canard

C2+ Topic:Describing Qualities

US /kəˈnɑrd/ UK /kæˈnɑːd/ See IPA manual

noun

Meanings

1

noun
a false or baseless rumor or fabricated story

The claim that the moon landing was faked is a persistent canard.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · a false or baseless rumor... rumor hoax fabrication falsehood fiction lie story

Opposites

fact truth

Etymology

From French canard ('duck'), from the phrase vendre un canard à moitié ('to half-sell a duck'), an idiom meaning to swindle or cheat, hence a false report.

canard French

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Describing Qualities

# canard

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** kəˈnɑrd
**IPA (UK):** kæˈnɑːd

## Meanings
1. a false or baseless rumor or fabricated story

## Examples
- The claim that the moon landing was faked is a persistent canard.

## Synonyms
- rumor
- hoax
- fabrication
- falsehood
- fiction
- lie
- story

## Antonyms
- fact
- truth

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: canard

## Etymology
From French canard ('duck'), from the phrase vendre un canard à moitié ('to half-sell a duck'), an idiom meaning to swindle or cheat, hence a false report.

## AI Etymology
Canard comes from French canard ('duck'), from the phrase vendre un canard à moitié ('to half-sell a duck'), an idiom meaning to swindle or cheat, hence a false report. The historical trail runs through canard in French. Used as a noun, canard now means "a false or baseless rumor or fabricated story", so the present definition can be read against the older forms and meanings. The result is a borrowed or transmitted form whose modern spelling carries a compact record of its route into English.

## Topics
- Describing Qualities

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canard

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