misnomer
noun
- word or term that suggests a meaning that is known to be wrong
Wiktionary
Pronunciation: /(ˌ)mɪsˈnəʊmə/ / /ˌmɪsˈnoʊməɹ/
noun
Etymology: 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.
- A mistake in the naming of a person or place; a misidentification.
- An incorrect use of a term, especially one which is misleading; a misname.
“[…] plaintiff's misstyling himself as corporation in initial complaint constituted case of misnomer.”
“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.”
- 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.”
- 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.”
verb
Etymology: 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.
- To use an incorrect, and especially misleading, name for (someone or something); to misidentify, to misname.