misnomer
A mistake in the naming of a person or placeA mistake in the naming of a person or place; a misidentification.
» Root beer is minging – and it's a misnomer.
Wurzelbier stinkt – und es handelt sich eigentlich um eine Fehlbezeichnung.
Meaning
4 sensesA mistake in the naming of a person or place; a misidentification.
(broadly)An incorrect use of a term, especially one which is misleading; a misname.
Falschbezeichnung, Fehlbenennung, Fehlbezeichnung
(broadly)A term which is misleading, even if firmly established, technically correct, or both.
The name Chinese checkers is a misnomer since the game has nothing to do with China.
The word blackboard as applied to green or brown chalkboards is a misnomer but is not incorrect, as the broad sense of the word is idiomatic.
(broadly, nonstandard, proscribed)Something which is asserted not to be true; a mistaken belief, a falsehood, a myth.
It’s a misnomer that all doctors have bad handwriting.
- an incorrect or unsuitable name
Examples
8 sentencesRoot beer is minging – and it's a misnomer.
deWurzelbier stinkt – und es handelt sich eigentlich um eine Fehlbezeichnung. — Pfirsichbaeumchen
"Koala bear" is a misnomer, since koalas aren't bears.
It's a misnomer to refer to non-crypto-currency as "fiat," since cryptocurrency is also fiat.
It's a misnomer.
Cold War is a misnomer cause the bloodshed in the third world was horrendous.
Translations
4 languagesBy meaning 1
Origin
The noun is derived from Late Middle English misnoumer (“(law) mistaken identification ofThe 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)).
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