different between vagary vs fad

English

Etymology

From Latin vagus (“wandering”).

Pronunciation

• (General American, formerly) IPA^(key): /v?????i/
• (General American, now commonly) IPA^(key): /?ve????i/

Noun

vagary (plural vagaries)

1. An erratic, unpredictable occurrence or action.
   • 1871, Charles Kingsley, At Last: A Christmas In The West Indies, ch. 8:

     It now turns out that the Pitch Lake, like most other things, owes its appearance on the surface to no convulsion or vagary at all, but to a most slow, orderly, and respectable process of nature, by which buried vegetable matter, which would have become peat, and finally brown coal, in a temperate climate, becomes, under the hot tropic soil, asphalt and oil.
2. An impulsive or illogical desire; a caprice or whim.

   Synonyms: see Thesaurus:whim

   • 1905, Jack London, War of the Classes, Preface:

     And then came the day when my socialism grew respectable,—still a vagary of youth, it was held, but romantically respectable.

Derived terms

• vagarity
• vagarious

Related terms

• vague
• vagrant
• vagabond

Translations

See also

• vaguery

Anagrams

• Varyag

English

Etymology

Of English dialectal origin. Further origin obscure. Possibly from Old English ?efæd (“order, decorum”) (compare Old English ?efæd (“orderly, tidy”), fadian, ?efadian (“to set in order, arrange”); or from French fadaise ("a trifling thought"; see fadaise).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /fæd/
• Rhymes: -æd

Noun

fad (plural fads)

1. A phenomenon that becomes popular for a very short time.
   • 2004, Andre R. Young, "Encore", Encore:

     You're a fad, that means you're something that we've already had, but once you're gone, you don't come back.

   • 2010, Eric J. Cesal, Down Detour Road: An Architect in Search of Practice (page 134)

     The pet rock fad was started by an advertising executive named Gary Dahl. The premise was simple: take ordinary rocks, glue eyes on them, and market them as pets.

Derived terms

• faddish
• faddy

Translations

Anagrams

• ADF, D.F.A., DAF, DFA, FDA, daf

Danish

Etymology 1

From French fade, from Late Latin *fatidus, a blend of Latin fatuus (“foolish”) and vapidus (“vapid”).

Adjective

fad (neuter fad or fadt, plural and definite singular attributive fade)

1. insipid, bland, slightly nauseating
2. (figuratively) flat, insipid, vapid

Etymology 2

From Old Norse fat (“vat, vessel, luggage, clothing”).

Noun

fad n (singular definite fadet, plural indefinite fade)

1. basin, bowl, dish
2. barrel, cask, vat

Inflection

German

Alternative forms

• fade (predominant in the northern half of Germany)

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /fa?t/
• Homophones: Fahrt, Pfad (non-standard)
• Rhymes: -a?t

Adjective

fad (comparative fader, superlative am fadesten or am fadsten)

1. (predominant in southern Germany and Austria) vapid, flavourless

Declension

Irish

Etymology

From Old Irish fot.

Pronunciation

• (Munster, Aran) IPA^(key): /f??d??/
• (Connemara, Mayo, Ulster) IPA^(key): /f?ad??/

Noun

fad m (genitive singular faid, nominative plural faid)

1. length

Declension

Derived terms

Related terms

Mutation

References

• Gregory Toner, Maire Ní Mhaonaigh, Sharon Arbuthnot, Dagmar Wodtko, Maire-Luise Theuerkauf, editors (2019) , “fot, fat”, in eDIL: Electronic Dictionary of the Irish Language
• “fad” in Foclóir Gae?ilge agus Béarla, Irish Texts Society, 2nd ed., 1927, by Patrick S. Dinneen.
• "fad" in Foclóir Gaeilge–Béarla, An Gúm, 1977, by Niall Ó Dónaill.

Luxembourgish

Etymology

From French fade.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /fa?t/
  • Rhymes: -a?t

Adjective

fad (masculine faden, neuter fad, comparative méi fad, superlative am faadsten)

1. bland, insipid, tasteless
2. dull, boring, bland

Declension

Romanian

Etymology

Borrowed from French fade.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /fad/
• Rhymes: -ad

Adjective

fad m or n (feminine singular fad?, masculine plural fazi, feminine and neuter plural fade)

1. tasteless, flavorless, insipid

Declension

Synonyms

• searb?d, insipid, f?r? gust

Scottish Gaelic

Noun

fad m (genitive singular faid or faide)

1. length
2. distance
3. duration

Derived terms

Related terms

• fada

Determiner

fad

1. all, whole

Mutation

Volapük

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /fad/

Noun

fad (nominative plural fads)

1. thread

Declension

Derived terms

• fadäd
• lefad