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From Nordan Symposia
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==Origin==
late [http://nordan.daynal.org/wiki/index.php?title=English#ca._1100-1500_.09THE_MIDDLE_ENGLISH_PERIOD Middle English]: from Anglo-Norman French, from the Old French verb ''mesnommer'', from ''mes''- ‘wrongly’ + ''nommer'' ‘to name’ (based on [[Latin]] ''nomen'' ‘name’).
*[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/15th_century 15th Century]
==Definitions==
*1:a wrong or inaccurate [[name]] or designation: “king crab” is a misnomer—these [[creatures]] are not crustaceans at all.
*2:a wrong or inaccurate use of a name or term: to call this “[[neighborhood]] policing” would be a misnomer.
==Description==
A '''misnomer''' is a [[word]] or term that suggests a [[meaning]] that is known to be wrong. Misnomers often arise because the thing named [[received]] its name long before its true nature was known. A misnomer may also be [[simply]] a word that is used incorrectly or misleadingly. "Misnomer" does not mean "misunderstanding" or "[[popular]] misconception".
*Some misnomers are:
#A [[quantum]] leap is properly an instantaneous [[change]] which may be either large or small. In [[physics]], it is the smallest possible change that is of particular interest. In common usage, however, the term is often taken to mean a large, abrupt change.
#An older name being retained after the thing named has changed (e.g. tin can, fixed [[income]] market, mince meat pie, steamroller, tin foil, clothes iron, digital darkroom). This is essentially a [[metaphorical]] extension with the older item standing for anything filling its role.
#Transference of a well-known product brand name into a genericized trademark (e.g., Xerox for photocopy, Kleenex for tissue or Jell-o for gelatin dessert).
#An older name being retained even in the face of newer [[information]] (e.g., Chinese checkers, Arabic numerals).
#''[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pars_pro_toto Pars pro toto]'', or a name being applied to something which only covers part of a region. The name [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holland Holland] is often used to refer to the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Netherlands Netherlands] while it only designates a part of that country; sometimes people refer to the [[suburb]]s of a metropolis with the name of the biggest city in the metropolis.
#A name being based on a similarity in a particular aspect (e.g., "shooting stars" look like falling stars but are actually [[meteors]]).
#[[Association]] of a thing with a place other than one might assume. For example, [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panama_hat Panama hats] are made in [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ecuador Ecuador], but came to be associated with the building of the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panama_Canal Panama Canal].
[[Category: Languages and Literature]]
==Origin==
late [http://nordan.daynal.org/wiki/index.php?title=English#ca._1100-1500_.09THE_MIDDLE_ENGLISH_PERIOD Middle English]: from Anglo-Norman French, from the Old French verb ''mesnommer'', from ''mes''- ‘wrongly’ + ''nommer'' ‘to name’ (based on [[Latin]] ''nomen'' ‘name’).
*[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/15th_century 15th Century]
==Definitions==
*1:a wrong or inaccurate [[name]] or designation: “king crab” is a misnomer—these [[creatures]] are not crustaceans at all.
*2:a wrong or inaccurate use of a name or term: to call this “[[neighborhood]] policing” would be a misnomer.
==Description==
A '''misnomer''' is a [[word]] or term that suggests a [[meaning]] that is known to be wrong. Misnomers often arise because the thing named [[received]] its name long before its true nature was known. A misnomer may also be [[simply]] a word that is used incorrectly or misleadingly. "Misnomer" does not mean "misunderstanding" or "[[popular]] misconception".
*Some misnomers are:
#A [[quantum]] leap is properly an instantaneous [[change]] which may be either large or small. In [[physics]], it is the smallest possible change that is of particular interest. In common usage, however, the term is often taken to mean a large, abrupt change.
#An older name being retained after the thing named has changed (e.g. tin can, fixed [[income]] market, mince meat pie, steamroller, tin foil, clothes iron, digital darkroom). This is essentially a [[metaphorical]] extension with the older item standing for anything filling its role.
#Transference of a well-known product brand name into a genericized trademark (e.g., Xerox for photocopy, Kleenex for tissue or Jell-o for gelatin dessert).
#An older name being retained even in the face of newer [[information]] (e.g., Chinese checkers, Arabic numerals).
#''[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pars_pro_toto Pars pro toto]'', or a name being applied to something which only covers part of a region. The name [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holland Holland] is often used to refer to the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Netherlands Netherlands] while it only designates a part of that country; sometimes people refer to the [[suburb]]s of a metropolis with the name of the biggest city in the metropolis.
#A name being based on a similarity in a particular aspect (e.g., "shooting stars" look like falling stars but are actually [[meteors]]).
#[[Association]] of a thing with a place other than one might assume. For example, [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panama_hat Panama hats] are made in [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ecuador Ecuador], but came to be associated with the building of the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panama_Canal Panama Canal].
[[Category: Languages and Literature]]
