What does canard mean?
A canard is a false or fabricated story — typically one that spreads widely, gets repeated as if true, and resists correction long after it has been debunked. Journalists and commentators reach for the word when they want to dismiss a persistent myth with a note of contempt, as in 'the idea that we only use ten percent of our brains is a tired canard.' The term carries an air of sophistication: unlike a mere mistake or rumor, a canard implies a falsehood sustained by repetition, credulity, or deliberate mischief. The word entered English from French in the nineteenth century and owes its curious name to an old French swindler's joke, 'to sell a duck for half its price,' which came to signify cheating or duping someone. Though rooted in the image of a duck — canard is, in French, simply the word for the bird — in English it has flown entirely free of its origins and lives on as a sharp, literate label for stories that refuse to die.
nounA false, fabricated, or deliberately misleading report or story, especially one circulated widely and believed by many.
- A false, baseless, or fabricated story or report, often spread deliberately and widely believed.
- (Rare, historical) In French, the literal bird: a domesticated duck.
"The claim that he had resigned turned out to be a complete canard planted by his rivals."
"For decades the notion that Einstein failed mathematics was a stubborn canard, endlessly repeated in motivational speeches."
"Tabloid editors of the era traded in scandal and canard alike, caring little whether a story could survive scrutiny."
Regular plural; used when referring to multiple false stories or myths collectively.
"History books are full of canards that survived centuries of scholarship."
The word comes from an old French con artist's gag — 'to sell a duck for half its price' meant to cheat someone — so calling a story a canard literally brands it as a scam.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of canard
Canard entered English from French in the mid-nineteenth century. Its name traces back to an old French expression among tricksters and market cheats, 'vendre un canard à moitié' — 'to sell a duck for half its price' — which came to mean defrauding or gulling someone; by extension, any false tale sold to the public became a 'canard.' The underlying French word canard itself denotes a duck, though the precise origins of that bird-word are uncertain. The English borrowing retains the French sense of a hoax while dropping the literal avian meaning.
How canard is actually used
Canard is a formal-to-journalistic word, most at home in editorials, media criticism, and political commentary. It carries a mildly derisive tone, implying not merely that a claim is wrong but that it has been kept alive by carelessness or design. In modern English it is used almost exclusively for false stories rather than for anything avian.
Easily confused with canard
A canary is a small yellow songbird (or, figuratively, an informant); a canard is a false story, despite their similar spellings.