Spurious
/ˈspjʊəriəs/noun
False, fake, or not genuine.
Did you know?Spurious comes through Latin spurius, a word used for something illegitimate or false, and its deeper origin is uncertain, which makes it one of those rare everyday words with a shadowy etymological trail.
Etymological Timeline
Modern English
English
spurious
“false, counterfeit, not genuine”
Late Latin
Latin
spurius
“illegitimate; false; bastard-born”
Classical Latin
Latin
spurius
“illegitimate, of uncertain paternity”
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
unknown
“ultimate origin uncertain”
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