Grammar Tips & Articles »

misnomer - vocabulary

This Grammar.com article is about misnomer - vocabulary — enjoy your reading!


42 sec read
1,802 Views
  Ed Good  —  Grammar Tips
Font size:

noun

A name wrongly or mistakenly applied; an inappropriate or misapplied designation or name.

Cat-nap is a short nap taken while sitting; cat-ladder a kind of ladder used on sloping roofs of houses; cat-steps, the projections of the stones in the slanting part of the gable; cat-pipe, an artificial cat-call. Puss gentleman is eighteenth century for catamite. Kitty is a common poker term. Copy cat is a misnomer because cats never copy anybody. A common phrase for an unusual event is “enough to make a cat laugh,” but the Cheshire Cat in “Alice in Wonderland” is not the only recorded example of a laughing cat. “Enough to make a cat speak” is a similar expression, but as I have pointed out in the preceding chapter, speaking cats are almost a commonplace.

—Carl Van Vechten The Tiger in the House (1922)

Rate this article:

Have a discussion about this article with the community:

0 Comments

    Citation

    Use the citation below to add this article to your bibliography:

    Style:MLAChicagoAPA

    "misnomer - vocabulary." Grammar.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 29 Mar. 2024. <https://www.grammar.com/misnomer-vocabulary>.

    Free, no signup required:

    Add to Chrome

    Check your text and writing for style, spelling and grammar problems everywhere on the web!

    Free, no signup required:

    Add to Firefox

    Check your text and writing for style, spelling and grammar problems everywhere on the web!

    Browse Grammar.com

    Free Writing Tool:

    Instant
    Grammar Checker

    Improve your grammar, vocabulary, and writing -- and it's FREE!


    Quiz

    Are you a grammar master?

    »
    Identify the sentence with correct use of the preposition 'during':
    A The cat is hiding during the noise.
    B He walked during the storm.
    C She read a book during the flight.
    D They had a picnic during the summer.

    Improve your writing now:

    Download Grammar eBooks

    It’s now more important than ever to develop a powerful writing style. After all, most communication takes place in reports, emails, and instant messages.