The word “FAKE”

Fake (adj) = appearing to be something it is not; made to look like something real in order to trick people ( A fake document, fake leather, a fake mustache, a fake smile.)

Fake (n) = a thing that is not genuine; a forgery or imitation- a person who is not what they claim to be, for example because they do not have the qualifications they claim to have. (He told everyone that he was a lawyer, but he was just a fake. The painting, the letter is a fake.)

Fake (v) = forge or counterfeit something; pretend to feel or have (an emotion, illness, or injury) – (He faked his sister’s signature /a heart attack)

 

The word “fake” is of unknown origin and was attested in the slang used by criminals in London during the late 18th century. A likely source is feague, “to decorate or improve in appearance through artificial means,” from German fegen meaning “to polish”. Alternatively, it might derive from the Latin verb facere which means “to make” or “to do.”