English
fallax
Fallax comes from Latin fallāx ‘deceptive’, and goes back to fallō ‘to deceive’.
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEfallō‘to deceive’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEfallāx‘deceptive’
- Englishearliest quotation a. 1556fallax
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
Earlier history uncertain.
Lineage
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEfallō‘to deceive’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEfallāx‘deceptive’
- Englishearliest quotation a. 1556fallax
Earliest quotation: a. 1556, Thomas Cranmer: “First, after the sum of my fourth book, collected…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *(s)gʷʰh₂el- ‘to stumble, misstep’
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 cavillation; petty criticism
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Latin fallō / fallax