# Misnomer
A **misnomer** is a name or word that is not appropriate or accurate for the thing it names, or the act of applying a wrong name or designation.[1](https://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/definition/english/misnomer) • [2](https://www.etymonline.com/word/misnomer) Calling a four-legged chair that cannot rock a "rocking chair" is a misnomer, as is calling a grandmother "Grandfather."[3](https://www.dictionary.com/browse/misnomer)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Meaning | A misapplied or inappropriate name or designation; an error in naming a person or thing[3](https://www.dictionary.com/browse/misnomer) |
| First record | First recorded in 1425–75, late Middle English, as a legal term meaning an error in a name or mistaken identification of an accused or convicted person[2](https://www.etymonline.com/word/misnomer) • [3](https://www.dictionary.com/browse/misnomer) |
| Etymology | From Anglo-French and Old French *mesnomer* "to misname," noun use of the infinitive, from *mes-* "wrongly" + *nomer* "to name," from Latin *nominare*[2](https://www.etymonline.com/word/misnomer) |
| General sense | The meaning "act of applying a wrong name or designation" dates from the 1630s[2](https://www.etymonline.com/word/misnomer) |
| Legal use | In legal contexts, misnomer refers to the use of an incorrect name in a legal document and to related legal processes, as in "law of misnomer"[4](https://www.scribbr.com/definitions/misnomer/) |
| Common confusion | It is not a synonym for mistake, misstatement, misconception, or misunderstanding; it is specifically a wrong name[3](https://www.dictionary.com/browse/misnomer) |
## Etymology and history
The word entered English in the mid-15th century as a term of law, meaning an error in a name or the mistaken identification of an accused or convicted person.[2](https://www.etymonline.com/word/misnomer) It came from Anglo-French and [Old French](https://www.edgepedia.org/old-french) *mesnomer* "to misname, wrongly name," itself a noun use of the infinitive, built from *mes-* "wrongly" plus *nomer* "to name," from Latin *nominare*.[2](https://www.etymonline.com/word/misnomer) The Oxford word-origin note traces it to late [Middle English](https://www.edgepedia.org/middle-english), from Anglo-Norman French and the Old French verb *mesnommer*, based on Latin *nomen* "name."[1](https://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/definition/english/misnomer)
Misnomer belongs to a small group of Anglo-French legal terms formed by using a French infinitive as a noun; other survivals of this pattern include *disclaimer*, *merger*, *rejoinder*, *ouster*, *retainer*, and *attainder*.[2](https://www.etymonline.com/word/misnomer) The broader sense, the act of applying a wrong name or designation, is recorded from the 1630s.[2](https://www.etymonline.com/word/misnomer)
## What counts as a misnomer
A misnomer is a special kind of mistake: a wrong name, not a wrong fact or wrong action.[3](https://www.dictionary.com/browse/misnomer) Giving a driver wrong directions, believing the earth is flat, or drawing an erroneous conclusion are mistakes, but not misnomers.[3](https://www.dictionary.com/browse/misnomer) Using the word for a behavioral mistake or a misperception of reality is itself a misnomer, since the error lies in the naming.[3](https://www.dictionary.com/browse/misnomer)
Some misnomers have become standard terms through long usage. [Chinese checkers](https://www.edgepedia.org/chinese-checkers), despite the name, originated somewhere other than China; the funny bone is actually a nerve rather than a bone; hay fever involves neither hay as a cause nor an actual fever; and morning sickness in pregnancy may strike at any hour.[3](https://www.dictionary.com/browse/misnomer) A misnomer of this kind can be idiomatic rather than incorrect: describing a green or brown chalkboard as a *blackboard* is a misnomer, but the broad sense of the word is accepted.[5](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/misnomer)
## Misnomers in modern usage
The word is common in academic and journalistic writing to flag inaccurate naming, and it appears in contemporary disputes over terminology. A 2024 systematic review of definitions of "AI hallucination" across fourteen databases found a lack of consistency in how the term is used and argued that the label itself deserves clarification, presenting alternative terms from the literature.[6](https://arxiv.org/abs/2401.06796)
The word is also frequently misused for "misconception," as when a false belief, such as the idea that chocolate milk comes from brown cows, is called a misnomer; such usage applies the term to a mistaken idea rather than a mistaken name.[3](https://www.dictionary.com/browse/misnomer)
## References
1. [misnomer noun, Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary](https://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/definition/english/misnomer)
2. [Harper Douglas, "Etymology of misnomer," Online Etymology Dictionary](https://www.etymonline.com/word/misnomer)
3. [MISNOMER Definition & Meaning, Dictionary.com](https://www.dictionary.com/browse/misnomer)
4. [What Is a Misnomer? Definition, Meaning & Examples, Scribbr](https://www.scribbr.com/definitions/misnomer/)
5. [misnomer, Wiktionary](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/misnomer)
6. [Maleki, Padmanabhan, Dutta (2024). AI Hallucinations: A Misnomer Worth Clarifying. arXiv:2401.06796](https://arxiv.org/abs/2401.06796)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Society and history › Languages and linguistics › Names and onomastics › Onomastics: study of names (overview)*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license