misnomer

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English [edit]

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Etymology [edit]

From Anglo-Norman mesnomer, noun use of Anglo-Norman and Old French verb mesnomer (to name incorrectly), from mes- (mis-) + nomer (to name) (from Latin nōmināre).

Pronunciation [edit]

Noun [edit]

misnomer (plural misnomers)

  1. A use of a term that is misleading; a misname.
    Calling it a driveway is a bit of a misnomer, since you don't drive on it, you park on it.
  2. A term that is misleading.
    Chinese checkers is a misnomer since the game has nothing to do with China.
  3. A term whose sense in common usage conflicts with a technical sense.

Usage notes [edit]

The term misnomer is sometimes used autologically as "something asserted not to be true; a myth or mistaken belief", as in the following example:

It's a misnomer that engineers can't write.

Synonyms [edit]

Translations [edit]

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See also [edit]

Verb [edit]

misnomer (third-person singular simple present misnomers, present participle misnomering, simple past and past participle misnomered)

  1. (transitive) To use a misleading term; to misname.

Anagrams [edit]