Talk:Misnomer/Archives/2022/February

Antisemitism

I do think this word qualifies as a misnomer, probably one of the most famous ones considering the mass confusion around it. While the root word Semite gives the false impression that antisemitism is directed against all "Semitic peoples," such as Arabs, etc., the word itself was coined in Germany in 1879 as a scientific-sounding term for hatred of Jews. The Nazis themselves stated the term encompassed only Jewish people and assured Arabs and other Semitic language-speaking groups that antisemitic laws would not affect them.

https://www.nytimes.com/1942/11/05/archives/nazis-reassure-arabs-antisemitism-confined-to-jews-spokesman.html

I think it warrants inclusion in the list of examples. EricSpokane (talk) 20:22, 5 February 2022 (UTC)

New discussion sections go at the bottom of talk pages, not the top. I disagree that this is a misnomer that is notable enough to be included in the article. The history of the term is too complex for it to be considered a good example of a misnomer. See Antisemitism. The examples currently in the article are very clear and undisputed misnomers. The article does not need additional misnomers added since it is not a list article, and the ones that are included need to be very clear-cut and undisputed. In any event, there needs to be a consensus to include it (that policy has been determined by consensus), and the usual procedure here is that if a different misnomer is added, consensus must determine that it is a better example than at least one already included in its type of misnomer; then that one is removed. In the case of "antisemitism", the type is "Difference between common and technical meanings". In my opinion the current misnomers in that grouping are much better examples than "antisemitism". Sundayclose (talk) 21:18, 5 February 2022 (UTC)

Thank you. My mistake. I fail to grasp what's so complex about the word's history that it doesn't qualify as a misnomer, as its inception and implementation have been very exclusively aimed at Jewish people even though other Semitic language-speaking peoples exist. It's only disputed by people who deny the word's history. That being said, I do see your point it's not necessarily a better example than the examples that currently exist. I advocated for its inclusion because it's a word a startling number of people don't realize is a misnomer, but since you mention this article isn't meant to be an exhaustive list of examples, I'll concede to consensus of others' input. EricSpokane (talk) 02:31, 27 February 2022 (UTC)