Some objects bear names so blatantly obvious that there is no room for confusion — think of pancakes, hairbrushes, and fireplaces. But other names aren’t as precise. In grammar, when something has an incorrect or inappropriate name, that name is a misnomer. The word “misnomer” itself is very literal — it comes from the Old French mesnomer, with mes meaning “wrongly” and nomer meaning “to name.”
Misnomers arise for many reasons. Some might reflect outdated practices, such as tinfoil, which was initially made of tin but is now aluminum. Others arise from superficial features, as in the case of a koala bear, an animal that looks and acts like a bear but is actually a marsupial. Misnomers are all around us, found in everyday objects, food, animals, places, and more.
Despite their name, jellyfish aren’t fish. They belong to the phylum Cnidaria, along with sea anemones and corals. “Jellyfish” dates to the early 19th century, when “fish” was used broadly to refer to any type of sea creature. This vague use of “fish” is still widely used today, as seen in another misnomer with a similar origin: “starfish.” Starfish are echinoderms, not fish. True fish have backbones, gills, and fins — all absent in both starfish and jellyfish. The “jelly” part of the latter is accurate, though, tracing back to a 14th-century English word for gelatinous foods. Today, marine educators often prefer the term “sea jelly” for accuracy.
Peanuts are legumes in the pea family, Fabaceae, and they are grown for their edible seeds. While this connection drives the beginning of the name, the back half is deceiving. Botanically, peanuts are not nuts at all, though the name comes from their similarities to true nuts such as chestnuts and hazelnuts — specifically, their hard outer shells and crunchy, nutlike texture and taste.
“Peanut” originated in the early 19th century, around the time that the plant’s cultivation became common in the United States. Before becoming popular in the U.S., peanuts were called “ground nuts” (another misnomer) in England. In the southern U.S., “goober,” the dialectical term for peanuts, comes from the Kimbundu word for the plant, “ŋguba.” The name was introduced by enslaved people in the South.
An Arabic numeral is any of the number symbols 0 through 9. Despite being labeled “Arabic,” the numerals originated in India during the sixth or seventh century. Later, during the 12th century, they were introduced to Europe through the writings of Middle Eastern mathematicians, from whom they took their name. By the mid-18th century, the name “Arabic numeral” was firmly established in English.
Because of this mix-up, a more precise name, “Hindu-Arabic numerals,” is preferred by some. It acknowledges the work of Indian scholars without diminishing the efforts of Middle Eastern mathematicians who popularized the numbers.
Contrary to its name, dry cleaning isn’t dry. Consider its definition: “the cleansing of fabrics with substantially nonaqueous organic solvents.” While “nonaqueous” means “without water,” other liquids are used during the process. The textiles are cleaned with chemical solvents, allowing for stain removal without water damage. The term “dry cleaning” emerged during the mid-19th century (when the process was invented) as a way to differentiate it from traditional water-based cleaning.
Greenland may just have the most misleading geographical name in the world. More than 80% of the North Atlantic island country is covered in ice — hardly a verdant landscape. But during the summer of 982 CE, when Viking Erik the Red first landed on the isle, it was greener than it is today, according to fossil records. Therefore, in keeping with the Viking tradition of naming a place after how they perceived it, he called it “Greenland.” By the 14th century, however, temperatures on the island cooled, and the landscape became much snowier and was surrounded by sea ice, making its name a misnomer.
It’s a common misconception that the country names for Greenland and Iceland were switched to confuse settlers. In reality, settlers named Iceland for its many glaciers and cold winters. In fact, 11% of the country is still covered with a permanent ice cap. So, while Iceland isn’t much of a misnomer, Greenland certainly is.
It’s no laughing matter to hit that spot on the back of the elbow that sends a jolt of pain up the arm. We know that spot as the funny bone, but the pain is caused by hitting a nerve, not a bone. The ulnar nerve runs down the back of the arm, and at the elbow joint, it rests near the humerus. When it’s bumped, it gets compressed, sending a tingling sensation down the arm.
The term first emerged in English during the early 19th century. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, its early usage might also be a pun on the name of the upper arm bone, humerus, and the word “humorous.”
No, we aren’t writing with sticks of toxic lead. This misnomer is one of the most enduring, stemming from a 16th-century misunderstanding in England, where graphite was discovered. The discovery predated modern methods for determining chemical composition, so it wasn’t yet named “graphite.”
Sheep farmers began marking their herds with it, deciding it was an excellent writing tool. Its deep color looked a lot like lead, so some called it “plumbago” (the Latin for “lead” is plumbus), while others called it “black lead.” The latter stuck. The sticks were wrapped in string or sheepskin to facilitate writing, and by the late 18th century, the name “graphite” (from the Greek graphein, meaning “to write”) was introduced to distinguish it from real lead. Today, modern pencils are made with a mix of graphite and clay.
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