"spoonerism" meaning in English

See spoonerism in All languages combined, or Wiktionary

Noun

IPA: /ˈspuːnəɹɪzəm/ Audio: en-au-spoonerism.ogg [Australia], en-us-spoonerism.ogg [US] Forms: spoonerisms [plural]
enPR: spo͞onʹərĭzəm Etymology: Spooner + -ism, named after Oxford don Reverend W. A. Spooner (1844–1930), who is supposed to have habitually made such slip-ups. Etymology templates: {{suffix|en|Spooner|ism}} Spooner + -ism, {{named-after/list|Oxford don||||}} Oxford don, {{!}} |, {{lang|en|Reverend W. A. Spooner}} Reverend W. A. Spooner, {{named-after|en|Reverend W. A. Spooner|born=1844|died=1930|nocap=1|occ=Oxford don|wplink=William Archibald Spooner}} named after Oxford don Reverend W. A. Spooner (1844–1930) Head templates: {{en-noun}} spoonerism (plural spoonerisms)
  1. A play on words on a phrase in which the initial (usually consonantal) sounds of two or more of the main words are transposed. Synonyms: marrowsky, Spoonerism Related terms: spooneristic Translations (phrase where sounds are transposed): treuzviezadenn [feminine] (Breton), contrapet [masculine] (Catalan), antístrofa (Catalan), 首音互换 (shǒuyīn hùhuàn) (Chinese Mandarin), bakke snagvendt [common-gender] (Danish), spoonerisme [neuter] (Dutch), kontraŭknalo (Esperanto), sananmuunnos (Finnish), kääntösana (Finnish), contrepèterie [feminine] (French), contrepet [masculine] (French), παραδρομή γλώσσας (paradromí glóssas) [feminine] (Greek), szpúnerizmus (Hungarian), szavakon átívelő metatézis (Hungarian), spoonerismo [masculine] (Italian), 語音転換 (goon tenkan) (Japanese), Spooneraght [feminine] (Manx), gra półsłówek [feminine] (Polish), spuneryzm [masculine] (Polish), trocadilho [masculine] (Portuguese), spoonerismo [masculine] (Portuguese), antístrofe [feminine] (Portuguese), спунери́зм (spunerízm) [masculine] (Russian), спунери́зм (spunɛrízm) [masculine] (Russian), каламбу́р (kalambúr) [masculine] (Russian), espunerismo [masculine] (Spanish), espunerismos [masculine, plural] (Spanish), retruécano (Spanish), คำผวน [neuter] (Thai), (phép) nói lái (Vietnamese), (phép) nói trại (Vietnamese)

Inflected forms

Alternative forms

Download JSON data for spoonerism meaning in English (6.6kB)

