Word of the Day

: May 31, 2009

spurious

adjective SPYUR-ee-us

What It Means

1 : of illegitimate birth

2 : not genuine : false

spurious in Context

Reid’s claim that his grandfather was friends with Mickey Mantle sounded spurious to me, and I didn't believe it until he showed me a photo of his grandfather alongside the legendary slugger.

Did You Know?

The classical Latin adjective "spurius" started out as a word meaning "illegitimate." In the days of ancient Rome, it was sometimes even used as a first name for illegitimate offspring (apparently with no dire effects). There was a certain Spurius Lucretius, for example, who was made temporary magistrate of Rome. In less tolerant times, 18th-century English writer Horace Walpole noted that Henry VII "came of the spurious stock of John of Gaunt." Today, we still use "spurious" to mean "illegitimate," but the more common meaning is "false" (a sense introduced to "spurious" in Late Latin). Originally our "false" sense emphasized improper origin, and it still often does ("a spurious signature"), but it can also simply mean "fake" or "not real."