The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #154216   Message #3616180
Posted By: Lighter
06-Apr-14 - 03:27 PM
Thread Name: BS: I dont understand the word homophobia
Subject: RE: I dont understand the word homophobia
"falsely, wrongly, erroneously, and mistakenly used for aversion to homosexuals."

Like it or not, that's what the word has meant for a long time. The editors of the OED include the word without comment or objection. The editors of every major academic and commercial publisher also approve of this usage.

You might try to coin a new synonym and then get the English-speaking world to use it instead. But I suspect you'd be wasting your time.

Because a word already exists.

(The "etymological fallacy" is the *false, erroneous, and mistaken* belief that what a word "really means" or "can only mean" is determined by its etymology rather by its actual and verifiable use. "EF" is a common but remediable condition that left untreated can lead to chronic irritability and possible high blood pressure.)