malapropism

malapropism, verbal blunder in which one word is replaced by another similar in sound but different in meaning. Although William Shakespeare had used the device for comic effect, the term derives from Richard Brinsley Sheridan’s character Mrs. Malaprop, in his play The Rivals (1775). Her name is taken from the term malapropos (French: “inappropriate”) and is typical of Sheridan’s practice of concocting names to indicate the essence of a character. Thinking of the geography of contiguous countries, she spoke of the “geometry” of “contagious countries,” and hoped that her daughter might “reprehend” the true meaning of what she is saying. She regretted that her “affluence” over her niece was very small.