{
  "etymology_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "Spooner",
        "3": "ism"
      },
      "expansion": "Spooner + -ism",
      "name": "suffix"
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    {
      "args": {
        "1": "Oxford don",
        "2": "",
        "3": "",
        "4": "",
        "5": ""
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    {
      "args": {
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        "2": "Reverend W. A. Spooner"
      },
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        "2": "Reverend W. A. Spooner",
        "born": "1844",
        "died": "1930",
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        "wplink": "William Archibald Spooner"
      },
      "expansion": "named after Oxford don Reverend W. A. Spooner (1844–1930)",
      "name": "named-after"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_text": "Spooner + -ism, named after Oxford don Reverend W. A. Spooner (1844–1930), who is supposed to have habitually made such slip-ups.",
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "spoonerisms",
      "tags": [
        "plural"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {},
      "expansion": "spoonerism (plural spoonerisms)",
      "name": "en-noun"
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  "pos": "noun",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English entries with incorrect language header",
          "parents": [
            "Entries with incorrect language header",
            "Entry maintenance"
          ],
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        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Russian terms with non-redundant manual transliterations",
          "parents": [
            "Terms with non-redundant manual transliterations",
            "Entry maintenance"
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      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "text": "Reports of a shortage of snacks at this year's spoonerism conference turned out to be a complete lack of pies.",
          "type": "example"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "A play on words on a phrase in which the initial (usually consonantal) sounds of two or more of the main words are transposed."
      ],
      "id": "en-spoonerism-en-noun-ONeE7-1g",
      "links": [
        [
          "play on words",
          "play on words"
        ],
        [
          "phrase",
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        ],
        [
          "initial",
          "initial"
        ],
        [
          "consonantal",
          "consonantal"
        ],
        [
          "transpose",
          "transpose"
        ]
      ],
      "related": [
        {
          "word": "spooneristic"
        }
      ],
      "synonyms": [
        {
          "word": "marrowsky"
        },
        {
          "word": "Spoonerism"
        }
      ],
      "translations": [
        {
          "code": "br",
          "lang": "Breton",
          "sense": "phrase where sounds are transposed",
          "tags": [
            "feminine"
          ],
          "word": "treuzviezadenn"
        },
        {
          "code": "ca",
          "lang": "Catalan",
          "sense": "phrase where sounds are transposed",
          "tags": [
            "masculine"
          ],
          "word": "contrapet"
        },
        {
          "code": "ca",
          "lang": "Catalan",
          "sense": "phrase where sounds are transposed",
          "word": "antístrofa"
        },
        {
          "code": "cmn",
          "lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
          "roman": "shǒuyīn hùhuàn",
          "sense": "phrase where sounds are transposed",
          "word": "首音互换"
        },
        {
          "code": "da",
          "lang": "Danish",
          "sense": "phrase where sounds are transposed",
          "tags": [
            "common-gender"
          ],
          "word": "bakke snagvendt"
        },
        {
          "code": "nl",
          "lang": "Dutch",
          "sense": "phrase where sounds are transposed",
          "tags": [
            "neuter"
          ],
          "word": "spoonerisme"
        },
        {
          "code": "eo",
          "lang": "Esperanto",
          "sense": "phrase where sounds are transposed",
          "word": "kontraŭknalo"
        },
        {
          "code": "fi",
          "lang": "Finnish",
          "sense": "phrase where sounds are transposed",
          "word": "sananmuunnos"
        },
        {
          "code": "fi",
          "lang": "Finnish",
          "sense": "phrase where sounds are transposed",
          "word": "kääntösana"
        },
        {
          "code": "fr",
          "lang": "French",
          "sense": "phrase where sounds are transposed",
          "tags": [
            "feminine"
          ],
          "word": "contrepèterie"
        },
        {
          "code": "fr",
          "lang": "French",
          "sense": "phrase where sounds are transposed",
