Spoonerism
/ˈspuːnərɪzəm/noun
A transposition of sounds, especially of initial consonants, between two or more words.
Did you know?The word was coined from the name of Oxford clergyman and dean William Archibald Spooner, whose famous speech errors made him a legend of accidental word-sorcery.
Etymological Timeline
19th Century
English
Spoonerism
“A speech error involving swapped sounds, named after Spooner”
19th Century
English
Spooner
“The surname of William Archibald Spooner, the man associated with the errors”
Old English
OE
spon
“A chip or splinter of wood; later the source of the surname element”
Proto-Germanic
PGmc
*spanu-
“A chip, sliver, or splinter”
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*speh₂-
“To draw out, stretch, or split”