English
fallacy
Fallacy comes from Latin fallācia ‘deception, deceit’, and goes back to fallō.
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEfallōas fallere‘to deceive’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEfallāx‘deceptive, deceitful’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEfallācia‘deception, deceit’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400fallace
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500fallaci
- Englishearliest quotation 1749fallacy
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
Earlier history uncertain.
Lineage
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEfallōas fallere‘to deceive’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEfallāx‘deceptive, deceitful’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEfallācia‘deception, deceit’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400fallace
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500fallaci
- Englishearliest quotation 1749fallacy
Earliest quotation: 1749, Henry Fielding, The History of Tom Jones: “Mr Jones expressed great gratitude to the lady for…”
Formed from -acy
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *(s)gʷʰh₂el- ‘to stumble’
through Proto-Italic *falsō
fail, default, falsely, falsetto, 6 more
through Latin fallō ‘to deceive’
failure, fault, false, faux, falsify, fallible, falsity, 9 more
Today it means
noun Deceptive or false appearance; that which misleads the eye or the mind.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Latin fallō / fallacy