counterfeit

[koun-ter-fit] Origin

coun·ter·feit

[koun-ter-fit]
adjective
1.
made in imitation so as to be passed off fraudulently or deceptively as genuine; not genuine; forged: counterfeit dollar bills.
2.
pretended; unreal: counterfeit grief.
noun
3.
an imitation intended to be passed off fraudulently or deceptively as genuine; forgery.
4.
Archaic. a copy.
5.
Archaic. a close likeness; portrait.
6.
Obsolete. impostor; pretender.

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Counterfeit is an SAT word you need to know.
So is dragnet. Does it mean:
that may be allowed or conceded
net cast out to catch everything in its wake
verb (used with object)
7.
to make a counterfeit of; imitate fraudulently; forge.
8.
to resemble.
9.
to simulate.
verb (used without object)
10.
to make counterfeits, as of money.
11.
to feign; dissemble.

Origin:
1250–1300; (adj.) Middle English countrefet false, forged < Anglo-French cuntrefet, Old French contrefait, past participle of conterfere to copy, imitate, equivalent to conter- counter- + fere to make, do ≪ Latin facere (see fact); (v.) Middle English countrefeten, verbal derivative of countrefet

coun·ter·feit·er, noun
coun·ter·feit·ly, adverb
coun·ter·feit·ness, noun
non·coun·ter·feit, adjective
un·coun·ter·feit·ed, adjective


1. spurious, bogus. See false. 2. sham, feigned, simulated, fraudulent; mock, fake, ersatz. 3. falsification, sham. 7. copy; falsify.

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Collins
World English Dictionary
counterfeit (ˈkaʊntəfɪt)
 
adj
1.  made in imitation of something genuine with the intent to deceive or defraud; forged
2.  simulated; sham: counterfeit affection
 
n
3.  an imitation designed to deceive or defraud
4.  archaic an impostor; cheat
 
vb
5.  (tr) to make a fraudulent imitation of
6.  (intr) to make counterfeits
7.  to feign; simulate
8.  (tr) to imitate; copy
 
[C13: from Old French contrefait, from contrefaire to copy, from contre-counter- + faire to make, from Latin facere]
 
'counterfeiter
 
n

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History

counterfeit
late 13c., from O.Fr. contrefait "imitated," pp. of contrefaire "imitate," from contre- "against" + faire "to make, to do" (from L. facere; see factitious). M.L. contrafactio meant "setting in opposition or contrast." The verb is from late 13c.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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