canard English · revision 1600

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /kəˈnɑːd/ ''(UK)''; /kəˈnɑɹd/ ''(US)''^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[bor|fr|canard|t=duck; hoax]],^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU) [[der|fro|quanart|t=duck, drake]],^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(RHWU) from ''caner'' “to cackle”, of imitative origin.^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(RHWU) The sense of a false story comes from the French phrase ''vendre un canard à moitié'' “to half-sell a duck”, that is, to cheat.^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ An absurd or fabricated story meant to impose on people's credulity (1851;^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate) before 1850 in Barnhart;^(Barnhart 1995) 1864 in the OED).^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Half-selling a duck meant not selling it at all, so the phrase came to mean deceiving someone,^(Barnhart 1995) and the duck itself became a word for a hoax.^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1995) In the 20th century the word was applied to aircraft with small stabilizing surfaces in front of the main wing (1916),^(OED 1989)^(AHD) and to those surfaces themselves.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * late 16th century – the French phrase ''vendre un canard à moitié''.^(Barnhart 1995)

+ * 1843 – a possible earlier date for the English word.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1851 – a fabricated story.^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate)

+ * 1902 – a deep blue colour, like that on a duck's wing.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1916 – a control surface in front of an aircraft's main wing.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A false or unfounded story or [[rumor]], especially one spread deliberately.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+ # An aircraft whose horizontal [[stabilizer]] is in front of the main wing.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+ # A small wing-like surface in front of the main wing of an aircraft.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+ # A duck used for food.^(RHWU)

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[hoax]]

+ * [[mallard]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}