Etymology

plagiary

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Today it means: The crime of literary theft; plagiarism. Full definition →

Latin plagiārius ← Proto-Indo-European *pleḱ-
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The story

  1. Proto-Indo-European*pel-
  2. Proto-Indo-European*pleḱ-
  3. Latinplagium
  4. Latinplagiārius
  5. English todayplagiary

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

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.