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Where does the word "falderal" come from? It comes from English fal-de-ral, and was adopted directly into English (1820s).
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Where does the word "falderal" come from? It comes from English fal-de-ral, and was adopted directly into English (1820s).
Falderal’s story begins in English: fal-de-ral meant “song refrain.” A meaningless refrain in songs, like 'fa-la-la'. It reached English by 1820s as falderal. Came to mean a trifle, then nonsense; 'folderol' is a common variant. Today, falderal means nonsense; a showy but worthless trifle.
- Stage 1 · English · 1700s fal-de-ral "song refrain", a meaningless refrain in songs, like 'fa-la-la'.
- Stage 2 · English · 1820s falderal "nonsense, trifle", came to mean a trifle, then nonsense; 'folderol' is a common variant.