plagiarism
noun
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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
Jessica Dickler, CNBC, 4 Mar. 2025
The company checks for plagiarism before sending your final product.
—Rowan Briggs, The Mercury News, 25 Feb. 2025
The decision marks the conclusion of a five-year legal battle, and the first time ta foreign artist has won a plagiarism case against a Chinese artist in a Chinese court.
—The Editors Of Artnews, ARTnews.com, 9 Jan. 2025
While academic discussions about AI often focus on preventing misuse, particularly plagiarism, this defensive approach may be too restrictive.
—Sidhant Bendre, Forbes, 20 Dec. 2024
See All Example Sentences for plagiarism
Cite this Entry
“Plagiarism.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/plagiarism. Accessed 12 Mar. 2025.
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