Word.ws English Dictionary

plagiary

/ˈpleɪdʒ(ɪ)əɹi/

plagiary noun: the crime of literary theft; plagiarism.

Noun

plagiary (countable and uncountable, plural plagiaries)

  1. The crime of literary theft; plagiarism.
    • accounted Plagiary1649, J[ohn] Milton, ΕΙΚΟΝΟΚΛΆΣΤΗΣ [Eikonoklástēs] […], London: […] Matthew Simmons, […], →OCLC
    • Plagiarie had not its nativity with printing; but began in times when thefts were difficult, and the paucity of books ſcarce wanted that invention.1650, Thomas Browne, “Of Adherence unto Antiquity”, in Pseudodoxia Epidemica: […], 2nd edition, London: […] A[braham] Miller, for Edw[ard] Dod and Nath[aniel] Ekins, […], →OCLC, 1st book, page 16
  2. (archaic) A plagiarist.
    • He [Ben Jonson] vvas not onely a profeſſed Imitator of Horace, but a learned Plagiary of all the others; you track him every vvhere in their Snovv: […]1668, John Dryden, Of Dramatick Poesie, an Essay, London: […] [Thomas Newcombe] for Henry Herringman, […], →OCLC, page 14
    • Without Invention a Painter is but a Copier, and a Poet but a Plagiary of others.1695, John Dryden, “Preface of the Translator, with a Parallel, of Poetry and Painting”, in C[harles] A[lphonse] du Fresnoy, De Arte Graphica. The Art of Painting, […], London: […] J[ohn] Heptinstall...
  3. (obsolete) A kidnapper.

Adjective

plagiary (not comparable)

  1. (archaic) plagiarizing
    • The busy bee is his classical device, and the simile confesses and justifies his plundering propensities; but the plagiary poet who steals ideas is represented by another insect, […]1863, The Home and Foreign Review, number 5, page 87

plagiary meaning in Bengali

plagiary in Bengali

সাহিত্য চুরির অপরাধ, কুম্ভীলকবৃত্তি, একজন কুম্ভীলক, একজন অপহরণকারী, সাহিত্য চুরি করছে এমন

Forms of plagiary

pluralplagiaries
alternative formplagiarie

Origin of plagiary

From Latin plagiārius (“kidnapper, plagiarist”), from plagium (“kidnapping”), probably from plaga (“a net, snare, trap”).

Words formed from plagiary

Questions about plagiary

What does plagiary mean?
Plagiary means the crime of literary theft; plagiarism.
What is plagiary in Bengali?
Plagiary in Bengali is সাহিত্য চুরির অপরাধ, কুম্ভীলকবৃত্তি, একজন কুম্ভীলক. See Plagiary meaning in Bengali.
What part of speech is plagiary?
Plagiary can be a noun or an adjective.
How do you pronounce plagiary?
Plagiary is pronounced /ˈpleɪdʒ(ɪ)əɹi/ (UK).
What is the plural of plagiary?
The plural of plagiary is plagiaries.

Words near plagiary in the dictionary

  1. plagiarizer
  2. plagiarizers
  3. plagiarizes
  4. plagiarizing
  5. plagiarizings
  6. plagiary
  7. plagiator
  8. plagiators
  9. plagiaulacid
  10. plagiaulacids
  11. plagihedral

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: plagiary (page history and authors); plagiary (Bengali Wiktionary) (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-plagiary.wav.

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