Examples of Word Meanings Modified By A Folk-etymology-like Process
A process similar to folk etymology may result in a change to the meaning of a word based on an imagined etymology connecting it to an unrelated but similar-sounding word. Often this comes about either through the confusion of a foreign or obsolete word (similar to types A and B above) with a more common word, but it can also result from confusion of two words that have become homophones. Examples:
- The term "forlorn hope" originally meant "shock troop" and is a borrowing from Dutch verloren hoop "lost troop", where hoop is cognate with English heap. But confusion with English hope has given the term an additional meaning of "hopeless venture".
- council, which originally just meant a "meeting" or "group of people", but now means "a committee that leads or governs" through confusion with the homophone counsel "to give advice".
- A jubilee was originally an ancient Jewish tradition (from the Hebrew word yovel, יובל), specifically a year of rest observed once every 50 years. However, it now often means a celebration or time of rejoicing (almost the opposite of its original meaning) through confusion with the unrelated word jubilant.
Read more about this topic: Folk Etymology
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