We have hardly any words that do so fully expresse the French clinquant, naiveté … chicaneries. So lamented English writer John Evelyn in a letter to Sir Peter Wyche in 1665. Evelyn and Wyche were members of a group called the Royal Society, which had formed a committee emulating the French Academy for the purpose of "improving the English language." We can surmise that, in Evelyn's estimation, the addition of chicanery to English from French was an improvement. What he apparently didn't realize was that English speakers had adopted the word from the French chicanerie before he wished for it; the term appears in English manuscripts dating from 1609. Similarly, clinquant ("glittering with gold or tinsel") dates from 1591. Naïveté, on the other hand, waited until 1673 to appear.
He wasn't above using chicanery to win votes.
that candidate only won the election through chicanery
Recent Examples on the WebTrump, by virtue of delays, incessant appeals and all manner of chicanery, has shown that a scofflaw can indeed prevail, escape prosecution and real accountability, deny any and all wrongdoing and still be the presidential candidate for millions of Americans.—Letters To The Editor, The Mercury News, 3 Apr. 2024 Biden’s nomination in 2020 was the result of further Democratic chicanery, Thompson insists.—Mark Z. Barabak, Los Angeles Times, 27 Mar. 2024 See all Example Sentences for chicanery
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'chicanery.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
Etymology
borrowed from French chicanerie "quibbling on minor points of law brought up to complicate a judicial case," going back to Middle French chiquanerie, from chicaner "to dispute by means of quibbles," earlier "to sue, prosecute" + -erie-ery — more at chicane entry 1
Note:
Randle Cotgrave's French-English dictionary (1611) defines chicanerie as "wrangling, pettifogging; litigious, or craftie pleading; the perplexing of a cause with trickes; or the pestering thereof with (subtile, but) impertinent words."
Share