Misnomer

A misnomer is a name that is incorrectly or unsuitably applied. Misnomers often arise because something was named long before its correct nature was known, or because an earlier form of something has been replaced by a later form to which the name no longer suitably applies. A misnomer may also be a word that is used incorrectly or misleadingly. The word "misnomer" does not mean "misunderstanding" or "popular misconception", "Anachronym" should not be confused with anacronym, which refers to words (such as laser, sonar and scuba) with acronymic origin but which are now used syntactically as words in their own right.

Similarity of appearance

Head cheese is a meat product.
A horned toad is a lizard.
A velvet ant is a wasp.

Difference between common and technical meanings

Koala "bears" are marsupials not closely related to the bear family, Ursidae. The term "koala" is preferred in their native Australia.
Jellyfish and starfish are only very distantly related to fish, being in separate phyla. The gelatinous structure of jellyfish is similar to gelatin dessert.
A peanut is not a nut in the botanical sense, but a legume. A coconut is not a botanical nut but a drupe.

Other

Although dry cleaning does not involve water, it does involve the use of liquid solvents.
The "funny bone" is not a bone—the phrase refers to the ulnar nerve.
Although it has "socialism" in the name, national socialism is not a socialist ideology as it still upholds private property.
A quantum leap is properly an instantaneous change that may be large or small. In physics, it is a change of an electron from one energy level to another. In common usage the term is often used to mean a large, abrupt change.
"Tennis elbow" (formally lateral epicondylitis) does not necessarily result from playing tennis.

Similarity of appearance

Difference between common and technical meanings

Other

See also

References

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