# kayfabe

> English word · Noun · IPA /ˈkeɪfeɪb/ · frequency rank #82,447

## Definitions
1. The act, situation, or code of portraying staged events, performances, rivalries, etc as authentic or spontaneous.
2. Similar fakery or suspension of disbelief in other contexts.

## Etymology
Unknown, but attributed to US carnival slang (carny), usually as a purposefully obscure variant of the admonition “be fake” formed through backslang or mangled pig Latin. Also sometimes attributed to an alteration of cave (Latin for “beware”), keep cavey (“stay alert”), or an eponymous figure named Kay Fabe or Kay Fabian.

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/kayfabe