fictitious (adj.)

1610s, "artificial, counterfeit;" 1620s, "existing only in imagination," from Medieval Latin fictitius, a misspelling of Latin ficticius "artificial, counterfeit," from fictus "feigned, fictitious, false," past participle of fingere "to shape, form, devise, feign" (from PIE root *dheigh- "to form, build"). Related: Fictitiously; fictitiousness.

also from 1610s

Entries linking to fictitious

fictional (adj.)

"pertaining to fiction," 1833, from fiction + -al (1). Earlier fictitious also was used in this sense (1773).

*dheigh-

Proto-Indo-European root meaning "to form, build."

It forms all or part of: configure; dairy; dey (n.1) "female servant, housekeeper, maid;" disfigure; dough; effigy; faineant; faint; feign; feint; fictile; fiction; fictitious; figment; figure; figurine; lady; paradise; prefigure; thixotropy; transfigure.

It is the hypothetical source of/evidence for its existence is provided by: Sanskrit dehah "body," literally "that which is formed," dih- "to besmear;" Greek teikhos "wall;" Latin fingere "to form, fashion," figura "a shape, form, figure;" Old Irish digen "firm, solid," originally "kneaded into a compact mass;" Gothic deigan "to smear," Old English dag, Gothic daigs "dough."

Trends of fictitious

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false

late Old English, "intentionally untrue, lying," of religion, "not of the true faith, not in accord with Christian doctrines," from Old French fals, faus "false, fake; incorrect, mistaken; treacherous, deceitful" (12c., Modern French faux), from Latin falsus "deceptive, feigned,

sham

1670s, "a trick put upon one, a hoax, a fraud, something that deludes or disappoints expectation," a word of uncertain origin. Along with the verb ("to cheat, trick") and the adjective ("false, pretended"), the word burst into use about 1677 according to OED. Perhaps they are fro

John Doe

fictitious plaintiff in a legal action, attested from 1768 (in Blackstone). The fictitious defendant was Richard Roe....being used for "any man whose name is not known;" Britain tended to preserve it in the narrower legal sense "name of the fictitious...

adumbrate

1580s, "to outline, to sketch," from Latin adumbratus "sketched, shadowed in outline," also "feigned, unreal, sham, fictitious...

Taser

1972, formed (probably on model of laser, etc.) from the initials of Tom Swift's electric rifle, a fictitious weapon....

nom

It is used in various phrases in English, such as nom de guerre (1670s) "fictitious name used by a person engaged in some...

novel

"fictitious prose narrative," 1560s, from Italian novella "short story," originally "new story, news," from Latin novella...

put-on

"ruse, deception," 1937, from earlier adjectival meaning "assumed, feigned" (1620s), a figurative extension of the verbal phrase on the notion of putting on costumes or disguises. To put on (v.), of clothes, garments, etc., is by early 15c.; see from put (v.) + on (adv.). Hence "

mash

"soft mixture, mass of ingredients beaten or stirred together," late Old English *masc (in masc-wyrt "mash-wort, infused malt"), from Proto-Germanic *maisk- (source also of Swedish mäsk "grains for pigs," German Maisch "crushed grapes, infused malt," Old English meox "dung, filth

put

Middle English putten, from late Old English *putian, "to thrust, push, shove" (someone or something; a sense now obsolete), also "to move or a thing physically so as to place it in some situation," implied in putung "instigation, an urging," literally "a putting;" related to pyt

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updated on September 28, 2017

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Dictionary entries near fictitious

fictile

fiction

fictional

fictionalization

fictionalize

fictitious

fictive

ficus

-fid

fiddle

fiddle-faddle