canard: M-W's Word of the Day

****************************************************************
Do you enjoy challenging word games? Try WORD SWEEP!, the new board game featuring official Merriam-Webster definitions!
http://search.barnesandnoble.com/booksearch/isbnInquiry.asp?z=y&EAN=9780971348769&itm=2

****************************************************************

The Word of the Day for June 6 is:

canard \kuh-NARD\ noun
1 a : a false or unfounded report or story; especially : a fabricated report *b : a groundless rumor or belief
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 increases the aircraft's stability

Example sentence:
"Last week's storm," Chet declared, "showed us that the claim that lightning cannot strike the same place twice is nothing more than a canard."

Did you know?
In 16th-century France "vendre des canards a moitie" 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 "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.

You Are Subscribed As: silentdewdrops.word@blogger.com
To unsubscribe, change your e-mail address or to subscribe to the html
version of Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day, featuring audio
pronunciations, please visit:

http://mw.drhinternet.net/sm/wod/changeofaddress.iphtml

(c) 2007 by Merriam-Webster, Incorporated

Merriam-Webster, Inc.
47 Federal Street
P.O. Box 281
Springfield, MA 01102