Word Review: Malaprop - A Fun Waltz through the Park
According to most scientists, there are no fewer than 16 billion words in the English language. This “Word Review” series aims to rate some of them on a scale unique to each word in kind. One of the things I used to do sometimes was to study language, words, and their silly little meanings - this will be a continuation of that work.
Ya Basics
Let’s start with today’s word: Malaprop. Malaprops. Malapropism. Malapropisms. There’s a lot of different treatment of this one concept for some reason, so let’s dive into a working definition of this word.
Malapropism, according to our friends as Merriam-Webster:
the usually unintentionally humorous misuse or distortion of a word or phrase.
Let’s take a look at a few other definitions. Here’s one from wikipedia:
A malapropism (/ˈmæləprɒpɪzəm/; also called a malaprop, acyrologia or Dogberryism) is the incorrect use of a word in place of a word with a similar sound, either unintentionally or for comedic effect, resulting in a nonsensical, often humorous utterance.
And one more, from our dear friends at Cambridge University:
the wrong use of one word instead of another word because they sound similar to each other, with results that are unintentionally funny.
It’s funny, there seems to be a discrepancy between these definitions. Merriam-Webster portends that the misuse or distortion of the word is usually unintentional and Cambridge University portends that the results are unintentionally funny. Only the editors of Wikipedia allow for the possibility that a malapropism could be used with some intent, albeit one that is limited to a comedic effect.
Either way, here is the definition of this word, malapropism. Substituting one word for a similar sounding one with the results being a nonsensical, silly phrase - intentions be damned.
Entomology aka Buggy Beginnings
There was a time in my life when I had access to the online version of the Oxford English Dictionary, a favorite reference of mine that pinpoints the earliest utterance of words and how their meanings shift over time. That time is over now. So, instead we turn to Etymonline.com, which while not as extensive in tracing how a word may change over time, can still give us insight into a word’s beginning point.
This is what Etymonline has to say about malaprop.
Malaprop, it seems, stems from a character in the stage play The Rivals written by Richard Brinsley Sherman in 1775. Indeed, it would seem that Malaprop is the surname of a certain Mrs. Malaprop, a character who often misuses words throughout the play for comedic effect.
From this character, Mrs. Malaprop, we arrive at the initial definition of the word first recorded in 1823, “a ludicrous misuse of a big word.” I cannot tell you where this definition originates, sadly, but it does seem derived from this Mrs. Malaprop character from the play The Rivals. By 1840, the word had shifted some to a more general definition of, “out of place, inapt.”
Gemma Jones as Mrs. Malaprop in The Rivals at the Arcola Theatre 2014. Photograph: Simon Annand.
For some fun, here are two of Mrs. Malaprop’s most famous malapropisms:
“He is the very pineapple of politeness”
“She is as headstrong as an allegory on the banks of the Nile.”
The term “malapropism” has a similar origin in that it was coined to describe these so-called malaprops, its first use being 1826 to describe these very same phrases. It’s from diving into this definition that we discover that Mrs. Malaprop’s name is derivative of a term coming from the French: mal à propos. First coined in 1660, malapropos can literally be translated to “badly, for the purpose” (from mal + proposer "to propose, advance, suggest," from pro "forth" + poser "put, place" and means “inappropriate” in context.
The character’s name, in a way, is a malaprops of this French term, as it sounds similar to the term “mal à propos,” but the meaning has taken on a new life through the actions of her character.
In the context of the French term, the 1840 definition begins to make more sense, the word somewhat miraculously landed closer to the meaning of its origin than from the use that made it popular. That is, until we landed back in the time of 2025 when looking up Malaprop and Malapropism brings us back to the meaning that popularized its usage originally. Etymology can be somewhat cyclical.
When Would I Ever Use This Word?
Probably never. That’s a factor of a good word, isn’t it? The usability of the word. If so, “malaprop” isn’t really high on the list of “useful” words. That’s the bugger of languages - you can create a word for every concept we can think of, but if the words don’t get used, they aren’t very useful. Yet, the word exists.
I really only know of this word thanks to my particular style of humor, which is to say, saying things wrong on purpose, knowing they are wrong, to elicit a reaction from whomever I am torturing. Being wrong on purpose can be fun, especially in the context of speaking to someone who seems to know too much.
A malapropism in its origins seems to be a wholly unintentional affair where the laughter is derived from laughing at the person who is trying to put on airs, as it were. I’d like to imagine the laughter be derived from the absurdity of the substitution, from the silliness that is language.
A lot of my laughter comes from absurdity, from silliness. Zoom out far enough and all language is just sounds. “Barbarians” is a fun word with a fun history. Latin in origin, it is purportedly what the Romans called anyone who did not speak Latin as their language sounded like “Bar Bar Bar.” Human barks, is all language truly is, used to communicate human things.
This is a good documentary on barbarians.
Malaprop is a uniquely human, uniquely English language based thing.
To be honest, I thought this word meant using the wrong word in an idiom or mixing two idioms together in a purposeful or unintentional way to humorous effect, a la “We’ll burn that bridge when we get to it.” Turns out that’s called a “Malaphor” and I’ve wasted a whole lot of time learning a new, wholly separate word. Who’s the idiom now?
A Raking of a Brother’s Sale
Now that we know all there is to know about “malaprop,” let’s render unto it a judgement by way of rating it on a scale made uniquely for it and it alone. All reviews must have ratings. This is a simple element of what a rating must consist. A good scale can be broken down into simple metrics whereby a lower rating on the scale would render a judgement as worse than a higher rating on a scale, you get it, you get it, I am simply stalling for time as I try to come up with the official rating which is this:
MALAPROP, STAND YE READY FOR THINE JUDGEMENT, FOR IT IS MUCH LIKE WHAT A CAT WOULD DO UPON FINDING THEIR MEAL OPEN, BUT NOT PLATED:
ATE OUT OF TIN