          "tags": [
            "masculine"
          ],
          "word": "contrepet"
        },
        {
          "code": "el",
          "lang": "Greek",
          "roman": "paradromí glóssas",
          "sense": "phrase where sounds are transposed",
          "tags": [
            "feminine"
          ],
          "word": "παραδρομή γλώσσας"
        },
        {
          "code": "hu",
          "lang": "Hungarian",
          "sense": "phrase where sounds are transposed",
          "word": "szpúnerizmus"
        },
        {
          "code": "hu",
          "lang": "Hungarian",
          "sense": "phrase where sounds are transposed",
          "word": "szavakon átívelő metatézis"
        },
        {
          "code": "it",
          "lang": "Italian",
          "sense": "phrase where sounds are transposed",
          "tags": [
            "masculine"
          ],
          "word": "spoonerismo"
        },
        {
          "code": "ja",
          "lang": "Japanese",
          "roman": "goon tenkan",
          "sense": "phrase where sounds are transposed",
          "word": "語音転換"
        },
        {
          "code": "gv",
          "lang": "Manx",
          "sense": "phrase where sounds are transposed",
          "tags": [
            "feminine"
          ],
          "word": "Spooneraght"
        },
        {
          "code": "pl",
          "lang": "Polish",
          "sense": "phrase where sounds are transposed",
          "tags": [
            "feminine"
          ],
          "word": "gra półsłówek"
        },
        {
          "code": "pl",
          "lang": "Polish",
          "sense": "phrase where sounds are transposed",
          "tags": [
            "masculine"
          ],
          "word": "spuneryzm"
        },
        {
          "code": "pt",
          "lang": "Portuguese",
          "sense": "phrase where sounds are transposed",
          "tags": [
            "masculine"
          ],
          "word": "trocadilho"
        },
        {
          "code": "pt",
          "lang": "Portuguese",
          "sense": "phrase where sounds are transposed",
          "tags": [
            "masculine"
          ],
          "word": "spoonerismo"
        },
        {
          "code": "pt",
          "lang": "Portuguese",
          "sense": "phrase where sounds are transposed",
          "tags": [
            "feminine"
          ],
          "word": "antístrofe"
        },
        {
          "code": "ru",
          "lang": "Russian",
          "roman": "spunerízm",
          "sense": "phrase where sounds are transposed",
          "tags": [
            "masculine"
          ],
          "word": "спунери́зм"
        },
        {
          "code": "ru",
          "lang": "Russian",
          "roman": "spunɛrízm",
          "sense": "phrase where sounds are transposed",
          "tags": [
            "masculine"
          ],
          "word": "спунери́зм"
        },
        {
          "code": "ru",
          "lang": "Russian",
          "roman": "kalambúr",
          "sense": "phrase where sounds are transposed",
          "tags": [
            "masculine"
          ],
          "word": "каламбу́р"
        },
        {
          "code": "es",
          "lang": "Spanish",
          "sense": "phrase where sounds are transposed",
          "tags": [
            "masculine"
          ],
          "word": "espunerismo"
        },
        {
          "code": "es",
          "lang": "Spanish",
          "sense": "phrase where sounds are transposed",
          "tags": [
            "masculine",
            "plural"
          ],
          "word": "espunerismos"
        },
        {
          "code": "es",
          "lang": "Spanish",
          "sense": "phrase where sounds are transposed",
          "word": "retruécano"
        },
        {
          "code": "th",
          "lang": "Thai",
          "sense": "phrase where sounds are transposed",
          "tags": [
            "neuter"
          ],
          "word": "คำผวน"
        },
        {
          "code": "vi",
          "lang": "Vietnamese",
          "sense": "phrase where sounds are transposed",
          "word": "(phép) nói lái"
        },
        {
          "code": "vi",
          "lang": "Vietnamese",
          "sense": "phrase where sounds are transposed",
          "word": "(phép) nói trại"
        }
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "ipa": "/ˈspuːnəɹɪzəm/"
    },
    {
      "audio": "en-au-spoonerism.ogg",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/c/c2/En-au-spoonerism.ogg/En-au-spoonerism.ogg.mp3",
      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c2/En-au-spoonerism.ogg",
      "tags": [
        "Australia"
      ],
      "text": "Audio (AU)"
    },
    {
      "audio": "en-us-spoonerism.ogg",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/2/26/En-us-spoonerism.ogg/En-us-spoonerism.ogg.mp3",
      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/26/En-us-spoonerism.ogg",
      "tags": [
        "US"
      ],
      "text": "Audio (US)"
    },
    {
