Language

Folk Etymology in the English Language

Folk Etymology in the English Language

The main focus of this article is to discuss about a general idea of folk etymology in the English language. Folk etymology means a popular but mistaken account of the origin of a word or phrase. Etymology is defined as ‘History of a word.’ A further derivative of this word is Folk Etymology. It means an alien or unfamiliar word which is adapted to a more common form through usage in a language. Folk Etymology in English language is a continuing procedure that is prevalent for the last 1000 years. In this process unfamiliar words have been learned in the English language through popular practice.