PLEASE EXPLAIN YOUR POINT!!
FOLK ETYMOLOGY: Where etymology, deriving from the Greek etymon (true), is the study of the literal meanings of
words according to their origins (or first recorded usage), folk etymology is the unsystematic application of similar principles,
sometimes leading to errors, faux amis, and fanciful connections where there are none. One might make the mistake, for
example, of assuming that "doxy" in "orthodoxy" (literally, "straight opinion," implying correctness and goodness) is related to
"doxy" ("woman of loose morals"). The assumption of relation ignores the words' different origins (the Greek "doxa" and the
Middle Dutch "docke"). Related abuses of word origins can be found in deconstruction (for example, dissemination),
hyphenation and certain neologisms (for example, herstory). Cf confabulation. |
