fallax

English

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin fallax (“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

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

Pronunciation

• (Classical) IPA^(key): /ˈfal.laːks/, [ˈfälːʲäːks̠]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /ˈfal.laks/, [ˈfälːäks]

Adjective

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

1. deceptive, deceitful
   • 405 CE, Jerome, 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.

Number	Singular			Plural
Case / Gender	Masc./Fem.	Neuter		Masc./Fem.	Neuter
Nominative	fallāx			fallācēs	fallācia
Genitive	fallācis			fallācium
Dative	fallācī			fallācibus
Accusative	fallācem	fallāx		fallācēs	fallācia
Ablative	fallācī			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