Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun An accomplished, presumably irreversible deed or fact.
from The Century Dictionary.
- A fact accomplished; a thing done; a scheme already carried into execution.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun An accomplished fact, something that has already occurred; a
done deal .
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun an irreversible accomplishment
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
[French : fait, fact + accompli, accomplished.]
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
From French fait accompli ("an accomplished fact"), from fait ("a fact") + accompli ("accomplished").
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Examples
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jaymediane commented on the word fait accompli
Meaning
An accomplished fact; an action which is completed before those affected by it are in a position to query or reverse it.
Origin
The literal translation into English of this French phrase is a fact realized or accomplished - what might these days be called a done deal. Strangely, it entered the English language via a travelogue of Spain rather than France. Richard Ford's A hand-book for travellers in Spain (1845) was, and still is, regarded as a classic of travel writing. In it Ford included the phrase "This is now a fait accompli.", in regard of some previously decided fact.
March 9, 2008