English
faute de mieux
Faute de mieux comes from French faute de mieux ‘for want of something better, faute de mieux’.
- Frenchc. 1600–presentfaute de mieux‘for want of something better, faute de mieux’
- Englishearliest quotation 1823same form
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Frenchc. 1600–presentfaute de mieux‘for want of something better, faute de mieux’
- Englishearliest quotation 1823same form
Earliest quotation: 1823, "Select Society, With Observations on the Modern Art of Matchmaking": “Then, Alas! any body was company for every body…”
Every English word from French faute de mieux
Today it means
adv For want of something better; for lack of an alternative; as a makeshift.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / French faute de mieux / faute de mieux