Taxonomy of Wordplay

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1. Words with unusual origins
1. fossil (word that occurs only in idioms)
1. for each letter
2. metanalysis or affix-clipping or folk etymology (words formed by moving a letter to or from a frequent companion word)
1. for each letter
2. eggcorn (plausible sound-alike substituted in a phrase)
3. back-formation (word made by removing a supposed affix: burgle, edit, pea)
3. trade names that have become words
1. for each letter
4. unknown origin, shortest
5. eponym (word derived from a person's name), for each letter
1. toponymous word (common word derived from a place name)
2. celebrity-name descriptor (a thing such as a golf shot nicknamed after a celebrity whose traits it shares)
3. generic personal name (forename or invented personal name used as a common noun: john, Old Nick, Mary Jane)
6. tautological place name (elements from different languages mean the same thing)
1. onomastic tautology (personal name whose given name and surname mean the same thing in different languages)
7. punning etymology (word or phrase that began as a pun)
8. retronym (new name for an old thing)

Words with unusual origins

fossil (word that occurs only in idioms) [28-164]

for each letter

        see list Word That Exists Only in an Idiom, Beginning with Each Letter

metanalysis or affix-clipping or folk etymology (words formed by moving a letter to or from a frequent companion word)

for each letter

        see list Word Formed by Borrowing or Lending Letters to Frequent Companions, Beginning with Each Letter

eggcorn (plausible sound-alike substituted in a phrase) [41-313]

        e.g. Old Timers' disease for Alzheimer's disease
        e.g. nip it in the butt for nip it in the bud; deep-seeded for deep-seated

back-formation (word made by removing a supposed affix: burgle, edit, pea) [2-118,7-113,7-243]

        e.g. sidle from sideling; grovel from groveling
        e.g. burgle from burglar; edit from editor

trade names that have become words

for each letter

        see list Trade Name That Has Become Uncapitalized, Beginning with Each Letter

unknown origin, shortest [8-113, Brandreth82-216]

        common word: OK

eponym (word derived from a person's name), for each letter [40-28,43-229]

        common words: boycott & sandwich & derrick & chauvinist

toponymous word (common word derived from a place name) [8-107]

        common words: china & turkey & jersey & shanghai
        a.  junior and illegitimate cities (city named after its own state, or after another state) [30-52,30-129]
                e.g. Iowa City, Iowa (junior); Michigan City, Indiana and Nevada City, California (illegitimate)

celebrity-name descriptor (a thing such as a golf shot nicknamed after a celebrity whose traits it shares) [46-247]

        e.g. a Sally Gunnell (golf shot): ugly but will run well

generic personal name (forename or invented personal name used as a common noun: john, Old Nick, Mary Jane) [22-60,22-190]

        e.g. john (prostitute's client), jerry (chamber pot), Old Nick, Mary Jane

tautological place name (elements from different languages mean the same thing) [33-133,36-6,36-189]

        e.g. Torpenhow: tor + pen + how, all "hill" (the famous Torpenhow Hill is a myth)
        e.g. Pendle Hill (pen + hill + Hill); Breedon on the Hill

onomastic tautology (personal name whose given name and surname mean the same thing in different languages) [29-201]

        e.g. Roy King (roi = king); Sylvia Woods (silva = wood)

punning etymology (word or phrase that began as a pun) [42-86]

        e.g. funny bone (humerus / humorous); couch potato (from boob tuber)

retronym (new name for an old thing) [29-11,TJ3-89]

        e.g. acoustic guitar (after electric guitar); silent movie (after talkies)
        e.g. snail mail (after e-mail); analog clock (after digital clock)

Contents | previous: Etymology: Acronyms, anagrams, portmanteaus | next: Etymology: doublet