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Added 7 October 2026

fake

/feɪ̯k/ noun

First recorded: 1775 Wiktionary

noun Definition from WordNet 3.1, Princeton University. Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about fake at Wordnik → Where our words come from →

Something that is a counterfeit; not what it seems to be.
A person who makes deceitful pretenses.
(football) a deceptive move made by a football player.

verb

Make a copy of with the intent to deceive.
he faked the signature
Tamper, with the purpose of deception.
Fudge the figures
Speak insincerely or without regard for facts or truths.
The politician was not well prepared for the debate and faked it

adjective

Fraudulent; having a misleading appearance.
Not genuine or real; being an imitation of the genuine article.
it isn't fake anything; it's real synthetic fur

Origin

The origin is not known with certainty, although first attested in 1775 C.E. in British criminals' slang. It is probably from feak, feague (“to give a better appearance through artificial means, spruce up, embellish”), itself from German Low German fegen, from Middle Low German vēgen, from Old Saxon fegōn, from Proto-West Germanic *fegōn (“to clean up, polish”). Akin to Dutch veeg (“a swipe”), Dutch vegen (“to sweep, wipe”); German fegen (“to sweep, to polish”). Compare also Old English fācn (“deceit, fraud”). Perhaps related also to Old Norse fjúka (“to fade, vanquish, disappear”), Old Norse feikn (“strange, scary, unnatural”).

From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)

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