faireavoir

Faireavoir is a historical French verb that denotes the act of informing or making something known to others. In modern French, the standard expression is the two-word faire savoir, while fairevoir as a single verb form is rarely attested and is generally regarded as obsolete or literary. The term appears in older texts, legal charters, and some philological sources, where it conveys a similar sense to faire savoir but with a more archaic or formal tone.

Etymologically, faireavoir is a compound built from faire (to do or make) and savoir (to know). Literally, it can be read as “to cause to know,” aligning with the meaning of bringing information to knowledge. Because it is largely superseded by the regular construction faire savoir, faireavoir is mainly of interest for historical study, philology, or the analysis of early modern administrative language.

Usage and status: today, faireavoir is considered obsolete or marginal in French. It may be encountered in studies of historical documents or in discussions of how information was formally communicated in earlier periods. For contemporary writers and speakers, faire savoir remains the preferred idiom for conveying notification or information, while faireavoir is typically reserved for scholarly clarification or stylistic reference. See also: faire savoir, informer, notifier.