Term for words that appear to mean something that they don't?


Is there a name for words that appear to mean something other than their actual meaning?


For example:



  • A "paper boy" is not a boy made of paper.

  • A "greenhouse" is not a house that is coloured green.



Answer



They are generally an example of exocentric compound.



However, in another common type of compound, the exocentric or (known as a bahuvrihi compound in the Sanskrit tradition), the semantic head is not explicitly expressed.


A redhead, for example, is not a kind of head, but is a person with red hair.


Similarly, a blockhead is also not a head, but a person with a head that is as hard and unreceptive as a block (i.e. stupid).


And, outside of veterinary surgery, a lionheart is not a type of heart, but a person with a heart like a lion (in its bravery, courage, fearlessness, etc.).



More details and types of exocentric compounds:


http://www.victoria.ac.nz/lals/about/staff/publications/Bauer-EnglishExocentricCompounds.pdf



And if we want to be creative, we can call them "pseudo double-entendre". A phrase pretending to be a double entendre. And perhaps it becomes "double-pretendre".


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