- not genuine, authentic, or true; not from the claimed, pretended, or proper source; counterfeit.
- Biology. (of two or more parts, plants, etc.) having a similar appearance but a different structure.
- of illegitimate birth; bastard.
Origin of spurious
SynonymsSee more synonyms on Thesaurus.com
- not genuine or real
- (of a plant part or organ) having the appearance of another part but differing from it in origin, development, or function; falsea spurious fruit
- (of radiation) produced at an undesired frequency by a transmitter, causing interference, etc
- rare illegitimate
Word Origin and History for non-spuriousness
1590s, "born out of wedlock," from Latin spurius "illegitimate, false" (cf. Italian spurio, Spanish espurio), from spurius (n.) "illegitimate child," probably from Etruscan spural "public." Sense of "having an irregular origin, not properly constituted" is from c.1600; that of "false, sham" is from 1610s.
- Similar in appearance or symptoms but unrelated in morphology or pathology; false.