False cognate

2025-07-17T19:56:31Z

71.178.219.127: /* Within English */ police is also from politia; the false cognates are the two meanings of "policy"

{{short description|Words that look or sound alike, but are not related}}
{{distinguish|False friend}}
'''False cognates''' are pairs of words that seem to be [[cognate]]s because of similar sounds or spelling and meaning, but have different etymologies; they can be within the same [[language]] or from different languages, even within the same family.{{sfnp|Moss|1992|p=?}} For example, the English word ''[[wikt:dog#Etymology|dog]]'' and the [[Mbabaram language|Mbabaram]] word ''[[wikt:dog#Mbabaram|dog]]'' have exactly the same meaning and very similar pronunciations, but by complete coincidence. Likewise, English ''[[wikt:much#Etymology|much]]'' and Spanish ''[[wikt:mucho#Spanish|mucho]]'' came by their similar meanings via completely different [[Proto-Indo-European language|Proto-Indo-European]] roots, and same for English ''[[wikt:have#Etymology|have]]'' and Spanish ''[[wikt:haber#Spanish|haber]]''. This is different from [[false friend]]s, which are similar-sounding words with different meanings, and may or may not be cognates. Within a language, if they are spelled the same, they are [[homographs]]; if they are pronounced the same, they are [[homophones]]. Cross-linguistic or interlingual homographs or homophones sometimes include cognates; non-cognates may more specifically be called homographic or homophonic noncognates.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Szubko-Sitarek |first=Weronika |url=https://www.google.com/books/edition/Multilingual_Lexical_Recognition_in_the/Jge7BAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=false+cognate+cross-language+homophone&pg=PA106&printsec=frontcover |title=Multilingual Lexical Recognition in the Mental Lexicon of Third Language Users |date=2014-10-07 |publisher=Springer |isbn=978-3-642-32194-8 |pages=106 |language=en}}</ref>

Even though false cognates lack a common root, there may still be an indirect connection between them (for example by [[phono-semantic matching]] or [[folk etymology]]).

==Phenomenon==
The term "false cognate" is sometimes misused to refer to [[false friend]]s, but the two phenomena are distinct.{{sfnp|Moss|1992|p=?}}{{sfnp|Chamizo-Domínguez|2008|p=166}} False friends occur when two words in different languages or dialects look similar, but have different meanings. While some false friends are also false cognates, many are genuine cognates (see [[false friend#Causes|False friends § Causes]]).{{sfnp|Chamizo-Domínguez|2008|p=166}} For example, English ''pretend'' and French ''prétendre'' are false friends, but not false cognates, as they have the same origin.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=pretend |title=Pretend |work=The Online Etymological Dictionary |last=Harper |first=Douglas |author-link=Douglas Harper |access-date=2015-09-14}}</ref>

=="Mama and papa" type==

The basic kinship terms [[mama and papa]] constitute a special case of false cognates; many languages share words of similar form and meaning for these kinship terms, but due to common processes of [[language acquisition]] rather than relatedness of the languages.<ref name="Jakobson">[[Roman Jakobson|Jakobson, R.]] (1962) [https://archive.org/stream/selectedwritings01jako#page/538/mode/2up "Why 'mama' and 'papa'?"] In Jakobson, R. ''Selected Writings, Vol. I: Phonological Studies'', pp. 538–545. The Hague: Mouton.</ref><ref name="Nichols">[[Johanna Nichols|Nichols, J.]] (1999) [https://books.google.com/books?id=tBsd89VO4HsC&lpg=PP1&pg=PA253 "Why 'me' and 'thee'?"] ''Historical Linguistics 1999: Selected Papers from the 14th International Conference on Historical Linguistics'', Vancouver, 9–13 August 1999, ed. Laurel J. Brinton, John Benjamins Publishing, 2001, pages 253-276.</ref><ref name="Bancel">Bancel, P.J. and A.M. de l'Etang. (2008) [https://books.google.com/books?id=MV46AAAAQBAJ&pg=PA417 "The Age of Mama and Papa"] Bengtson J. D. In ''Hot Pursuit of Language in Prehistory: Essays in the four fields of anthropology.'' (John Benjamins Publishing, Dec 3, 2008), pages 417-438.</ref><ref name="Bancel-2">Bancel, P.J. and A.M. de l'Etang. (2013) [https://books.google.com/books?id=S64bAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA333 "Brave new words"] In ''New Perspectives on the Origins of Language'', ed. C. Lefebvre, B. Comrie, H. Cohen (John Benjamins Publishing, Nov 15, 2013), pages 333-377.</ref>

==Examples==
''Note: Some etymologies may be simplified to avoid overly long descriptions''.

