What Is Folk Etymology?
There are various examples of folk etymology in common English words and phrases. For example, penthouse is derived from the Old French apentiz, meaning roughly, ‘that which is appended to’, but English speakers reinterpreted the word to include the English house, since a penthouse is a place where someone lives. Similarly, primrose, a type of flower, was reinterpreted by way of folk etymology to include the English name of another flower, rose, although the word was originally borrowed from Old French primerole.
