Where does “faux” come from?
Faux comes from French faux, derived from Latin falsus, the past participle of fallō meaning to deceive or fail, ultimately from Proto-Italic falsō.
faux (English): fake or artificial
Definitions
- fake or artificial
Ancestry of “faux”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | French | faux | false; untrue; false; not real; badly;... |
| 2 | Middle French | faux | Alternative form of faulx |
| 3 | Middle French | faulx | false; untrue; false; pretentious; scythe |
| 4 | Old French | fauz | scythe |
| 5 | Latin | falx | sickle, scythe; a hook used to pull down walls |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | dʰelg- | a cutting tool; to stick; needle, pin |