===Within English===
{|class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Term 1 !! Etymology 1 !! Term 2 !! Etymology 2
|-
| '''day''' || [[Old English]] ''dæġ'' {{br}}<< [[Proto-Germanic]] *''dagaz''{{br}}<< [[Proto-Indo-European]] *''dʰeǵʰ-''<ref name="dhegh">Kroonen, Guus (2013) ''Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Germanic'' (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 11), Leiden, Boston: Brill
</ref> || '''diary''' || Latin ''diārium'' << ''dies'' ("day"){{br}}<< [[Proto-Italic]] *''djēm'' {{br}}<< PIE *dyḗws ("heaven"){{thin space}}<ref name="oed2">[[Oxford English Dictionary]], Second edition.</ref><ref name="Glossary"/>
|-
| '''island''' || [[Middle English]] ''iland''{{br}}<< Old English ''[[wikt:iegland#Old English|īeġland]]''{{br}}<< Proto-Germanic *''awjōlandą'' || '''isle''' || Middle English ''ile''{{br}}<< [[Old French]] ''i(s)le''{{br}}<< Latin ''insula''
|-
|'''(government) policy'''<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.etymonline.com/word/policy#etymonline_v_17569|website=Online Etymology Dictionary|title=policy}}</ref> || Middle English ''policie''{{br}}<< Old French ''policie''{{br}}<< [[Late Latin]] ''[[wikt:politia#Latin|politia]]''{{br}}<< [[Ancient Greek]] ''[[wikt:πολιτεία#Ancient Greek|politeía]]'' || '''(insurance) policy''' || French ''[[wikt:police#French|police]]''{{br}}<< Italian ''[[wikt:polizza#Italian|polizza]]''{{br}}<< [[Medieval Latin]] ''[[wikt:apodissa#Latin|apodissa]]''{{br}}<< Ancient Greek ''[[wikt:ἀπόδειξις#Ancient Greek|apódeixis]]''
|}

