MISNOMER

Misnomer

A misnomer is a word or term that suggests a meaning that is known to be wrong. Misnomers often arise because the thing named received its name long before its true nature was known. A misnomer may also be simply a word that is used incorrectly or misleadingly. "Misnomer" does not mean "misunderstanding" or "popular misconception".

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misnomer

Noun

  1. A use of a term that is misleading; a misname.
    Calling it a driveway is a bit of a misnomer, since you don't drive on it, you park on it.
  2. A term that is misleading.
    Chinese checkers is a misnomer since the game has nothing to do with China.
  3. A term whose sense in common usage conflicts with a technical sense.

Verb

  1. To use a misleading term; to misname.


The above text is a snippet from Wiktionary: misnomer
and as such is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

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