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
Philip Elliott, TIME, 31 Oct. 2024
The rapid improvement and accessibility of generative AI music tools have sparked fears among artists regarding their use in plagiarism, copycatting, and copyright infringement.
—Jess Weatherbed, The Verge, 5 Sep. 2024
In January, Ackman had helped push Harvard president Claudine Gay out of her job amid accusations of plagiarism, charges that boomeranged on Oxman, who had to apologize for citation errors in her own Ph.D. dissertation.
—Benjamin Svetkey, The Hollywood Reporter, 9 Oct. 2024
About his plagiarisms, Handel was unapologetic, saying more or less that those people didn’t know what to do with their stuff.
—Jan Swafford, The Atlantic, 29 Oct. 2024
See all Example Sentences for plagiarism 
Dictionary Entries Near plagiarism
Cite this Entry
“Plagiarism.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/plagiarism. Accessed 21 Nov. 2024.
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