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Misnomer

//(ˌ)mɪsˈnəʊmə// noun, verb

Definitions

Noun

1
A mistake in the naming of a person or place; a misidentification.
2
an incorrect or unsuitable name wordnet
3
An incorrect use of a term, especially one which is misleading; a misname. broadly
"Rewilding[…]is also a misnomer, for whether by getting rid of tens of thousands of sheep in Patagonia or introducing a living species as a surrogate for an extinct one – Sayaguesa cattle in place of aurochs in Croatia’s Velebit Mountains, for instance – rewilding requires more human intervention than its name suggests."
4
A term which is misleading, even if firmly established, technically correct, or both. broadly
"The name Chinese checkers is a misnomer since the game has nothing to do with China."
5
Something which is asserted not to be true; a mistaken belief, a falsehood, a myth. broadly, nonstandard, proscribed
"It’s a misnomer that all doctors have bad handwriting."

Verb

1
To use an incorrect, and especially misleading, name for (someone or something); to misidentify, to misname. transitive

Etymology

Etymology 1

The noun is derived from Late Middle English misnoumer (“(law) mistaken identification of a person; plea based on such misidentification”), from Anglo-Norman mesnomer, a noun use of Anglo-Norman mesnomer, mesnommer, and Old French mesnomer, mesnommer (“to name incorrectly”), from mes- (prefix meaning ‘badly, wrongly’) + nomer, nommer (“to name”) (from Latin nōmināre, the present active infinitive of nōminō (“to name”), from nōmen (“name”) (from Proto-Indo-European *h₁nómn̥ (“name”)) + -ō (suffix forming regular first-conjugation verbs)). The verb is derived from the noun.

Etymology 2

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