fallax

English

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin fallāx (“deceptive”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈfæləks/

Noun

fallax (plural fallaxes)

1. (obsolete) cavillation; petty criticism
   • a. 1556, Thomas Cranmer, An Answer to a Crafty and Sophistical Cavillation devised by Stephen Gadiner:

     First, after the sum of my fourth book, collected as pleaseth you, at the first dash you begin with an untrue report, joined to a subtle deceit or fallax, saying that my chief purpose that evil men receive not the body and blood of Christ in the sacrament.

Related terms

• fallacy

References

“fallax”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.

Latin

Etymology

Etymology tree

Latin fallō

Proto-Indo-European *-eh₂ks

Proto-Italic *-āks

Latin -āx

Latin fallāx

From fallō (“to deceive”) + -āx (“inclined to”).

Pronunciation

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): [ˈfal.laːks]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): [ˈfal.laks]

Adjective

fallāx (genitive fallācis, comparative fallācior, superlative fallācissimus, adverb fallāciter); third-declension one-termination adjective

1. deceptive, deceitful
   • c. 347 CE – 420 CE, Hieronymus, Vulgate Proverbs.26.28:

     Lingua fallāx nōn amat vēritātem: et ōs lūbricum operātur ruīnās. [adjective]

     • 1752 translation by Douay-Rheims, Challoner rev.

       A deceitful tongue loveth not truth: and a slippery mouth worketh ruin.

2. fallacious, spurious

Declension

Third-declension one-termination adjective.

	singular			plural
	masc./fem.	neuter		masc./fem.	neuter
nominative	fallāx			fallācēs	fallācia
genitive	fallācis			fallācium
dative	fallācī			fallācibus
accusative	fallācem	fallāx		fallācīs fallācēs	fallācia
ablative	fallācī fallāce			fallācibus
vocative	fallāx			fallācēs	fallācia

Descendants

• Catalan: fal·laç
• Galician: falaz
• Italian: fallace
• Portuguese: falaz
• Spanish: falaz
• English: fallacy

References

• “fallax”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “fallax”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891), An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
• “fallax”, in Gaffiot, Félix (1934), Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.
• Carl Meißner; Henry William Auden (1894), Latin Phrase-Book‎^[1], London: Macmillan and Co.
  • a fallacious argument; sophism: conclusiuncula fallax or captio