Meaning & use
pseudepigrapha
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Meanings
nounpluraltechnicalreligion
Ancient religious texts credited to famous figures of the past, though scholars believe they were written by other, later authors.
Grammar: Plural form, usually with a plural verb: the pseudepigrapha were widely read. The singular is pseudepigraphon.
Patterns
- the pseudepigrapha of something
The Book of Enoch is one of the best-known pseudepigrapha.
She wrote her thesis on Jewish pseudepigrapha from the Second Temple period.
Scholars study the pseudepigrapha to understand beliefs outside the official canon.
nounpluraltechnical
Any writings falsely attributed to a well-known author, not only religious ones.
Grammar: Used more broadly in literary studies, still in the plural.
Several medieval pseudepigrapha were published under the name of Aristotle.
The library holds pseudepigrapha that older catalogs listed as genuine.
Detecting pseudepigrapha requires close study of style and history.
Word forms
| singular | pseudepigraphon |
|---|
Common combinations
- Old Testament pseudepigrapha
- The Old Testament pseudepigrapha include many apocalyptic works.
- Jewish pseudepigrapha
- Jewish pseudepigrapha were often attributed to ancient heroes.
- study the pseudepigrapha
- He chose to study the pseudepigrapha.
- early Christian pseudepigrapha
- Early Christian pseudepigrapha include gospels and letters.
Synonyms and how they differ
- forgeries
- Forgeries implies deliberate deception, but pseudepigrapha may have been written in honor of the figure rather than to cheat.
- apocrypha
- Apocrypha means texts left out of a canon, whereas pseudepigrapha means texts falsely credited to someone.
- spurious works
- Spurious works is a general phrase for falsely attributed writing, and sounds less specialist.
Opposites
Word family
- pseudepigraphon noun
- a single falsely attributed work
- pseudepigraphal adjective
- falsely attributed
- pseudepigraphy noun
- the practice of falsely crediting writing to others
- pseudonym noun
- a false name, from the same Greek root pseudo
Commonly confused: pseudepigrapha or apocrypha?
pseudepigrapha vs apocrypha
Apocrypha refers to books of doubtful status that some traditions include in the Bible; pseudepigrapha are books that are not in it and carry false authors.
Practice
A scholar says a text attributed to Moses was actually written centuries later by an unknown writer. She would call it one of the ___.
Choose one answer.
Pseudepigrapha are writings falsely credited to a figure. Epigraphs are short quotations at the start of a work, and pseudonyms are false names, not texts.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “pseudepigrapha”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.