      "enpr": "spo͞onʹərĭzəm"
    }
  ],
  "word": "spoonerism"
}
{
  "etymology_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "Spooner",
        "3": "ism"
      },
      "expansion": "Spooner + -ism",
      "name": "suffix"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "Oxford don",
        "2": "",
        "3": "",
        "4": "",
        "5": ""
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    },
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      "args": {},
      "expansion": "|",
      "name": "!"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "Reverend W. A. Spooner"
      },
      "expansion": "Reverend W. A. Spooner",
      "name": "lang"
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    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "Reverend W. A. Spooner",
        "born": "1844",
        "died": "1930",
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        "occ": "Oxford don",
        "wplink": "William Archibald Spooner"
      },
      "expansion": "named after Oxford don Reverend W. A. Spooner (1844–1930)",
      "name": "named-after"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_text": "Spooner + -ism, named after Oxford don Reverend W. A. Spooner (1844–1930), who is supposed to have habitually made such slip-ups.",
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "spoonerisms",
      "tags": [
        "plural"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {},
      "expansion": "spoonerism (plural spoonerisms)",
      "name": "en-noun"
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  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "noun",
  "related": [
    {
      "word": "spooneristic"
    }
  ],
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        "English 4-syllable words",
        "English countable nouns",
        "English entries with incorrect language header",
        "English eponyms",
        "English lemmas",
        "English nouns",
        "English terms suffixed with -ism",
        "English terms with IPA pronunciation",
        "English terms with audio links",
        "English terms with usage examples",
        "Russian terms with non-redundant manual transliterations"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "text": "Reports of a shortage of snacks at this year's spoonerism conference turned out to be a complete lack of pies.",
          "type": "example"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "A play on words on a phrase in which the initial (usually consonantal) sounds of two or more of the main words are transposed."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "play on words",
          "play on words"
        ],
        [
          "phrase",
          "phrase"
        ],
        [
          "initial",
          "initial"
        ],
        [
          "consonantal",
          "consonantal"
        ],
        [
          "transpose",
          "transpose"
        ]
      ],
      "synonyms": [
        {
          "word": "marrowsky"
        }
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "ipa": "/ˈspuːnəɹɪzəm/"
    },
    {
      "audio": "en-au-spoonerism.ogg",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/c/c2/En-au-spoonerism.ogg/En-au-spoonerism.ogg.mp3",
      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c2/En-au-spoonerism.ogg",
      "tags": [
        "Australia"
      ],
      "text": "Audio (AU)"
    },
    {
      "audio": "en-us-spoonerism.ogg",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/2/26/En-us-spoonerism.ogg/En-us-spoonerism.ogg.mp3",
      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/26/En-us-spoonerism.ogg",
      "tags": [
        "US"
      ],
      "text": "Audio (US)"
    },
    {
      "enpr": "spo͞onʹərĭzəm"
    }
  ],
  "synonyms": [
    {
      "word": "Spoonerism"
    }
  ],
  "translations": [
    {
      "code": "br",
      "lang": "Breton",
      "sense": "phrase where sounds are transposed",
      "tags": [
        "feminine"
      ],
      "word": "treuzviezadenn"
    },
    {
      "code": "ca",
      "lang": "Catalan",
      "sense": "phrase where sounds are transposed",
      "tags": [
        "masculine"
      ],
      "word": "contrapet"
    },
    {
      "code": "ca",
      "lang": "Catalan",
      "sense": "phrase where sounds are transposed",
      "word": "antístrofa"
    },
    {
      "code": "cmn",
      "lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
      "roman": "shǒuyīn hùhuàn",
      "sense": "phrase where sounds are transposed",
      "word": "首音互换"
    },
    {
      "code": "da",
      "lang": "Danish",
      "sense": "phrase where sounds are transposed",
      "tags": [
        "common-gender"
      ],
      "word": "bakke snagvendt"
    },
    {
      "code": "nl",
      "lang": "Dutch",
      "sense": "phrase where sounds are transposed",
      "tags": [
        "neuter"
      ],
      "word": "spoonerisme"
    },
    {
      "code": "eo",
      "lang": "Esperanto",
      "sense": "phrase where sounds are transposed",
      "word": "kontraŭknalo"
