fait accompli

See also: Fait accompli

English

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fait accompli

Wikipedia

Etymology

Borrowed from French fait accompli (“a completed fact”), from fait (“a fact”) + accompli (“completed; accomplished”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˌfeɪt.əˈkɔm.pli/, /ˌfeɪt.əˌkɔmˈpli/, /fɛt-/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

Noun

fait accompli (plural faits accomplis)

1. Something which has already happened, before those affected had the chance to raise objections or queries.

   Synonym: (US) done deal

   • 1857, Anthony Trollope, “Mr. Slope’s Parting Interview with the Signora”, in Barchester Towers. […], copyright edition, volume II, Leipzig: Bernhard Tauchnitz, published 1859, →OCLC, page 272:

     Mr. Quiverful's appointment to the hospital was, however, a fait accompli, and Mr. Harding's acquiescence in that appointment was not less so.

   • 1913, Saki, When William Came, Chapter VII:

     “In quarters where the fait accompli is an object of solicitude,” said Yeovil.

   • 2003, Matthew Restall, Seven Myths of the Spanish Conquest, Oxford University Press, →ISBN, page 65:

     The phrase “Spanish Conquest” and all it implies has come down through history because the Spaniards were so concerned to depict their endeavors as conquests and pacifications, as contracts fulfilled, as providential intention, as faits accomplis.

   • 2018, Shoshana Zuboff, chapter 10, in The Age of Surveillance Capitalism:

     [Hal] Varian awards surveillance capitalists the privilege of the experimenter's role, and this is presented as another casual fait accompli.

Translations

an accomplished fact

Arabic: أمر واقع m Azerbaijani: baş tutmuş fakt Bulgarian: свършен факт m (svǎršen fakt) Chinese: Mandarin: 既成事實 / 既成事实 (zh) (jìchéng shìshí) Danish: fait accompli Dutch: voldongen feit n Finnish: tapahtunut tosiasia French: fait accompli (fr) m German: vollendete Tatsache f, Fait accompli (de) n Greek: τετελεσμένο γεγονός (el) n (tetelesméno gegonós) Hebrew: עובדה מוגמרת f (uvdá mugméret), מעשה עשוי m (ma'asé asúy) Hungarian: kész helyzet Icelandic: orðinn hlutur m, búið og gert n Italian: fatto compiuto m Japanese: 既成事実 (ja) (きせいじじつ, kisei jijitsu) Kyrgyz: болгон иш (ky) (bolgon iş), факт (ky) (fakt) Macedonian: свршен чин m (svršen čin) Persian: عمل انجام‌شده Polish: fakt dokonany m Portuguese: fato consumado (pt) m, fait accompli m Russian: сверши́вшийся факт m (sveršívšijsja fakt), постфа́ктум (ru) (postfáktum) Spanish: hecho consumado m Swedish: fullbordat faktum n Thai: เรื่องที่ยุติแล้ว (rʉ̂ʉang-tîi-yút-dtì-lɛ́ɛo) Turkish: emrivaki (tr), oldubitti (tr), olupbitti (tr) Ukrainian: доко́наний факт m (dokónanyj fakt)

French

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /fɛ.t‿a.kɔ̃.pli/

• Audio (Canada):

  (file)

Noun

fait accompli m (plural faits accomplis)

1. a fait accompli; a done deal

   placer/mettre quelqu’un devant le fait accompli ― to present somebody with a fait accompli

Descendants

• → Spanish: hecho consumado (calque)
• → Polish: fakt dokonany (calque)

Indonesian

Etymology

Unadapted borrowing from French fait accompli.

Noun

fait accompli

1. fait accompli; done deal

Further reading

• “fait accompli” in Kamus Besar Bahasa Indonesia, Jakarta: Agency for Language Development and Cultivation – Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology of the Republic of Indonesia, 2016.

Portuguese

Noun

fait accompli m (plural faits accomplis)

1. fait accompli; done deal