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counterfeiting

 - 5 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.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To counterfeiting
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.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

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.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Legal Dictionary

Main Entry: 3counterfeit
Function: noun
: something counterfeit counterfeits of any coins or obligations —U.S. Code> —compare FORGERY
Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of Law, © 1996 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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Encyclopedia

counterfeiting

manufacture of false money for gain, a kind of forgery in that something is copied so as to defraud by passing it for the original or genuine article. Because of the value conferred on money and the high level of technical skill required to imitate it, counterfeiting is singled out from other acts of forgery and is treated as a separate crime

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Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008. Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
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