fart

From Middle English ferten, farten, from Old English feortan, from Proto-Germanic *fertaną, from Proto-Indo-European *perd-.

The noun is from Middle English fert, fart, from the verb.

• (Received Pronunciation) enPR: färt, IPA^(key): /fɑːt/

  • Audio (Southern England):

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  • Audio (UK):

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• (General American) enPR: färt, IPA^(key): /fɑɹt/

  • Audio (Western US):

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• Rhymes: -ɑː(ɹ)t

fart (third-person singular simple present farts, present participle farting, simple past and past participle farted)

1. (informal, impolite, intransitive) To emit digestive gases from the anus; to flatulate.

   Synonyms: beef, blow off, break wind, cut one loose, cut the cheese, flatulate, toot, pass gas, pass wind; see also Thesaurus:flatulate

   • 1728, Jonathan Swift, A Dialogue between Mad Mullinix and Timothy‎^[1]:

     I fart with twenty ladies by; / They call me beast; and what care I?

2. (informal, impolite, intransitive, usually as "fart around") To waste time with idle and inconsequential tasks; to go about one's activities in a lackadaisical manner; to be lazy or over-relaxed in one's manner or bearing.

   Synonyms: futz, fool around, fool about

3. (figuratively, transitive) To emit (fumes, gases, etc.).
   • 1988, Peter Carey, chapter 95, in Oscar and Lucinda‎^[2], London: Faber and Faber, published 1989, page 457:

     Above his head the funnel farted black soot into the sky.

   • 2014, Marlon James, A Brief History of Seven Killings‎^[3], New York: Riverhead Books, page 139:

     We’ve been stuck behind a Ford Escort farting black smoke for ten minutes.

This term, although considered somewhat impolite, is not generally considered vulgar. It once was, and there still may be some that do consider it to be, so it is best avoided in polite discourse.

fart (plural farts)

a fart (sense 1)

2. (informal, impolite) An emission of digestive gases from the anus; a flatus. [from 15th c.]

   I think I heard a fart. Was it you, Nigel?

   Silent farts are often the smelliest.

   • 1603, Michel de Montaigne, chapter 12, in John Florio, transl., The Essayes […], book II, London: […] Val[entine] Simmes for Edward Blount […], →OCLC:

     Metrocles somewhat indiscreetly, as he was disputing in his Schole, in presence of his auditory, let a fart, for shame whereof he afterwards kept his house and could not be drawen abroad […].

3. (colloquial, impolite, derogatory) An irritating person; a fool.
4. (colloquial, impolite, derogatory, potentially offensive) (usually as "old fart") An elderly person; especially one perceived to hold old-fashioned views.
5. (Maine) One who is inflexibly meticulous.

• (emission of gases): See Thesaurus:flatus

• TRAF, RTFA, frat, raft, traf, FRTA, tarf

Inherited from Latin fartus. Compare Spanish harto.

• IPA^(key): (Central, Balearic) [ˈfart]
• IPA^(key): (Valencia) [ˈfaɾt]
• Rhymes: -aɾt

fart (feminine farta, masculine plural farts, feminine plural fartes)

1. stuffed
2. fed up

• afartar
• fartaner

• “fart” in Diccionari de la llengua catalana, segona edició, Institut d’Estudis Catalans.

From Middle Low German vart, cognate with Dutch vaart, German Fahrt, Old Norse ferð. Doublet of færd (“journey”).

• IPA^(key): /farˀt/, [ˈfɑˀd̥]

fart c (singular definite farten, plural indefinite farter)

1. (uncountable) speed

   Synonym: (non-technical contexts) hastighed

   Mange trafikulykker sker på grund af for høj fart. ― Many accidents happen because of excessive speed.

2. (physics) speed (magnitude of velocity, if seen as a vector)
3. (sailing) trip; journey; trade.

   Der er en stigning i antallet af farter mellem Asien og Europa. ― There is an increase in the number of trades between Asia and Europe.

   At være på farten. ― To be on the move.

• “fart” in Den Danske Ordbog

Probably from Norwegian fart (“travel, velocity, speed”), from Middle Low German vart, Old High German vart, from Proto-Germanic *fardiz. Related to German Fahrt (“journey, ride”).

