fait accomplin.
/ˌfeɪt əˈkɒmpli/, /ˌfɛt əˈkɒmpli/, /ˌfeɪt əkɒmˈpliː/, /ˌfɛt əkɒmˈpliː/, U.S. /ˌfeɪt əˌkɑmˈpli/, /ˌfɛt əˌkɑmˈpli/ An accomplished fact; an action which is completed (and irreversible) before affected parties learn of its having been undertaken.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > carrying out > [noun] > an accomplished action
accomplished fact1811
fait accompli1845
1845 R. Ford Hand-bk. Travellers in Spain I. iii. 337 This is now a fait accompli.
1872 E. Braddon Life in India v. 179 After the overland route was a fait accompli, the rules of the services..restricted the servants of the East India Company from enjoying much of their leave westward of the Cape of Good Hope.
1895 Bow Bells 16 Aug. 177/2 It will be very interesting to see..whether various other suggestions..will also become fait accompli.
1905 Mrs. H. Ward Marriage of William Ashe ii. viii. 139 Elizabeth knew that his appearance in the conversation invariably meant a fait accompli of some sort.
1906 W. De Morgan Joseph Vance xxxiv. 337 And Janey knew she was herself, so that no explanation seemed necessary. A fait accompli has leisure to wait for an official raison d'être.
1955 Times 6 Aug. 5/2 He did not propose to proceed by surprise or stealth, or to bind his hands and renounce the prerogatives of the executive. He could give an assurance to the parties represented in the majority that the Government would never be presented with a fait accompli.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1933; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.1845