What does misnomer mean?
Word: Misnomer
Part of Speech: Noun
Meaning: Misnomer means a label that gives the wrong idea of what something really is.
Word origin: Comes from Anglo-Norman, from Old French mesnommer, which is built on nommer.
How do you spell misnomer?
Syllables: mis - no - mer
Tricky part: The ending is hardly stressed, so it can come out as mar or mor in writing. It is mer.
Watch out for: misnomar, misnomor
Memory tip: Customer, farmer and this word all end the same way: keep the e before the r.
Misnomer in a sentence
Example 1: Sunny Villa is a misnomer; the house hardly gets any sun.
Example 2: Guinea pig is a misnomer, since the animal is neither from Guinea nor a pig.
Example 3: Calling it a short walk was a misnomer, as we hiked for three hours.
Fun Fact
The Panama hat is a famous misnomer. These hats come from Ecuador and took their name from Panama, where many of them were sold.
Practise the CREST Way
Spell Spies
Choose the incorrectly spelt word:
a) mishap
b) missnomer
c) misprint
d) mismatch
Show answer
b) missnomer. The word has one s, like mismatch and misprint.
Back to the Roots
Choose the correct option:
Misnomer goes back to Old French mesnommer, built on the verb nommer. What did nommer mean?
a) to name
b) to number
c) to command
d) to know
Show answer
a) to name. French still uses nommer for naming, and a misnomer is a badly chosen name.
Jumble Tumble
What is the meaning of the word that can be formed from the given letters?
onmersim
a) a title that does not suit what it is given to
b) a person who works with stone in buildings
c) a small mistake made when adding numbers
d) a short film shown before the main one
Show answer
a) a title that does not suit what it is given to. These eight letters make a noun for a misleading label.
Word Champ
Read the statements and choose the correct option:
1. A misnomer is a label that fits its object exactly. 2. A pseudonym is a name used by a writer in place of the real one. 3. An acronym is a word built from the opening letters of other words.
a) only 1 is true
b) all three are true
c) only 2 and 3 are true
d) only 1 and 2 are true
Show answer
c) only 2 and 3 are true. A misnomer does the reverse of fitting, so the opening statement is false.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. Koala bear is often called a misnomer because a koala is ___.
a) not a furry animal
b) bigger than a real bear
c) not a bear at all
d) not found in Australia
Show answer
c) not a bear at all
2. Calling a cafe Quick Bites when lunch there takes an hour is a misnomer because the name is ___.
a) misleading
b) hard to spell
c) old-fashioned
d) accurate
Show answer
a) misleading
