Linguistic Similarities?

[debka_notion]

In the course of looking for definitions of love for my latest website project (Sparked by something Efi wrote, go figure), I was just reading some random stuff online, which was talking about how one older Greek word for "to kiss" (I originally wrote "kissing", but then I'd have to match it with the same sort of verbal noun later on, and "impregnating" just sounds Odd.) fell out of use because it sounded too much like the verb "to impregnate". I seem to remember a similar issue in French. Oh you linguists out there- know you if this is a common problem? (Either having those words sound alike, or having the slang for one mean the other) Any ideas if this might have something to do with actual etymology, or just coincidence?

Comments

[shekkichebaz.livejournal.com]

an interesting example of an inverse of this would be cockney 'rhyming' slang. words are used specifically because that word or part of a commonly used phrase containing that word sound like a different more common word.