=== Between English and other languages ===
{|class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! English term
! English etymology
! Foreign term
! Foreign etymology
|-
| '''bad''' || Possibly from OE '' [[Bæddel and bædling|bæddel]]'' ("hermaphrodite, effeminate man"){{br}}<< PGmc *''bad-'' ("defile") || Persian '''{{lang|fa|بد}}''', ''bad''{{thin space}}<ref name="Campbell2">[[Lyle Campbell]], Historical Linguistics: An Introduction, 3rd edition, p. 350</ref><ref name="Glossary">{{cite book|first1=Lyle|last1=Campbell|author-link1=Lyle Campbell|first2=Mauricio J.|last2=Mixco|title=A Glossary of Historical Linguistics|year=2007|publisher=Edinburgh University Press|isbn=978-0-7486-2378-5|page=29}}</ref> || Middle Iranian *''vat''{{br}}<< PIE *''wed(h)-''
|-
| '''better''' || OE ''betera'' || Persian '''{{lang|fa|بهتر}}''', ''behtar'' and Hindustani descendants || به (''beh'', "good") + تر (''-tar'', "-er")
|-
|'''cinder'''
|OE ''sinder'' << PGmc ''*sendra-'' "slag" << PIE ''*sendhro-'' "coagulating fluid"
|French ''cendre'' ("ash")
|Latin ''cinerem'' << PIE ''*ken-'' ("to arise, begin")
|-
|'''day''' || OE ''dæġ'' {{br}}<< PGmc *''dagaz'' {{br}}<< PIE *''dʰeǵʰ-''<ref name="dhegh"/> || Latin '''''dies''''' ("day") and descendants{{thin space}}<ref name="oed2"/><ref name="Glossary"/> || [[Proto-Italic]] *''djēm'' {{br}}<< PIE *dyḗws ("heaven"){{thin space}}<ref name="oed2"/><ref name="Glossary"/>
|-
| '''desert''' || Latin ''dēserō'' ("to abandon") {{br}}<< ultimately PIE *''*seh₁-'' ("to sow") || Ancient Egyptian '''''Deshret''''' (refers to the land not flooded by the Nile){{thin space}} || from ''dšr'' (red)
|-
|'''dog''' || OE ''docga'' or ''dogga'' || [[Mbabaram language|Mbabaram]] '''''[[Mbabaram language#Word for "dog"|dog]]''''' ("dog"){{thin space}}<ref name="Glossary"/> || [[Proto-Pama-Nyungan]] *''gudaga''
|-
|'''[[emoticon]]'''
|''emotion'' + ''icon''
|Japanese '''''絵文字''''' ([[emoji]]) {{thin space}}<ref name=Taggart-2015>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VPO4CgAAQBAJ|title=New Words for Old: Recycling Our Language for the Modern World|first=Caroline|last=Taggart|date=5 November 2015|publisher=Michael O'Mara Books|via=Google Books|isbn=9781782434733 |quote=''Emoji'' is made up of the Japanese for ''picture'' (e) and ''character'' (''moji'') so its resemblance to ''emotion'' and ''emoticon'' is a particularly happy coincidence.}}</ref>
|''絵 (e)'' ("picture") + ''文字 (moji)'' ("character")<ref name=Taggart-2015 />
|-
| '''have''' || Middle English ''haven'' << OE ''habban'' ("to have") << Proto-West Germanic ''*habbjan'' << Proto-Germanic ''*habjaną'' ("to have"), durative of ''*habjaną'' ("to lift, take up") << PIE ''*kh₂pyéti'' present tense of ''*keh₂p-'' ("to take, seize, catch"). || Corsican '''''avè''''' ("to have") || Latin ''habēre'', present active infinitive of ''habeō'' << Proto-Italic ''*habēō'' << PIE ''*gʰeh₁bʰ-'' ("to grab").
|-
| '''hollow''' || OE ''holh'' {{br}}<< PGmc *''holhwo-'' || [[Lake Miwok language|Lake Miwok]] '''''hóllu'''''{{thin space}}<ref name="Campbell2"/> ||
|-
| '''much''' || OE ''myċel'' {{br}}<< PGmc *''mikilaz'' {{br}}<< PIE *''meǵa-'' ("big, stout, great") || Spanish '''''mucho''''' ("much"){{thin space}}<ref name="Glossary"/> || Latin ''multus'' (many){{br}}<< PIE *''ml̥tos'' ("crumbled")
|-
| '''[[saint]]''' || Latin ''sanctus''{{br}}<< PIE *''seh₂k-'' ("to sanctify") via [[French language|French]] || Sanskrit '''''[[sant (religion)|sant]]''''' and descendants{{thin space}}<ref name="Schomer-1987">{{cite book |last1=Schomer |first1=Karine |last2=McLeod |first2=W. H. |title=The Sants: Studies in a Devotional Tradition of India |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OkKhOivXrhgC |year=1987 |publisher=Motilal Banarsidass |location=Delhi |isbn=978-81-208-0277-3 |oclc=879218858 |page=3 |access-date=7 November 2018 |quote=Thus conceptually as well as etymologically, it differs considerably from the false cognate 'saint' which is often used to translate it. Like 'saint', '''sant''' has also taken on the more general ethical meaning of the 'good person' whose life is a spiritual and moral exemplar, and is therefore attached to a wide variety of gurus, 'holy men', and other religious teachers.}}</ref> || ''sat'' ("truth, reality, essence")
|-
| '''shark''' || Middle English ''shark'' from uncertain origin || Chinese '''鲨''' (shā){{thin space}} || Named as its crude skin is similar to sand (沙 (shā))
|}

