Caconyms

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A term that is considered to be a poor or misleading name for something, often because it is confusing or inaccurate
2. A word or name that is poorly chosen, resulting in a lack of clarity in communication
3. An inappropriate or unsuitable term that fails to accurately describe what it refers to

Etymology: Caconyms are names that are badly chosen or unfortunate, and the word's parts are plain enough: it combines the Ancient Greek "kakos", meaning "bad", with "onuma", meaning "name". The same Greek root appears in words like "cacophony" (bad sound), which is why the pattern will look familiar. The word is a plural, so it refers to more than one such name. Its singular, "caconym", is built on the same Greek elements, with the prefix "caco-" attached to the suffix "-onym", a combining form from "onuma" that English uses to build words about names, as in "synonym" and "pseudonym".

Synonyms: misnomers, errors, mistakes, malapropisms, incorrect terms