folk etymology in Malay
etimologi rakyat
/fəʊk ˌɛ.tɪˈmɒl.ə.dʒi/
folk etymology in Malay: etimologi rakyat. In English, folk etymology means a popular explanation for the origin of a term which has been rejected as false by expert etymologists.
Malay words for folk etymology
- false etymology
- etimologi rakyat
English meaning of folk etymology
- noun A popular explanation for the origin of a term which has been rejected as false by expert etymologists.
- noun A modification of a word or its spelling resulting from a misunderstanding of its etymology, as with island, belfry, and hangnail.
folk etymology in a sentence
- Many English folk etymologies involve backronyms.
- The spelling in 'sovereign' was influenced by folk-etymology association with 'reign'.
Synonyms of folk etymology
folk etymology in other languages
Questions about folk etymology in Malay
- What is the meaning of folk etymology in Malay?
- Folk etymology in Malay is etimologi rakyat.
- Apakah maksud folk etymology dalam bahasa Melayu?
- Folk etymology: etimologi rakyat.
- What does folk etymology mean in English?
- Folk etymology means a popular explanation for the origin of a term which has been rejected as false by expert etymologists.
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: folk etymology (page history and authors), its translation table and English meanings. Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the Malay words and English meanings and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
Last updated:
Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-folk etymology.wav.
Cite this page: “folk etymology meaning in Malay.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/malay/folk_etymology. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.