A misnomer is a name that is incorrectly or unsuitably applied. Misnomers often arise because something was named long before its correct nature was known, or because an earlier form of something has been replaced by a later form to which the name no longer suitably applies. A misnomer may also be a word that is used incorrectly or misleadingly. The word "misnomer" does not mean "misunderstanding" or "popular misconception", and a number of misnomers remain in common usage — which is to say that a word being a misnomer does not necessarily make usage of the word incorrect.
A misnomer is a name that is incorrectly or unsuitably applied. Misnomers often arise because something was named long before its correct nature was known, or because an earlier form of something has been replaced by a later form to which the name no longer suitably applies. A misnomer may also be a word that is used incorrectly or misleadingly. The word "misnomer" does not mean "misunderstanding" or "popular misconception", and a number of misnomers remain in common usage — which is to say that a word being a misnomer does not necessarily make usage of the word incorrect.
== Sources of misnomers == An older name being retained after the thing itself has changed (e.g., tin can, mince meat pie, steamroller, tin foil, clothes iron, digital darkroom). This is essentially a metaphorical extension with the name of the older item standing for anything filling the same role. Transference of a well-known product brand name into a genericized trademark (e.g., Xerox for photocopy, Kleenex for tissues, or Jell-O for gelatin dessert). Pars pro toto (i.e., the name of a part being applied to the whole). Holland is often used to refer to the Netherlands, while it is actually only a part of that country. Referring to the suburbs of a metropolis by the name of the biggest city in the metropolis. A name based on a similarity in a particular aspect (e.g., "shooting stars" look like falling stars but are actually meteors). A difference between popular and technical meanings of a term. A koala "bear" (see below) superficially looks and acts like a bear, but is quite distinct and unrelated. Fireflies fly like flies, and ladybugs are like bugs. Botanically, peanuts are not nuts. The technical sense is often cited as "correct", but this is a matter of context. Ambiguity. A parkway is generally a road with park-like landscaping, not a place to park. Such a term may confuse those unfamiliar with the language. Association of a thing with a place other than its origin. Panama hats originate from Ecuador, but came to be associated with the building of the Panama Canal. Naming particular to the originator's world view. An unfamiliar name – perhaps foreign – or technical term re-analyzed as something more familiar (see folk etymology). Anachronisms, juxtaposed terms from different time periods, creating chronological inconsistency.
Discovered by embedding cosine similarity (sentence-transformers MiniLM, 384-dim).