=== Between other languages ===
{|class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Term 1
! Etymology 1
! Term 2
! Etymology 2
|-
| French '''''feu''''' ("fire") || Latin ''focus'' ||German '''''Feuer''''' ("fire")
|[[Proto-Germanic|PGmc]] [[wikt:Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/fōr|'''''*fōr''''' ~ '''''*fun-''''']]<ref name="dhegh"/><ref>[[Lyle Campbell]], Historical Linguistics: An Introduction, 3rd edition, p. 355</ref><ref name="Glossary"/>{{br}}<< PIE *''péh₂wr̥''
|-
| French '''''nuque''''' ('nape') ||Latin ''nucha'', from Arabic نُخَاع ''nukhāʻ'' 'spinal marrow' || Hungarian '''''nyak''''' ('neck')<ref name="Barczi">{{cite book|first=Géza|last=Bárczi|year=1958|title=A magyar szókincs eredete|location=Budapest|publisher=Tankönyvkiadó|page=8}}</ref> || Proto-Uralic ''*ńᴕkkɜ'' 'neck'
|-
| German '''''haben''''' ('to have') || PG *''habjaną''{{br}}<< PIE *''keh₂p-'' ("to grasp") || Latin '''''habere''''' ("to have") and descendants<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.etymonline.com/search?q=have|title=have - Search Online Etymology Dictionary|website=www.etymonline.com}}</ref> || PIE *''gʰeh₁bʰ-'' ("to grab, to take")
|-
| Swedish '''''göl''''' ("pool") || PG *''guljō'' || Salar '''''göl''''' ("pool") || Proto-Turkic *''kȫl'' ("lake")
|-
| German '''''Erdbeere''''' ('strawberry') || ''Erd'' ('earth') + ''Beere'' ('berry') || Hungarian '''''eper''''' ('strawberry')<ref name=Barczi/> ||
|-
| German '''''Haus''''' ('house')|| || Hungarian '''''ház''''' ('house')<ref name=Barczi/> ||
|-
| Hawaiian '''''kahuna''''' ('priest')|| || Hebrew '''כוהן''' (''kohen'') ('priest')<ref>{{cite journal|last=Hevesi|first=Francis|title=Kahuna and kohen: A study in comparative religion|volume=16|journal=Social Process in Hawaii|pages=30–33}}</ref> ||
|-
| Hungarian '''''nő''''' ('woman') || || Mandarin Chinese '''女''' (''nǚ'') ('woman')<ref name=Barczi/> ||
|-
| [[Inuktitut]] '''ᖃᔭᖅ''' (''[[kayak]]'') || [[Proto-Eskimo]] *''qyaq'' || [[Turkish language|Turkish]] '''''[[Caïque|kayık]]''''' ('small boat')<ref>{{cite journal|first=José Andrés Alonso|last=de la Fuente|title=Urban legends: Turkish kayık 'boat' {{!}} "Eskimo" Qayaq 'Kayak'|journal=Studia Linguistica Universitatis Iagellonicae Cracoviensis|year=2010|url=http://www.filg.uj.edu.pl/documents/41616/4333148/12701-Fuente.pdf|access-date=2015-03-06}}</ref> || [[Old Turkic]] kayguk {{br}}<< [[Proto-Turkic]] kay- ("to slide, to turn")
|-
| [[Mayaimi]] '''Mayaimi''' (''Big water'') || || [[Hebrew language|Hebrew]] '''מים''' mayim ("water") ||
|-
| Japanese '''{{lang|ja|ありがとう}}''' ''[[Glossary of Japanese words of Portuguese origin#Arigatō|arigatō]]'' ("thank you") || Clipping of 有難う御座います "arigatō gozaimasu" ("(I) am thankful") {{br}}<< 有難く "arigataku"{{br}}<< 有難い "arigatai" ("thankful, appreciated") {{br}}<< [[Old Japanese]] 有難斯 "arigatasi" ("difficult to be"){{thin space}}{{citation needed|date=September 2019}} || Portuguese '''''obrigado''''' ("thank you")<ref>{{cite news |title='Arigato in Japanese and Obrigado in Portuguese', Semantic Enigmas |url=https://www.theguardian.com/notesandqueries/query/0,,-197840,00.html |access-date=June 24, 2021 |work=The Guardian}}</ref>|| Literally "obliged"{{br}} << Latin ''obligātus''
|-
| [[Hindustani language|Hindustani]] '''अम्मा''' / '''{{nq|اما}}''' (''ammā'', "mother")
| [[Prakrit]] 𑀅𑀁𑀫𑀸 (''aṃmā''), from [[Sanskrit]] {{lang|sa|अम्बा}} ({{Transliteration|sa|ambā}}, "mother, feminine honorific")
| [[Tamil language|Tamil]] '''அம்மா''' (''ammā'', "mother")
| [[Proto-Dravidian]] ''*amma'' ("mother")
|-
| [[Indonesian language|Indonesian]] '''''tanah''''' ("ground")
| [[Proto-Austronesian]] ''*tanaq''
| [[Aleut language|Aleut]] '''''tanax̂''''' ("ground")
| [[Proto-Eskimo]] ''*luna'' ("earth")
|-
| [[Tagalog language|Tagalog]] '''''bagay''''' ("thing")
| [[Proto-Malayo-Polynesian]] *''bagay''
| [[Haitian Creole]] '''''bagay''''' ("thing")
| [[Saint Dominican Creole French]] ''bagage''
|-
| [[Central Dusun|Dusun]] '''''do''''' ("of")
| Austronesian ''o''
| Portuguese '''''do''''' ("of")
| Latin ''de''
|-
| [[Spanish language|Spanish]] '''''gusano''''' ("worm, insect larva")
| Uncertain, possibly from Latin ''cossus'' ("woodworm")
| [[Russian language|Russian]] '''''гусеница''''' (''gusenica'') ("caterpillar")
| [[Proto-Slavic]] ''*ǫsěnica'' ("caterpillar")
|}

