Re: Pseudo-cognates?

izzy wrote:
Snis Pilbor wrote:
Is there a special word for the event when two languages share a word,
but only by sheer coincidence, NOT ... because of common heritage?

Informally, they are called "sound-alikes". Sometimes they are called
"false friends".

False friends aren't sheer coincidence--they're words that *are* related but that cause confusion because their meanings are different. Examples are English "eventual" and French "eventuel" (= "possible"), English "actual" and French "actuel" (= "current", "at the moment"), English "smoking" and French "smoking" (= "smoking jacket").

What the OP is asking about is words that *appear* to be false friends but that aren't.
.

Relevant Pages

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