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The etymological fallacy is a genetic fallacy that holds that the present-day meaning of a word or phrase should necessarily be similar to its historical meaning. This is a linguistic misconception,〔Kenneth G. Wilson (1993) "The Columbia Guide to Standard American English", article "Etymological Fallacy"〕 and is sometimes used as a basis for linguistic prescription. An argument constitutes an etymological fallacy if it makes a claim about the present meaning of a word based exclusively on its etymology.〔 This does not, however, show that etymology is irrelevant in any way, nor does it attempt to prove such. A variant of the etymological fallacy involves looking for the "true" meaning of words by delving into their etymologies, or claiming that a word ''should'' be used in a particular way because it has a particular etymology. Notable examples include the terms ''antisemitism'' and ''philosemitism'', which were coined to refer to Jews specifically, rather than to Semites in general. ==Prerequisites== An etymological fallacy becomes possible when a word has changed its meaning over time. Such changes can include a shift in scope (narrowing or widening of meanings) or of connotation (amelioration or pejoration). In some cases, meanings can also shift completely, so that the etymological meaning has no evident connection to the current meaning. For example: *The word ''hound'' originally simply meant "dog" in general. This usage is now archaic or poetic only, and ''hound'' now almost exclusively refers to dogs bred for hunting in particular. *The meaning of a word may change to connote higher status, as when ''knight'', originally "servant" like German ''Knecht'', came to mean "military knight" and subsequently "someone of high rank". *Conversely, the word ''knave'' originally meant "boy" and only gradually acquired its meaning of "person of low, despicable character". *The word ''lady'' derives from Old English ''hlæf-dige'' ("loaf-digger; kneader of bread"), and ''lord'' from ''hlafweard'' ("loaf-ward; ensurer, provider of bread"). No connection with bread is retained in the current meaning of either word. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Etymological fallacy」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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