Misnomer A misnomer is a name that is incorrectly applied. Misnomers often arise because something was named long before its correct nature was known, or because an earlier form of something has been replaced by something to which the name no longer applies. A misnomer may also be simply a word that someone uses incorrectly or misleadingly. The word "misnomer" does not mean "misunderstanding" or "popular misconception", and a number of misnomers remain in common usage — which is to say that a word being a misnomer does not necessarily make usage of the word incorrect. Examples Older name retained The term The "lead" in pencils is made of graphite and clay, not lead; graphite was originally believed to be lead ore, but this is now known not to be the case. The graphite and clay mix is known as plumbago, meaning "lead ore" in Latin. Blackboards can be black, green, red, blue, or brown. And the sticks of chalk are no longer made of chalk, but of gypsum. Tin foil is almost always aluminium, whereas "tin cans" made for the storage of food products are made from steel with a thin tin plating. In both cases, tin was the original metal. Telephone numbers are usually referred to as being "dialed" although rotary phones are now rare. In golf, the clubs commonly referred to as woods are usually made of metal. The club heads for "woods" were formerly made predominantly of wood. anachronym as defined in Garner's Modern English Usage refers to this type of misnomer. Examples cited by Garner include the persistence of the word dial in its telephoning sense after the rotary dial era and the persistence of the term tin foil in the aluminum foil era. Anachronyms should not be homophonously confused with anacronyms, which are words such as laser and sonar that have acronymic origin but are generally no longer treated like conventional acronyms. Similarity of appearance
Catgut is made from sheep intestines. Head cheese is a meat product. A horned toad is a lizard. A velvet ant is a wasp. Difference between common and technical meanings Koala "bears" are marsupials not closely related to the bear family, Ursidae. The name "koala" is preferred in Australia, where koalas are native, but the term "koala bear" is still in use today outside of Australia. Jellyfish and starfish are not even closely related to fish. A peanut is not a nut in the botanical sense, but rather a legume. Similarly, a coconut is not a botanical nut but a drupe. Several fruit that are not berries include strawberries, bayberries, raspberries, and blackberries. Association with place other than that which one may assume The guinea pig originated in the Andes not Guinea, and additionally is a rodent and unrelated to pigs. French horns originated in Germany, not France. Chinese checkers did not originate in China, nor in any part of Asia. Other Although dry cleaning does not involve water, it does involve the use of liquid solvents. The "funny bone" is not a bone—the phrase refers to the ulnar nerve. A quantum leap is properly an "instantaneous change" that may be either large or small. In physics it is a change of an electron from one energy level to another within an atom. In common usage, however, the term is often taken to mean a large, abrupt change. "Tennis elbow" does not necessarily result from playing tennis.
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