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counterfeit - 10 dictionary results

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.
–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.) ME countrefet false, forged < AF cuntrefet, OF contrefait, ptp. of conterfere to copy, imitate, equiv. to conter- counter- + fere to make, do ≪ L facere (see fact ); (v.) ME countrefeten, v. deriv. of countrefet


coun⋅ter⋅feit⋅er, noun
coun⋅ter⋅feit⋅ly, adverb
coun⋅ter⋅feit⋅ness, noun


1. spurious, bogus. See false. 2. sham, feigned, simulated, fraudulent; mock, fake, ersatz. 3. falsification, sham. 7. copy; falsify.
coun·ter·feit   (koun'tər-fĭt')   
v.   coun·ter·feit·ed, coun·ter·feit·ing, coun·ter·feits

v.   tr.
  1. To make a copy of, usually with the intent to defraud; forge: counterfeits money.
  2. To make a pretense of; feign: counterfeited interest in the story.
v.   intr.
  1. To carry on a deception; dissemble.
  2. To make fraudulent copies of something valuable.
adj.  
  1. Made in imitation of what is genuine with the intent to defraud: a counterfeit dollar bill.
  2. Simulated; feigned: a counterfeit illness.
n.  A fraudulent imitation or facsimile.

[Middle English countrefeten, from contrefet, made in imitation, from Old French contrefait, past participle of contrefaire, to counterfeit : contre-, counter- + faire, to make (from Latin facere; see dhē- in Indo-European roots).]
coun'ter·feit'er n.

Counterfeit

Coun"ter*feit\ (koun"t?r-f?t), a. [F. contrefait, p. p. of contrefaire to counterfeit; contre (L. contra) + faire to make, fr. L. facere. See Counter, adv., and Fact.]

1. Representing by imitation or likeness; having a resemblance to something else; portrayed.

Look here upon this picture, and on this- The counterfeit presentment of two brothers. --Shak.

2. Fabricated in imitation of something else, with a view to defraud by passing the false copy for genuine or original; as, counterfeit antiques; counterfeit coin. "No counterfeit gem." --Robinson (More's Utopia).

3. Assuming the appearance of something; false; spurious; deceitful; hypocritical; as, a counterfeit philanthropist. "An arrant counterfeit rascal." --Shak.

Syn: Forged; fictitious; spurious; false.

Counterfeit

Coun"ter*feit\, n. 1. That which resembles or is like another thing; a likeness; a portrait; a counterpart.

Thou drawest a counterfeit Best in all Athens. --Shak.

Even Nature's self envied the same, And grudged to see the counterfeit should shame The thing itself. --Spenser.

2. That which is made in imitation of something, with a view to deceive by passing the false for the true; as, the bank note was a counterfeit.

Never call a true piece of gold a counterfeit. --Shak.

Some of these counterfeits are fabricated with such exquisite taste and skill, that it is the achievement of criticism to distinguish them from originals. --Macaulay.

3. One who pretends to be what he is not; one who personates another; an impostor; a cheat.

I fear thou art another counterfeit; And yet, in faith, thou bear'st thee like a king. --Shak.

Counterfeit

Coun"ter*feit\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Counterfeited; p. pr. & vb. n. Counterfeiting.]

1. To imitate, or put on a semblance of; to mimic; as, to counterfeit the voice of another person.

Full well they laughed with counterfeited glee At all his jokes, for many a joke had he. --Goldsmith.

2. To imitate with a view to deceiving, by passing the copy for that which is original or genuine; to forge; as, to counterfeit the signature of another, coins, notes, etc.

Counterfeit

Coun"ter*feit\, v. i. 1. To carry on a deception; to dissemble; to feign; to pretend.

The knave counterfeits well; a good knave. --Shak.

2. To make counterfeits.
Language Translation for : counterfeit
Spanish: falsificado,
German: gefälscht,
Japanese: 偽造の

counterfeit  (v.)
1292, 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 c.1290.

Main Entry: 1coun·ter·feit
Pronunciation: 'kaun-t&r-"fit
Function: adjective
Etymology: Middle French contrefait, past participle of contrefaire to imitate, draw, paint, from contre- counter- + faire to make
: made in imitation of a genuine article (as a document) without authorization and esp. with intent to deceive or defraud

Main Entry: 2counterfeit
Function: transitive verb
: to make an imitation of without authorization and esp. with intent to deceive or defraud counterfeits any deed —U.S. Code> —coun·ter·feit·er noun

Main Entry: 3counterfeit
Function: noun
: something counterfeit counterfeits of any coins or obligations —U.S. Code> —compare FORGERY
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