Inglise leksikoloogia kordamisküsimuste vastused
through use to resemble a more familiar word.
Folk etymologies result from mishearing, mispronunciation, misunderstanding, and a desire to rationalize words that
make no sense to the speaker.
Here are a few examples of words that have been altered by the process of folk etymology:
shamefaced: OE scamfaest, “restrained by shame.” The element “fast” had the sense it has in this sentence: The
prisoner was made fast by chains. The OE spelling changed to shamefast, meaning “bashful,” i.e., restrained by
feelings of embarrassment.” Since “fast” no longer made sense to speakers in that combination, the spelling was
rationalized to shamefaced. A bashful person frequently goes red in the face.
island: In OE, the word for “island” was iegland or igand which ordinarily would have become iland in modern English.
But then the word isle came into English from Old French which got it from Latin insula. The OE word can also be
annaabi.ee 
