plagiarism

noun

pla·​gia·​rism ˈplā-jə-ˌri-zəm How to pronounce plagiarism (audio)
 also  -jē-ə-
1
: an act or instance of plagiarizing
2
: something plagiarized
plagiarist
ˈplā-jə-rist How to pronounce plagiarism (audio)
 also  -jē-ə
noun
plagiaristic
ˌplā-jə-ˈri-stik How to pronounce plagiarism (audio)
 also  -jē-ə-
adjective

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Common Misspellings

plagarism, plagerism, plagirism

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The Kidnapping Roots of Plagiarize

If schools wish to impress upon their students how serious an offense plagiarism is, they might start with an explanation of the word’s history. Plagiarize (and plagiarism) comes from the Latin plagiarius “kidnapper.” This word, derived from the Latin plaga (“a net used by hunters to catch game”), extended its meaning in Latin to include a person who stole the words, rather than the children, of another. When plagiarius first entered English in the form plagiary, it kept its original reference to kidnapping, a sense that is now quite obsolete.

Examples of plagiarism in a Sentence

The student has been accused of plagiarism.
Recent Examples on the Web The legal definition of plagiarism is broad and ambiguous, and boils down to unacknowledged copying. Tatiana Siegel, Variety, 9 Mar. 2024 The report comes just weeks after Gay resigned from her position as Harvard president following backlash for her testimony at a December congressional hearing about antisemitism as well as compounding allegations of plagiarism. Char Adams, NBC News, 31 Jan. 2024 She was also investigated for allegations of plagiarism. Chris Isidore, CNN, 21 Feb. 2024 Harvard President Claudine Gay resigned from her post earlier this month after drawing criticism for her December congressional testimony on the university's response to rising antisemitism on campus, as well as allegations of plagiarism in her academic work. Aimee Picchi, CBS News, 31 Jan. 2024 Gay has also faced accusations of plagiarism in old academic work. Nadine El-Bawab, ABC News, 30 Jan. 2024 Earlier this month, Harvard President Claudine Gay stepped down amid discoveries of plagiarism in her work as well as denunciations of her administration’s diversity, equity, and inclusion policies. Ian Bogost, The Atlantic, 30 Jan. 2024 Harvard is still struggling to resolve tensions even after President Claudine Gay resigned this month amid an onslaught of criticism over her response to antisemitism, as well as accusations of plagiarism in her scholarship. Janet Lorin, Fortune, 30 Jan. 2024 The greatest damage that Ackman’s tweets have done may be to the debate over academic plagiarism. Michael Hiltzik, Los Angeles Times, 16 Jan. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'plagiarism.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1621, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of plagiarism was in 1621

Dictionary Entries Near plagiarism

Cite this Entry

“Plagiarism.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/plagiarism. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

plagiarism

noun
pla·​gia·​rism ˈplā-jə-ˌriz-əm How to pronounce plagiarism (audio)
1
: an act of plagiarizing
2
: something plagiarized
plagiarist noun
plagiaristic adjective

More from Merriam-Webster on plagiarism

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