iron white-horse}}.<ref>{{cite book|first=Sam|last=Kaplan|year=2006|title=The Pedagogical State|publisher=Stanford University Press|isbn=0-8047-5433-0|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lHPuoNJqaUAC&q=demir&pg=PA172|page=172}}</ref>
 == See also ==
@@ Line 96: / Line 100: @@
 * [[David Wilton]] (2004). ''Word Myths: Debunking Linguistic Urban Legends''. Oxford University Press. {{ISBN|0-19-517284-1}}.
+{{Folklore genres}}
 {{Authority control}}
-{{Folklore genres}}
 {{DEFAULTSORT:False Etymology}}
 [[Category:Etymology]]

v t e Folklore genres and types
Narrative	Animal tale Fable Fairy tale list Legend Tall tales Parable Personal narrative Urban legend
Oral tradition	Folk etymology False Joke Nursery rhyme Proverb Riddle Saying Word game
Folk belief	Birthstone Folk religion Folk saint Ghostlore Legend tripping Luminous gemstones Mythology Old wives' tale Ritual Silver bullet Weather lore
Folk arts	Folk art Folk epic Folk dance Folk instrument Folk music Folk play Folk wrestling Foodways
Society	Cunning folk Fakelore Folk devil Folk healer Folk hero
See also	Folklore studies Morphology (folkloristics) Aarne–Thompson–Uther Index Motif-Index of Folk-Literature Storytelling Tradition Knowledge Medicine Story Vernacular