bogus en · ADJ
Pronunciation
- /ˈbɵʊ̯ɡəs/ (Received-Pronunciation)
- (Southern-England) audio
- /ˈboʊ̯ɡəs/ (General-American)
- /ˈbɐʉ̯ɡəs/ (Australia)
- [bɐ̝ʉ̯ɡəs] (Australia)
- /ˈbəʊ̯ɡəs/ (Received-Pronunciation)
- [ˈbɔ̝ʊ̯ɡəs] (General-American)
- [ˈbɵʊ̯ɡəs] (Received-Pronunciation)
- [bəʉ̯ɡəs] (Australia)
- audio
- (US) audio
- /ˈbɔʊ̯ɡəs/ (General-American)
- /ˈbəʉ̯ɡəs/ (Australia)
- [ˈbəʊ̯ɡəs] (Received-Pronunciation)
- [ˈboʊ̯ɡəs] (General-American)
Etymology
First attested as an underworld term for an apparatus for creating counterfeit coins, then the coins themselves. Later, the word was applied to anything of poor quality. The newest use to mean useless is probably from the slang of computer hackers. The origin is unknown, but there are at least two theories that try to trace its origin: * From Hausa boko (“to fake”). Since bogus first appeared in the United States, it may be possible that its ancestor was brought there on a slave ship. * From criminal slang as a short form of tantrabogus, a 19th-century slang term for a menacing object, making some believe that bogus might be linked to bogy or bogey (see bogeyman). In this sense, Bogus might be related to Bogle – a traditional trickster from the Scottish Borders, noted for achieving acts of household trickery; confusing, but not usually damaging.
Meanings
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Counterfeit or fake; not genuine.
The organization of “bogus companies,” started purely for the purpose of eliminating competitors, seems to have been a not infrequent practice.
1921, Burton J. Hendrick, The Age of Big Business:This was the first time that James had met with one of the bogus etymologists common at that period, who believed that the derivation of a word could be solved by finding any foreign word that sounded something like it.
1977, K.M. Elizabeth Murray, Caught in the Web of Words, Oxford: Oxford University Press, page 53:They have printed bogus despatches, and unhesitatingly used what they knew was bogus matter in a way to mislead even newspaper men.
1895, Alphonso Alva Hopkins, Wealth and Waste: The Principles of Political Economy in Their Application to the Present Problems of Labor, Law, and the Liquor Traffic, Funk & Wagnalls Company:[…] that he and David Whitmer swore falsley, stole, cheated, lied, sold bogus money, (base coin,), and also stones and sand for bogus; that letters in the post-office had been opened, read, and destroyed; and that those same men were concerned with a gang of counterfeiters, coiners, and blacklegs.
1842, Daniel Parish Kidder, Mormonism and the Mormons: A Historical View of the Rise and Progress of the Sect Self-styled Latter-Day Saints, Carlton & Lanahan:He was arrested for trying to cash a bogus check at the bank.
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(slang) Undesirable or harmful.
What Jefferson was saying was, Hey! You know, we left this England place 'cause it was bogus; so if we don't get some cool rules ourselves - pronto - we'll just be bogus too! Get it?
1982, Cameron Crowe, Fast Times at Ridgemont High, spoken by Jeff Spicoli (Sean Penn):
- (slang) Incorrect, useless, or broken.
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Of a totally fictitious issue printed for collectors, often issued on behalf of a non-existent territory or country (not to be confused with forgery, which is an illegitimate copy of a genuine stamp).
Bogus stamps are labels made to deceive stamp collectors. Many bogus stamps were made prior to 1900 when some had names of imaginary countries.
1962, Douglas Patrick, The International Guide to Stamps and Stamp Collecting: Includes the Answers to 1200 Questions Most Often Asked about Stamps:
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Based on false or misleading information or unjustified assumptions.
