False or misleading stories, rumors, or lies spread to deceive people; also the word for ducks in French.
From French canard meaning 'duck,' from Old French canart. The 'false story' sense comes from the French phrase 'vendre un canard à moitié' (sell half a duck), referring to a type of fraud.
It's wild that a word for a lie comes from ducks—supposedly because duck sellers would sell half a bird and claim the rest was 'coming tomorrow,' creating early urban legends!
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