Тема: Folk etymology

13.Smart Alec – A smart Alec is a conceited person who likes to show off how clever and knowledgeable they are (www.usingenglish.com). Names derived from folk etymology

Such instances of the so-called folk etymology are not very rare in the English language. In some cases folk etymology leads to the appearance of compound words which are tautological.

Some of these are the employment of metaphor, simile, folk etymology , distortion of sounds in words, generalization, specialization, clipping, the use of acronyms, elevation and degeneration, metonymy, synecdoche, hyperbole, borrowings from...

...Via Lactea, in turn translated from the Greek Γαλαξίας (Galaxias), referring to the pale band of light formed by stars in the galactic plane as seen from Earth (see etymology of galaxy).
Roheim G. Myth and Folk -Tale / American Imago. 1941. 18.

...past history of the nation, its traditions and customs, folk -songs and fairy-tales, as well as its culture. The word “ information ” as the most...
Many idioms have obscure origin/ etymology and selecting of approximate equivalents as any other...

...ran against MacMurfee, the vote was pretty evenly divided between city-dwellers, who supported Harrison, and country folk , who supported MacMurfee.
The Etymology section, looking at the derivations of "whale," is compiled by a "late consumptive...