canard

[ kuh-nahrd; French ka-nar ]

noun

, plural ca·nards [k, uh, -, nahrdz, k, a, -, nar].

1. a false or baseless, usually derogatory story, report, or rumor.
2. Cooking. a duck intended or used for food.
3. Aeronautics.
   1. an airplane that has its horizontal stabilizer and elevators located forward of the wing.
   2. Also called canard wing. one of two small lifting wings located in front of the main wings.
   3. an early airplane having a pusher engine with the rudder and elevator assembly in front of the wings.

canard

/ kæˈnɑːd; kanar /

noun

1. a false report; rumour or hoax
2. an aircraft in which the tailplane is mounted in front of the wing

Word History and Origins

Origin of canard¹

First recorded in 1840–45; from French: literally, “duck,” from Old French quanart “drake,” originally “cackler,” equivalent to can(er) “to cackle” (of expressive origin) + -art -art, as in mallart “drake”; mallard

Word History and Origins

Origin of canard¹

C19: from French: a duck, hoax, from Old French caner to quack, of imitative origin

Example Sentences

There’s no consensus that these are actually boys," he said. "This whole thing about trans girls is a canard.

From Salon

Vance started off the interview with a favorite canard of the Donald Trump campaign in recent weeks: that the federal response to Hurricanes Helene and Milton was delayed because affected areas reliably vote for Republicans.

From Salon

Anslinger was one of the greatest con men of that century, and racist canards were his stock in trade.

From Salon

Burr’s appearance may boost those rankings, but the cancel culture canard is better at roping in views than a Times Square ticket hawker.

From Salon

This year, let’s agree to dispel the canard that “summer reading” or “beach books” are something frivolous or less important than the serious literature celebrated in austere outlets like the London Review of Books.

From Seattle Times

Related Words

• hoax