Eggcorn Definition

ĕgkôrn

noun

A series of words that result from the misunderstanding of a word or phrase as some other word or phrase having a plausible explanation, as free reign for free rein, or to the manor born for to the manner born (from William Shakespeare's Hamlet ).

American Heritage

Other Word Forms of Eggcorn

Noun

Singular:

eggcorn

Plural:

eggcorns

Origin of Eggcorn

Coined by Geoffrey K. Pullum (born 1945), British-born American linguist (eggcorn) (being an eggcorn for acorn) (taken as egg) (corn)

From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition