FOLK ETYMOLOGY

Concise Oxford Companion to the English Language | 1998 | 399 words | Copyright

FOLK ETYMOLOGY, also popular etymology. A term in LINGUISTICS for ‘folk’ or ‘popular’ theories (that is, the thoughts of ordinary, non-academic people) about the origins, forms, and meanings of words, sometimes resulting in changes to the words in question: plantar wart, a wart on the sole of the foot (from Latin planta), reinterpreted as planter's wart. See ETYMOLOGY.

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TOM McARTHUR. "FOLK ETYMOLOGY." Concise Oxford Companion to the English Language. 1998. Encyclopedia.com. 29 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

TOM McARTHUR. "FOLK ETYMOLOGY." Concise Oxford Companion to the English Language. 1998. Encyclopedia.com. (May 29, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O29-FOLKETYMOLOGY.html

TOM McARTHUR. "FOLK ETYMOLOGY." Concise Oxford Companion to the English Language. 1998. Retrieved May 29, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O29-FOLKETYMOLOGY.html

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