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What is the name of the following rhetorical device?

loose - lose

goodly - godly

(not in the sense that both words are used in a text but that one is used while implicitly implying the other, e.g. using "goodly" when "godly" is meant)? Just one letter is changed here, of course. The name of the device escapes me, however.

Thank you all :)

Guest_04
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    Cartoon ... carton? Cool ... col? Rooster ... roster? Are you asking about words with overlapping etymologies? If so, please show research. Or do you mean catachresis/malapropism? – Edwin Ashworth Apr 05 '22 at 15:13
  • Could you give an example of a sentence where one word is used and its "partner" is implicit? I'm having trouble visualizing a context where one word is used correctly (and therefore not catachresis, as Edwin suggests) but the other is intended / implied. If the word is not necessarily used correctly, then catachresis is your answer. – acvill Apr 05 '22 at 15:34
  • The example I have in mind is "They embarked on their goodly quest." In the context of the story I’m dealing with, it is fairly obvious that the characters believe that their search amounts to a quest for God (even though their intentions are far from "godly" OR "goodly"). It’s just that with "goodly" they conceal the "godly" part of it. I hope this helped. – Guest_04 Apr 05 '22 at 16:17
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    I'm not sure there is a word for it. It could be considered a type of punning, even if humor isn't intended. "Haircutting is a barbarous profession," "I stole a sheep and ever since I've been on the lam," etc. To use one word, even in an appropriate way, that raises allusion to a related or similar word, is punning. Double entendre might also fit. – Andy Bonner Apr 05 '22 at 17:02
  • Thank you very much, Andy! – Guest_04 Apr 05 '22 at 19:37
  • Does this answer your question? Semantics and malapropism – Mitch Apr 07 '22 at 17:26

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