Word of the Week

ca·nard   [kuh-nahrd]

–noun,plural-nards

1. a false or baseless, usually derogatory story, report, or rumor.

2. Cookery. a duck intended or used for food.

3. Aeronautics.
a. an airplane that has its horizontal stabilizer and elevators located forward of the wing.
b. Also called canard wing. one of two small lifting wings located in front of the main wings.
c. an early airplane having a pusher engine with the rudder and elevator assembly in front of the wings.

Origin: 1840–50; < F: lit., duck; OF quanart drake, orig. cackler, equiv. to can(er) to cackle (of expressive orig.) + -art -art, as in mallart drake; see mallard

canard. Dictionary.com. Dictionary.com Unabridged. Random House, Inc. http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/canard