    },
    {
      "code": "fi",
      "lang": "Finnish",
      "sense": "phrase where sounds are transposed",
      "word": "sananmuunnos"
    },
    {
      "code": "fi",
      "lang": "Finnish",
      "sense": "phrase where sounds are transposed",
      "word": "kääntösana"
    },
    {
      "code": "fr",
      "lang": "French",
      "sense": "phrase where sounds are transposed",
      "tags": [
        "feminine"
      ],
      "word": "contrepèterie"
    },
    {
      "code": "fr",
      "lang": "French",
      "sense": "phrase where sounds are transposed",
      "tags": [
        "masculine"
      ],
      "word": "contrepet"
    },
    {
      "code": "el",
      "lang": "Greek",
      "roman": "paradromí glóssas",
      "sense": "phrase where sounds are transposed",
      "tags": [
        "feminine"
      ],
      "word": "παραδρομή γλώσσας"
    },
    {
      "code": "hu",
      "lang": "Hungarian",
      "sense": "phrase where sounds are transposed",
      "word": "szpúnerizmus"
    },
    {
      "code": "hu",
      "lang": "Hungarian",
      "sense": "phrase where sounds are transposed",
      "word": "szavakon átívelő metatézis"
    },
    {
      "code": "it",
      "lang": "Italian",
      "sense": "phrase where sounds are transposed",
      "tags": [
        "masculine"
      ],
      "word": "spoonerismo"
    },
    {
      "code": "ja",
      "lang": "Japanese",
      "roman": "goon tenkan",
      "sense": "phrase where sounds are transposed",
      "word": "語音転換"
    },
    {
      "code": "gv",
      "lang": "Manx",
      "sense": "phrase where sounds are transposed",
      "tags": [
        "feminine"
      ],
      "word": "Spooneraght"
    },
    {
      "code": "pl",
      "lang": "Polish",
      "sense": "phrase where sounds are transposed",
      "tags": [
        "feminine"
      ],
      "word": "gra półsłówek"
    },
    {
      "code": "pl",
      "lang": "Polish",
      "sense": "phrase where sounds are transposed",
      "tags": [
        "masculine"
      ],
      "word": "spuneryzm"
    },
    {
      "code": "pt",
      "lang": "Portuguese",
      "sense": "phrase where sounds are transposed",
      "tags": [
        "masculine"
      ],
      "word": "trocadilho"
    },
    {
      "code": "pt",
      "lang": "Portuguese",
      "sense": "phrase where sounds are transposed",
      "tags": [
        "masculine"
      ],
      "word": "spoonerismo"
    },
    {
      "code": "pt",
      "lang": "Portuguese",
      "sense": "phrase where sounds are transposed",
      "tags": [
        "feminine"
      ],
      "word": "antístrofe"
    },
    {
      "code": "ru",
      "lang": "Russian",
      "roman": "spunerízm",
      "sense": "phrase where sounds are transposed",
      "tags": [
        "masculine"
      ],
      "word": "спунери́зм"
    },
    {
      "code": "ru",
      "lang": "Russian",
      "roman": "spunɛrízm",
      "sense": "phrase where sounds are transposed",
      "tags": [
        "masculine"
      ],
      "word": "спунери́зм"
    },
    {
      "code": "ru",
      "lang": "Russian",
      "roman": "kalambúr",
      "sense": "phrase where sounds are transposed",
      "tags": [
        "masculine"
      ],
      "word": "каламбу́р"
    },
    {
      "code": "es",
      "lang": "Spanish",
      "sense": "phrase where sounds are transposed",
      "tags": [
        "masculine"
      ],
      "word": "espunerismo"
    },
    {
      "code": "es",
      "lang": "Spanish",
      "sense": "phrase where sounds are transposed",
      "tags": [
        "masculine",
        "plural"
      ],
      "word": "espunerismos"
    },
    {
      "code": "es",
      "lang": "Spanish",
      "sense": "phrase where sounds are transposed",
      "word": "retruécano"
    },
    {
      "code": "th",
      "lang": "Thai",
      "sense": "phrase where sounds are transposed",
      "tags": [
        "neuter"
      ],
      "word": "คำผวน"
    },
    {
      "code": "vi",
      "lang": "Vietnamese",
      "sense": "phrase where sounds are transposed",
      "word": "(phép) nói lái"
    },
    {
      "code": "vi",
      "lang": "Vietnamese",
      "sense": "phrase where sounds are transposed",
      "word": "(phép) nói trại"
    }
  ],
  "word": "spoonerism"
}

This page is a part of the kaikki.org machine-readable English dictionary. This dictionary is based on structured data extracted on 2024-05-05 from the enwiktionary dump dated 2024-05-02 using wiktextract (f4fd8c9 and c9440ce). The data shown on this site has been post-processed and various details (e.g., extra categories) removed, some information disambiguated, and additional data merged from other sources. See the raw data download page for the unprocessed wiktextract data.

If you use this data in academic research, please cite Tatu Ylonen: Wiktextract: Wiktionary as Machine-Readable Structured Data, Proceedings of the 13th Conference on Language Resources and Evaluation (LREC), pp. 1317-1325, Marseille, 20-25 June 2022. Linking to the relevant page(s) under https://kaikki.org would also be greatly appreciated.