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In 16th-century France, vendre des canards à moitié 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 saying was probably based on some story widely known at the time, but the details have not survived. Lost stories aside, the expression led to the use of canard, the French word for "duck," to refer to a hoax or 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.
Examples of canard in a Sentence
Brian Domitrovic, Forbes.com, 26 May 2025
Five per main wing with a pair in each forward canard.
—Joe Salas
may 17, New Atlas, 17 May 2025
As executive chef, Lu reinvigorated French cuisine to his own tastes, including classics like beef bourguignon, poule au pot and canard, or duck.
—Miguel Otárola, Denver Post, 22 May 2025
Through the use of a long, narrow airframe and canards, the X-59 is able to reduce the noise that reaches the ground from sonic booms generated as the aircraft crosses the speed of sound.
—Robert Z. Pearlman, Space.com, 20 May 2025
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Cite this Entry
“Canard.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/canard. Accessed 30 Jun. 2025.
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