I always thought that the name "Canard" was derived from the French word for a duck, because the long length of the aircraft in front of the main wing in this layout making the configuration resemble a duck in flight.
Apparently a result of the looks of Santos-Dumonts aircraft, the 14-bis. Canard also means unfounded rumour or story, as used by Anderson in my previous.
Discussion on who was "first".
The Case for Gustave Whitehead