false friend

[fawls frend]

noun

Linguistics.

1. a word in one language that is similar in form or sound to a word in another language but has a different meaning and may or may not be etymologically related: for example, English gift “present” and German Gift “poison” are false friends.

false friend

noun

1. a word or expression in one language that, because it resembles one in another language, is often wrongly taken to have the same meaning, for example, the French agenda which means diary , not agenda

Confusables Note

See false cognate.

Word History and Origins

Origin of false friend¹

First recorded in 1930–35; patterned after French faux ami in same sense