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

Chef Gabriel Rucker is the two-time James Beard Award-winning chef and co-owner of Le Pigeon and Canard in Portland, Oregon.

From Eater

We imagine that the industry will roll out the old canard about a lack of “talent.”

From Ozy

This is, of course, a canard tossed in the last week of the year, with the House now out of session.

From Fortune

It is a classic anti-Semitic canard to punish any Jew for the perceived crimes of all of them.

From The Daily Beast

The idea that we shouldn't be funding duck mating is a total canard.

From The Daily Beast

The first is this canard that we have to balance the budget.

From The Daily Beast

It's a canard--cover for trying to prevent black and brown people from voting.

From The Daily Beast

Perhaps Cuomo believes the discredited canard that Yoko broke up the Beatles?

From The Daily Beast

He kindly offered to drive us to Canard River, a place not far distant from the termination of our journey.

From Project Gutenberg

Personally I do not believe this wild canard of a foreign invasion.

From Project Gutenberg

For a moment Hazel found herself believing the Herald story a pure canard.

From Project Gutenberg

Elephants will be admitted, too, on account of the unjust canard concerning their fear of mice.

From Project Gutenberg

It was even said that the Germans were marching on Brussels, but this was contradicted afterwards as a sensational canard.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• hoax