Vol. 09 · Loanwords ·French ·1650s
Facade
from façade
- Meaning
- The face of a building — by extension, a deceptive outer appearance.
- Source word
- façade
- Route into English
- French *façade* (from Italian *facciata*) → English via 17th-century architectural writing. The figurative sense ("putting up a facade") is a 19th-century novelist's device.
- Arrived
- 1650s
From French
Beyond the Norman conquest's Old French foundation, English kept borrowing from French for art, cuisine, fashion, and diplomacy throughout the modern period.
English borrows.
Browse the full loanword atlas or explore another source language.