Folk etymology
Folk etymology (also known as popular etymology) is an "explanation" of the meaning of a word based on its superficial similarity to other words, without analysing its morphological structure, documented history or scientifically reconstructible past forms.
Instances of folk etymology
Folk etymology may make people change the form of a word so that it would better match its popular rationalisation. For example, Old English sam-blind 'semi-blind' or 'half-blind' became sand-blind (as if 'blinded by the sand') when people were no longer able to make sense of the element sam 'half', and Old English bryd-guma 'bride-man' became bridegroom after the loss of the Old English word guma 'man' (compare French 'homme') rendered the compound semantically obscure. More recent examples are French (e)crevisse which became English cray-fish or asparagus which became sparrow-grass.
The pantry is not so called since it is or was used for storing pots and pans, but because it was originally a bread store (Old French paneterie, compare Spanish panaderÃa). (Room; see reference below)
In one example from non-sexist language, a feigned folk etymology was the source of neologisms like herstory to replace history. To make it clear, the idea is that the story of mankind is "his story" but also "her story". In actuality, the word "history" is etymologically unrelated to the possessive pronoun "his"; it is from the Greek word historia, meaning 'learning or knowing by inquiry'.
Urban legend etymologies
Some folk etymologies have become urban legends, many of which allege a scandalous origin for a common and innocent word. One common example has to do with the phrase "rule of thumb", meaning a rough measurement. An urban legend has it that the phrase refers to an old English law under which a man could legally beat his wife with a stick no thicker than his thumb.
In the United States, many of these scandalous faux-etymologies have had to do with racism and slavery. Common words such as "picnic" , "buck" , and "crowbar" have been alleged to stem from derogatory terms or racist practices. The 'discovery' of these alleged etymologies is often believed by those who circulate them to draw attention to racist attitudes embedded in ordinary discourse. On one occasion the use of the word 'niggardly' led to the resignation of a US public official because it sounded similar to the word 'nigger'.
See also
- Fake etymology
- Individual BambooWeb articles that discuss folk etymologies for their subject:
Reference
- Adrian Room, Dictionary of True Etymologies, 1986, Routledge & Kegan Paul
