fact

fact
\ \ [16] A fact is literally ‘something that is done’. It comes from Latin factumdeed’, a noun based on the past participle of faceredo’. This verb, a distant relative of English do, has contributed richly to English vocabulary, from obvious derivatives like factitious [17] and factitive [19] to more heavily disguised forms such as difficult, effect, fashion, feasible, feature, and fetish, not to mention the -fic suffix of words like horrific and pacific, and the related verbal suffix -fy. To begin with, English adopted the word in its original Latin sense ‘deed’, but this now survives only in legal contexts, such as ‘accessory after the fact’. There is sporadic evidence in classical Latin, however, of its use for ‘something that happens, event’, and this developed in post-classical times to produce ‘what actually is’, the word’s main modern sense in French fait and Italian fatto as well as in their English relative fact. Feat is essentially the same word as fact, filtered through Old French.
\ \ Cf.DIFFICULT, DO, EFFECT, FASHION, FEASIBLE, FEATURE, FETISH

Word origins - 2ed. . 2005.

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  • fact — n [Latin factum deed, real happening, something done, from neuter of factus, past participle of facere to do, make] 1: something that has actual existence: a matter of objective reality 2: any of the circumstances of a case that exist or are… …   Law dictionary

  • fact — W1S1 [fækt] n ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ 1¦(true information)¦ 2 the fact (that) 3 in (actual) fact 4 the fact (of the matter) is 5 the fact remains 6¦(real events/not a story)¦ 7 facts and figures 8 the facts speak for themselves 9 after the fact ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ …   Dictionary of contemporary English

  • fact — [ fækt ] noun *** 1. ) count a piece of true information: They have simply attempted to state the facts. fact about: Here children can discover basic scientific facts about the world. fact of: He wrote an article explaining the main facts of the… …   Usage of the words and phrases in modern English

  • fact — 1. The expression the fact that has long had an important function in enabling clauses to behave like nouns: • Some studies give attention to the fact that non smokers cannot avoid inhaling smoke when breathing smoky air G. Richardson, 1971 • The …   Modern English usage

  • Fact — (f[a^]kt), n. [L. factum, fr. facere to make or do. Cf. {Feat}, {Affair}, {Benefit}, {Defect}, {Fashion}, and { fy}.] 1. A doing, making, or preparing. [Obs.] [1913 Webster] A project for the fact and vending Of a new kind of fucus, paint for… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • fact — [fakt] n. [L factum, that which is done, deed, fact, neut. pp. of facere, DO1] 1. a deed; act: now esp. in the sense of “a criminal deed” in the phrases after the fact and before the fact [an accessory after the fact] 2. a thing that has actually …   English World dictionary

  • FACT — Cette page d’homonymie répertorie les différents sujets et articles partageant un même nom …   Wikipédia en Français

  • fact — ► NOUN 1) a thing that is indisputably the case. 2) (facts) information used as evidence or as part of a report. ● before (or after) the fact Cf. ↑before the fact ● a fact of life Cf. ↑a …   English terms dictionary

  • Fact — 〈[ fæ̣kt] m. 6; umg.〉 Faktum, Tatsache ● das sind die Facts [engl.] * * * Fact [fækt ], der; s, s <meist Pl.> [engl. fact < lat. factum, ↑ 1Faktum]: Tatsache[nmaterial]. * * * FACT,   Abkürzung für Flanagan Aptitude …   Universal-Lexikon

  • FACT — may refer to:*Federation Against Copyright Theft *Federation of American Consumers and Travelers *FACT ( facilitates chromatin transcription ), a protein factor affecting eukaryotic cells *FACT centre (Foundation for Creative Arts Technology), a… …   Wikipedia

  • Fact — [fækt] der; s, s (meist Plur.) <aus gleichbed. engl. fact, dies aus lat. factum, vgl. ↑Faktum> Tatsache, Tatsachenmaterial …   Das große Fremdwörterbuch

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