eggcorn
Syllables: egg·cornUK/ˈɛɡkɔːn/US/ˈɛɡkɔɹn/
eggcorn noun: a word or phrase that sounds like and is mistakenly used in a seemingly logical or plausible way for another word or phrase either on its own or as part of a set expression.
Noun
eggcorn (plural eggcorns)
- A word or phrase that sounds like and is mistakenly used in a seemingly logical or plausible way for another word or phrase either on its own or as part of a set expression
- update (9/30/2003): Geoff Pullum suggests that if no suitable term already exists for cases like this, we should call them "egg corns", in the metonymic tradition of "mondegreen", since the eponymous solution of "malapropism" and "spoonerism" is not appropriate.2003 September 30, Mark Liberman, “Egg corns: folk etymology, malapropism, mondegreen, ???”, in Language Log, archived from the original on 25 Mar 2016
- The Language Loggers have argued that it's useful to distinguish eggcorns from classic malapropisms (e.g., "allegory" for "alligator", "oracular" for "vernacular", "fortuitous" for "fortunate"), in which a word is replaced by one with a vague similarity of sound. An eggcorn relies on a substitution...2005, Ben[jamin] Zimmer, “Eggcorn Database”, in alt.usage.english (Usenet)
eggcorn meaning in Tamil
eggcorn in Tamil
- ஒப்பொலிச் சொல்
Examples of eggcorn in a sentence
- An eggcorn relies on a substitution that is phonologically very similar (even homophonous), and the result is one that is semantically justifiable (even if the justification is far-fetched).2005, Ben[jamin] Zimmer, “Eggcorn Database”, in alt.usage.english (Usenet):
- What is also required of eggcorns is phonetic closeness -- they should do better than "electrocution" for "elocution" or "allegory" for "alligator".2005 November 5, Chris Waigl, “The Eggcornin' Bob Dylan”, in alt.usage.english (Usenet):
- Far from being simple goofs, an eggcorn provides a glimpse into everyday thought processes.2006 March 1, Mark Peters, “Word watch: The eggcorn: A funny little poem and symptom of human intelligence and creativity”, in Psychology...
- An eggcorn is a term that is misunderstood and mangled, like ‘give up the goat’ or ‘hone in on’.2006 October, Kerry Webb, “Lost? Misquoted? We want better communication!”, in inCite, volume 27, number 10, Australian Library and...
Forms of eggcorn
| plural | eggcorns |
|---|
Origin of eggcorn
Suggested by British-American linguist Geoffrey K. Pullum following a discussion on the Language Log website on September 23, 2003, by American linguist Mark Liberman, about a woman who had long believed the word acorn to be egg corn.
Questions about eggcorn
- What does eggcorn mean?
- Eggcorn means a word or phrase that sounds like and is mistakenly used in a seemingly logical or plausible way for another word or phrase either on its own or as part of a set expression.
- What is eggcorn in Tamil?
- Eggcorn in Tamil is ஒப்பொலிச் சொல். See Eggcorn meaning in Tamil.
- How do you use eggcorn in a sentence?
- An eggcorn relies on a substitution that is phonologically very similar (even homophonous), and the result is one that is semantically justifiable (even if the justification is far-fetched).
- What part of speech is eggcorn?
- Eggcorn is a noun.
- How do you pronounce eggcorn?
- Eggcorn is pronounced /ˈɛɡkɔːn/ (UK).
- What is the plural of eggcorn?
- The plural of eggcorn is eggcorns.
Words near eggcorn in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: eggcorn (page history and authors); eggcorn (Tamil Wiktionary) (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
Last updated:
Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: en-au-eggcorn.ogg.
Cite this entry: “eggcorn.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/eggcorn. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.