Etymograph

English

faux

Faux comes from Middle French faulx, from Old French fals ‘false’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *(s)gʷʰh₂el- ‘to stumble, misstep’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*(s)gʷʰh₂el-1‘to stumble, misstep’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*falsō1uncertain
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEfallō1‘to deceive, beguile, trick, cheat, delude, ensnare, disappoint’
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEfalsus1‘deceived, tricked, cheated, disappointed, having been deceived’
  5. Old Frenchc. 842–1400fals1‘false’
  6. Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600faulx1
  7. Frenchc. 1600–presentfaux1
  8. Englishearliest quotation 2008faux1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English faux
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 2008, James Chandler, Maureen N. McLane: “He modernizes the faux-archaic “withouten wind, withouten tide” to…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*(s)gʷʰh₂el-Wiktionary, English faux‘to stumble, misstep’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*falsōWiktionary, English fauxuncertain
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEfallōWiktionary, English faux‘to deceive, beguile, trick, cheat, delude, ensnare, disappoint’
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEfalsusWiktionary, English faux‘deceived, tricked, cheated, disappointed, having been deceived’
  5. Old Frenchc. 842–1400falsWiktionary, English faux‘false’
  6. Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600faulxWiktionary, English faux
  7. Frenchc. 1600–presentfauxWiktionary, English faux
  8. Englishearliest quotation 2008fauxWiktionary, English faux. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 2008, James Chandler, Maureen N. McLane: “He modernizes the faux-archaic “withouten wind, withouten tide” to…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *(s)gʷʰh₂el- ‘to stumble, misstep’

asphalt, 5 more

through Proto-Italic *falsō

fail, 5 more

through Latin fallō ‘to deceive, beguile, trick, cheat, delude,…’

failure, default, falsely, fallacy, falsetto, fallacious, fallible, 5 more

through Latin falsus ‘deceived, tricked, cheated, disappointed,…’

false, fault, falsify, falsity, 3 more

Today it means

adj Fake or artificial.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “faux”. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *(s)gʷʰh₂el- / faux

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