bogus laws
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| most bogus | Degree=Sup | lexicographic | |
| more bogus | Degree=Cmp | lexicographic |
Deriveds
bogon · Bogus Ordo · bogotic · bogusness · bogusly · bogotify · bogosity
Synonyms
phony · mock · fraudulent · bogus · illegitimate · said to be · artificial · phony as a three-dollar bill · phony · counterfeit · faux · spurious · synthetic · illegal · ingenuine · trumped-up · false · fake · forged · feigned · fabricated · pseudo · falsified · phoney · bad · concocted · unauthentic · unreal · phony-baloney · sham · bollocks · ersatz · put-up
Translations (88)
ru фальши́вый (counterfeit or fake; not genuine) · fr foireux (incorrect; useless; broken) · oc falsificat (counterfeit or fake; not genuine) · is falskur (counterfeit or fake; not genuine) · it truccato (counterfeit or fake; not genuine) · fr fichu (incorrect; useless; broken) · mi tahupera (counterfeit or fake; not genuine) · it taroccato (counterfeit or fake; not genuine) · sv falsk (counterfeit or fake; not genuine) · cs nepravý (counterfeit or fake; not genuine) · es trapicheado (counterfeit or fake; not genuine) · sv nonsens (counterfeit or fake; not genuine) · ru фикти́вный (counterfeit or fake; not genuine) · it brutto (incorrect; useless; broken) · ar زَائِف (counterfeit or fake; not genuine) · ru корявый (incorrect; useless; broken) · de Schein- (counterfeit or fake; not genuine) · oc copat (incorrect; useless; broken) · oc inutil (incorrect; useless; broken) · es pajolero (incorrect; useless; broken) · fr niqué (incorrect; useless; broken) · fi tekaistu (counterfeit or fake; not genuine) · es jodido (incorrect; useless; broken) · es averiado (incorrect; useless; broken) · pt adulterado (counterfeit or fake; not genuine) · cmn 偽 /伪 (counterfeit or fake; not genuine) · oc rot (incorrect; useless; broken) · it fritto (incorrect; useless; broken) · es hacerse pasar de (counterfeit or fake; not genuine) · ja 虚偽 (counterfeit or fake; not genuine) · pt falsificado (counterfeit or fake; not genuine) · is svikinn (counterfeit or fake; not genuine) · pl zmyślony (counterfeit or fake; not genuine) · cs falešný (counterfeit or fake; not genuine) · de falsch (incorrect; useless; broken) · bg фалшив (counterfeit or fake; not genuine) · sv rappakalja (counterfeit or fake; not genuine) · tr yanlış (incorrect; useless; broken) · sv skitsnack (counterfeit or fake; not genuine) · fi väärennetty (counterfeit or fake; not genuine) · sv trams (counterfeit or fake; not genuine) · de unbrauchbar (incorrect; useless; broken) · de unecht (counterfeit or fake; not genuine) · es fantasma (counterfeit or fake; not genuine) · fr bidon (counterfeit or fake; not genuine) · fi teko- (counterfeit or fake; not genuine) · es disfrazarse de (counterfeit or fake; not genuine) · fi väärä (counterfeit or fake; not genuine) · ru ло́жный (counterfeit or fake; not genuine) · ar كَاذِب (counterfeit or fake; not genuine) · cmn 虛偽 /虚伪 (counterfeit or fake; not genuine) · es bamba (counterfeit or fake; not genuine) · oc fals (counterfeit or fake; not genuine) · sv smörja (counterfeit or fake; not genuine) · cs falšovaný (counterfeit or fake; not genuine) · es fingido (counterfeit or fake; not genuine) · cmn 假 (counterfeit or fake; not genuine) · de gefälscht (counterfeit or fake; not genuine) · sv blask (counterfeit or fake; not genuine) · ja いんちきの (counterfeit or fake; not genuine) · is óekta (counterfeit or fake; not genuine) · pl fałszywy (counterfeit or fake; not genuine) · it falsificato (counterfeit or fake; not genuine) · tr sahte (counterfeit or fake; not genuine) · fr foutu (incorrect; useless; broken) · oc incorrècte (incorrect; useless; broken) · bg фиктивен (counterfeit or fake; not genuine) · sv strunt (counterfeit or fake; not genuine) · nl vervalst (counterfeit or fake; not genuine) · bg лъжлив (counterfeit or fake; not genuine) · ru подде́льный (counterfeit or fake; not genuine) · tr yapmacık (counterfeit or fake; not genuine) · sv dynga (counterfeit or fake; not genuine) · es barato (counterfeit or fake; not genuine) · id gadungan (counterfeit or fake; not genuine) · mi parau (counterfeit or fake; not genuine) · ar مُزَوَّر (counterfeit or fake; not genuine) · oc fotut (incorrect; useless; broken) · fr nul (undesirable or harmful) · fr gâté (incorrect; useless; broken) · mi tipatipa (counterfeit or fake; not genuine) · sv goja (counterfeit or fake; not genuine) · de falsch (counterfeit or fake; not genuine) · ja 偽の (counterfeit or fake; not genuine) · sv dravel (counterfeit or fake; not genuine) · fr hors d'usage (incorrect; useless; broken) · pt falso (counterfeit or fake; not genuine) · fi vale- (counterfeit or fake; not genuine)