canard
noun
1 a : a false or unfounded report or story
especially : a fabricated report
The report about a conspiracy proved to be a canard.
b : a groundless rumor or belief
the widespread canard that every lawyer is dishonest
His analysis often reads like a collection of left-wing canards.
2 : an airplane with horizontal stabilizing and control surfaces in front of supporting surfaces
also : a small airfoil in front of the wing of an aircraft that can increase the aircraft's performance
Did you know?
In 16th-century France, vendre des canards ; moiti; was a colorful way of saying "to fool" or "to cheat." The French phrase means, literally, "to half-sell ducks." No one now knows just what was meant by "to half-sell"; the proverb was probably based on some story widely known at the time, but the details have not survived. At any rate, the expression led to the use of canard, the French word for "duck," with the meaning of "a hoax" or "a fabrication." English speakers adopted this canard in the mid-1800s. The aeronautical sense of canard, used from the early days of flying, comes from the stubby duck-like appearance of the aircraft.
Synonyms
story
tale
whisper