counterfeit

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˈkawntəˌfɪt/ (UK); /ˈkaʊn.tɚˌfɪt/ (US)^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English countrefet, borrowed from Old French contrefait (“imitated”), the past participle of contrefaire “to imitate”,^{[2][3][4][5][6]} from Old French contre- (“against, counter-”) + faire (“to make”),^{[2][3][4][5][6]} the latter from Latin facere (“to make, do”).^[2][4][5]

Earliest recorded meaning

As an adjective, made in imitation of something genuine, forged (1292);^[7] as a verb, to pretend or feign (c. 1300–25).^[3][4][7]

Semantic evolution

Weekley notes that the word did not at first necessarily suggest fraud.^[4] Early senses included “made to a pattern, fashioned” (1463) and “represented in a picture” (1589), and the noun could mean a likeness or portrait.^[7][6] From the late 14th century the verb meant to make a copy of something without right, especially to deceive or defraud,^[4][7] as in forging coins or banknotes.^[7][5] As a noun, “an imitation designed to pass as the original”, it is recorded from 1397.^[3][4]

Timeline

• 1292 – adjective, imitated, forged.^[7]
• c. 1325 – verb, to feign a feeling or quality.^[7]
• c. 1386 – verb, to forge coins or writings.^[7]
• 1393 – adjective, feigned, sham.^[7][3]
• 1397 – noun, a forgery.^[3]

Modern meaning

Adjective

1. Made in imitation of something genuine with intent to deceive; forged, as in counterfeit money.
2. Pretended; feigned or insincere, as in counterfeit grief.

Noun

1. A fraudulent imitation; a forgery or fake.
2. (archaic) A likeness or portrait.

Verb

1. To make a fraudulent copy of; to forge.
2. To pretend or feign.
3. To deceive by pretence; to dissemble.

Word family

• counterfeiter

Related words

• forgery
• fake
• feat
• feature
• fact

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
3. ^ a b c d e f Barnhart, Robert K., ed. (1995), The Barnhart Concise Dictionary of Etymology, New York: HarperCollins
4. ^ a b c d e f g Harper, Douglas, Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
5. ^ a b c d Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
6. ^ a b c Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary (1999), 2nd ed., New York: Random House
7. ^ a b c d e f g h i Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press