Definition of the word popular etymology

Pronunciation of vocabulary popular etymology

popular etymologynoun

từ nguyên phổ biến

/ˌpɒpjələr etɪˈmɒlədʒi//ˌpɑːpjələr etɪˈmɑːlədʒi/

Origin of the word popular etymology

The term "popular etymology" refers to the mistaken explanation or analysis of the origins of words based on how they are currently pronounced or understood rather than their actual historical meanings and derivations. This phenomenon arises from the popular belief that words must make logical or sensible sense based on their current meanings and uses, leading people to incorrectly assume that particular words have a particular origin or meaning. In linguistics and etymology, popular etymology is considered a common but erroneous type of folk etymology that reflects popular cultural and linguistic misunderstandings of linguistic history and evolution. Common examples include the beliefs that "Business" comes from the phrase "Do it yourself," "Freight" from Old English frecomann ('free man'), "Associate" from Latin associa ("to sit together"), "Optimist" from Latin optimus ("most"), and "Practical" from Latin practiculus ("little"). These examples demonstrate that while popular etymologies may be amusing or entertaining, they do not reflect actual linguistic history and should be treated with skepticism and caution by linguists and language learners alike.

Example of vocabulary popular etymologynamespace

meaning

a popular but wrong belief about the origin of a word or phrase

một niềm tin phổ biến nhưng sai lầm về nguồn gốc của một từ hoặc cụm từ

meaning

a process by which a word is changed, for example because people believe that it is related to another word, even though it is not, or to make a foreign word sound more familiar

một quá trình mà một từ được thay đổi, ví dụ vì mọi người tin rằng nó có liên quan đến một từ khác, mặc dù thực tế không phải vậy, hoặc để làm cho một từ nước ngoài nghe quen thuộc hơn


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