de facto meaning: definition, etymology and quotations

de facto

adv

UK /ˌdeɪˈfæktəʊ/ · US /ˌdeɪˈfæktoʊ/

Etymology Unadapted borrowing from Latin dē factō (literally “according to fact”), from dē (“according to”) + ablative of factum (“fact, deed, act”).

Modal In actual use or existence, regardless of official or legal status.

de facto

adj

Etymology Unadapted borrowing from Latin dē factō (literally “according to fact”), from dē (“according to”) + ablative of factum (“fact, deed, act”).

In actual use or existence, regardless of official or legal status.

While it is largely recognized that Ukraine holds de jure sovereignty on Crimea, Russia exercises de facto administration on the peninsula.
To avoid conflicts (and associated delays and distractions) with other ministries' minions in Vladivostok, Chief Engineer Iugovich moved his headquarters to Harbin in 1898. Within fifteen years, a transportation hub with more than 100,000 inhabitants had sprung up. Its size and importance were commensurate with its de facto role as the provincial capital of Russian Manchuria.1995, David Wolff, “Russia Finds Its Limits: Crossing Borders into Manchuria”, in Stephen Kotkin, David Wolff, editors, Rediscovering Russia in Asia : Siberia and the Russian Far East, M.E. Sharpe, →ISBN, →LCCN, →OCLC, page 45:

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Taiwan held a ceremony on Thursday to commission the first squadron of its most advanced F-16 fighter, a US-made jet that will strengthen the island's defences against threats by China. President Tsai Ing-wen oversaw the ceremony at an air base in the southern city of Chiayi alongside Sandra Oudkirk, Washington's de facto ambassador to Taiwan.2021 November 18, “Taiwan deploys first advanced F-16V fighter squadron”, in France 24, archived from the original on 18 Nov 2021:

Derived terms: de facto corporation, de facto partner, de facto union

de facto

noun

Etymology Unadapted borrowing from Latin dē factō (literally “according to fact”), from dē (“according to”) + ablative of factum (“fact, deed, act”).

Australia, New Zealand A legally undeclared spouse; a partner in a spousal relationship which is not officially declared as a marriage, comparable to a common law husband or wife.

One of the vendors was simple and straight; he said that it was his policy not to rent a house to de factos.1984, Sotirios Sarantakos, Living Together in Australia, page 141:
An incidental sideline to this little farce, I suppose we can call it, is that the Opposition, in this policy, seems to have reversed its so often stated policy in this place on de factos.1984, Australian Senate, Senate Weekly Hansard, volume 105, page 2213:

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2008, David de Vaus, Chapter 15: Australian Families: Social and Demographic Patterns, in Charles B. Hennon, Stephan M. Wilson (editors), Families in a Global Context, 2011, page 383, The parental rights and responsibilities of de factos are the same as for legally married parents but, because property and maintenance of de factos is a state responsibility, there are differences between married and de factos in some states.

Hyponyms: common law husband, wife

Entry derived from the Wiktionary, under licence CC BY-SA 4.0 — list of authors.