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Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
misnomer
noun
EXAMPLES FROM OTHER ENTRIES
▪ The Palace of Justice - a terrible misnomer - was set on fire by the workers.
▪ The term "black-headed gull" is something of a misnomer, since the bird's head is actually brown.
EXAMPLES FROM CORPUS
▪ It is possible that this statement commits us to a misnomer at the outset.
▪ It was not a careers forum and he reckoned that that title was a misnomer.
▪ King crab is, in fact, a misnomer.
The Collaborative International Dictionary
Misnomer

Misnomer \Mis*no"mer\, n. [OF. pref. mes- amiss, wrong (L. minus less) + F. nommer to name, L. nominare, fr. nomen name. See Name.] The misnaming of a person in a legal instrument, as in a complaint or indictment; any misnaming of a person or thing; a wrong or inapplicable name or title.

Many of the changes, by a great misnomer, called parliamentary ``reforms''.
--Burke.

The word ``synonym'' is fact a misnomer.
--Whately.

Misnomer

Misnomer \Mis*no"mer\, v. t. To misname. [R.]

Douglas Harper's Etymology Dictionary
misnomer

mid-15c., "mistaken identification of an accused or convicted person," from Anglo-French, Old French mesnomer "to misname, wrongly name," noun use of infinitive, from mes- "wrongly" (see mis- (2)) + nomer "to name," from Latin nominare "nominate" (see nominate). For noun use of French infinitives, see waiver.

Wiktionary
misnomer

n. 1 A use of a term that is misleading; a misname. 2 A term that is misleading. 3 A term whose sense in common usage conflicts with a technical sense. vb. (context transitive English) To use a misleading term; to misname.

WordNet
misnomer

n. an incorrect or unsuitable name

Wikipedia
Misnomer

A misnomer is a word or term that suggests a meaning that is known to be wrong. Misnomers often arise because the thing received its name long before its true nature was known, or because the nature of an earlier form is no longer the norm. A misnomer may also be simply a word that is used incorrectly or misleadingly. "Misnomer" does not mean " misunderstanding" or " popular misconception", and many misnomers remain in legitimate use (that is, being a misnomer does not always make a name incorrect).

Usage examples of "misnomer".

I noted too that Bret had done his homework since last night, when Dicky had had to clarify the misnomer to him.

Of course then the dinosaurs faced their own extinction at the end of the Mesozoic, ushering in the Age of Mammals, misnomer which that is.

He did not make the mistake of using the misnomer of mate now, and his passenger, looking out of the window, pointed.

The title was somewhat of a misnomer, however, for while hundreds of orcs had indeed died in this rocky valley in numerous battles against human legions, thousands more lived here still, lurking in the many mountain caves, poised to strike against intruders.

The name was a bit of a misnomer, for there was nothing really flat about the region.

Jacques Paganel was obliged to own that the name of this lake was a complete misnomer, for the waters were no more white than the Black Sea is black, or the Red Sea red, or the Yellow River yellow, or the Blue Mountains blue.

Breadfruit and taro are kingly vegetables, the pair of them, though the former is patently a misnomer and more resembles a sweet potato than anything else, though it is not mealy like a sweet potato, nor is it so sweet.

Sioux is actually a misnomer, because the people call themselves Lakota in this region.

Of course then the dinosaurs faced their own extinction at the end of the Mesozoic, ushering in the Age of Mammals, misnomer which that is.

The last member of the party was an elf named Longshanks, a definite misnomer if you ask me.

That's a misnomer -- a tin trunk is made of sheet steel and I have a natty metal detector, small but efficient.

To be sure, both terms are in a sense reductive misnomers, for in this form of dance, as in other forms of dance, the dancer dances with her entire body and beauty.

Wall Street was a vast collection of misnomers, beginning with the street itself, which is the approximate width of a back alley in most American residential areas, and even the sidewalks seem overly narrow for the degree of traffic they serve.

Some people called them pygmy chimpanzees but the name was a misnomer because some bonobos were actually larger than some chimpanzees, and they were a distinct species.

In fact, the misnomer, immortal, became a common epithet countering the slur most people imagined Dushau meant by terming them Ephemerals.