Pronounced: BIG-foot, noun/verb
Notes: Not the legendary creature
Yesterday’s word
The word catachresis means
- use of the wrong word for the context
- use of a forced and especially paradoxical figure of speech
First usage
Our word came into English in the mid-1500s
Background / Comments
A handy word to know for using the wrong word for the context. Grammarians enjoy employing this word. Our word came from Latin, which came from the Greek word karachrēsis (misuse).
Richard's Vocabulary Word-of-the-Day 