• IPA^(key): /faʁ/

• Audio:

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fart m (plural farts)

1. wax (for skis)

• fartage
• farter

• “fart”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

far +‎ -t

• IPA^(key): [ˈfɒrt]
• Hyphenation: fart

fart

1. accusative singular of far

Borrowed from Danish fart.

• IPA^(key): /far̥t/
• Rhymes: -ar̥t

fart f (genitive singular fartar, no plural)

1. (informal) speed

   Það er nú meiri fartin á þér, drengur! ― My, you sure seem to be in a hurry, son!

fart

1. fart
   • late 14th century, Geoffrey Chaucer, The Miller's Tale, The Canterbury Tales, line 3806-3810:

     This Nicholas anon leet flee a fart,
     As greet as it had been a thonder-dent,
     That with the strook he was almost y-blent;
     And he was redy with his iren hoot,
     And Nicholas amidde the ers he smoot.

     This Nicholas immediately let fly a fart
     As great as if it had been a thunder-bolt,
     So that with the stroke he was almost blinded;
     And he was ready with his hot iron,
     And he smote Nicholas in the middle of the ass.

From Middle Low German vart, related to fare (“fare, travel”).

fart f or m (definite singular farta or farten, indefinite plural farter, definite plural fartene)

1. velocity, speed

   Synonyms: hastighet, tempo

2. movement, motion

   Synonyms: bevegelse, gang

3. transportation

   Synonyms: ferdsel, reise, tur

4. high speed, vigor, drive

   Synonyms: driv, fres, liv

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

fart

1. past participle of fare

• “fart” in The Bokmål Dictionary.
• “fart” in The Ordnett Dictionary

From Middle Low German vart.

• IPA^(key): /fɑrt/

fart f or m (definite singular farten or farta, indefinite plural farter or fartar, definite plural fartene or fartane)

1. speed, velocity
2. movement, motion
3. transport, transportation, traffic

• “fart” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.

• vart

From Proto-West Germanic *fardi, from Proto-Germanic *fardiz, whence also Old English fierd, Old Norse ferð.

fart f

1. trip
2. ride

• German: Fahrt

Borrowed from German Fahrt, from Middle High German fart, from Old High German vart, from Proto-West Germanic *fardi, from Proto-Germanic *fardiz.

• IPA^(key): /ˈfart/

• Audio:

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• Rhymes: -art
• Syllabification: fart

fart m inan

1. (colloquial) luck

   Synonym: szczęście

   Antonyms: niefart, pech

2. (colloquial) fluke; stroke of luck

   Synonyms: fuks, łut szczęścia

• fart in Wielki słownik języka polskiego, Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN
• fart in Polish dictionaries at PWN

From Middle Low German vart, from Old Saxon fard. Cognate with Dutch vaart, German Fahrt. Doublet of färd.

• Audio (Gotland); “en fart”:

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fart c

1. speed
   • 1917, Bible, Jeremiah 48:16:

     Snart kommer Moabs ofärd, och hans olycka hastar fram med fart.

     Soon comes Moab’s calamity, and his misery hastes with speed.

   • 1944, Pär Lagerkvist, Dvärgen; translated as Alexandra Dick, transl., The Dwarf, 1945:

     Jag ropade åt körsvennen att sätta upp farten, han klatschade med piskan och vi for iväg.

     I called to the driver to increase his pace; he cracked his whip and we rolled on.

• As a suffix in certain compounds (listed separately below) this word takes on the meaning of "road", "ramp" or "journey", just like German Fahrt or Swedish färd, rather than the standalone meaning of speed. Similar compounds with the suffix -färd exist, with slightly different meaning.
• In many compounds and in more formal or scientific use, speed translates to hastighet (“velocity”) rather than fart.

Compounds with the meaning of road, ramp, or journey

• fort
• hastighet
• kareta

• fart in Svensk ordbok (SO)
• fart in Svenska Akademiens ordlista (SAOL)
• fart in Svenska Akademiens ordbok (SAOB)