==False cognates used in the coinage of new words==
The coincidental similarity between false cognates can sometimes be used in the creation of new words ([[Neologism|neologization]]). For example, the Hebrew word '''{{lang|he|דַּל}}''' ''dal'' ("poor") (which is a false cognate of the phono-semantically similar English word ''dull'') is used in the new [[Israeli Hebrew]] expression אין רגע דל ''en rega dal'' (literally "There is no '''poor''' moment") as a [[phono-semantic matching]] for the English expression ''Never a '''dull''' moment''.<ref>Page 91 of {{cite book|last=Zuckermann|first=Ghil'ad|author-link=Ghil'ad Zuckermann|year=2003|title=[[Language Contact and Lexical Enrichment in Israeli Hebrew]]|publisher=[[Palgrave Macmillan]]|isbn=9781403917232}}</ref>

Similarly, the Hebrew word דיבוב ''dibúv'' ("speech, inducing someone to speak"), which is a false cognate of (and thus etymologically unrelated to) the phono-semantically similar English word ''dubbing'', is then used in the Israeli phono-semantic matching for ''dubbing''. The result is that in Modern Hebrew, דיבוב ''dibúv'' means "dubbing".<ref>Page 96 of {{cite book|last=Zuckermann|first=Ghil'ad|author-link=Ghil'ad Zuckermann|year=2020|title=[[Revivalistics: From the Genesis of Israeli to Language Reclamation in Australia and Beyond]]|publisher=[[Oxford University Press]]|location=New York|isbn=9780199812790}}</ref>

==See also==
{{div col|colwidth=20em}}
* [[Areal feature]]
* [[Convergent evolution]]
* [[Translation#Equivalence|Equivalence]]
* [[Etymological fallacy]]
* [[False etymology]]
* [[False friend]]
* [[Linguistic interference|Linguistic interference (language transfer)]]
* [[Pseudoscientific language comparison]]
* [[Semantic change]]
* ''[[Sprachbund]]''
{{div col end}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Works cited==
*{{citation
|last=Chamizo-Domínguez
|first=Pedro J.
|year=2008
|title=Semantics and Pragmatics of False Friends
|publisher=Routledge
|location=New York/Oxon
}}
*{{citation
|last=Moss
|first=Gillian
|year=1992
|title=Cognate recognition: Its importance in the teaching of ESP reading courses to Spanish speakers
|journal=English for Specific Purposes
|volume=11
|issue=2
|pages=141–158
|doi=10.1016/s0889-4906(05)80005-5
}}

==Further reading==
* Rubén Morán (2011), 'Cognate Linguistics', Kindle Edition, Amazon.
* Geoff Parkes and Alan Cornell (1992), 'NTC's Dictionary of German False Cognates', National Textbook Company, NTC Publishing Group.
* {{citation
|last=Jakobson
|first=Roman
|author-link=Roman Jakobson
|year=1962
|chapter=Why 'mama' and 'papa'?
|title=Selected Writings
|volume=I: Phonological Studies
|pages=538–545
|place=The Hague
|publisher=Mouton
}}
* {{citation
|last=Trask
|first=R. Larry
|author-link=Larry Trask
|year=2004
|title=Where do mama/papa words come from?
|series=University of Sussex Working Papers in Linguistics and English Language LxWP 10/04
|place=Brighton, UK
|publisher=Department of Linguistics and English Language, University of Sussex
|url=https://www.sussex.ac.uk/webteam/gateway/file.php?name=where-do-mama2.pdf&site=1
}}

== External links ==
* [http://www.cognates.org Cognates.org] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161216001410/http://cognates.org/ |date=2016-12-16 }}
* {{cite web |last1=Carey |first1=Stan |title=The mamas & the papas in babies' babbling |url=https://stancarey.wordpress.com/2012/01/02/the-mamas-the-papas-in-babies-babbling/ |website=Sentence first |date=2 January 2012}}

[[Category:Historical linguistics]]
[[Category:Comparative linguistics]]
[[Category:Etymology]]

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False cognate