Plagiarism

How to spell plagiarism

10 letters · 4 syllables

How to pronounce plagiarism

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does plagiarism mean?

1. nounThe act of presenting someone else's words, ideas, or work as your own.

Plagiarism in a sentence

• The university expelled him for plagiarism after he copied an entire thesis.

• Software now scans every essay for signs of plagiarism before grading.

Where does plagiarism come from?

Language of origin: Latin

The word traces back to the Latin plagiarius, which literally meant 'a kidnapper' or 'one who abducts the child or slave of another'. That noun grew from plagium, meaning 'kidnapping', which in turn came from plaga, a 'net' or 'snare' used to trap people or animals. The leap to literary theft was made by the Roman poet Martial in the first century, who complained that a rival had stolen his verses and mockingly called him a plagiarius, as if the poems were captives carried off against their will. English picked up the idea in the early 1600s, forming 'plagiary' for both the act and the offender, and the modern noun plagiarism settled into place by the middle of that century. Remembering the kidnapping image helps with the spelling: the tricky middle keeps the Latin 'plagi-' intact, so it is plagi-arism, not 'plagerism'.

How the word is built

• plagiar- (from Latin plagiarius: kidnapper, abductor)
• -ism (practice or condition)