pseudepigraphy means the composition of pseudepigrapha, false credit of authorship to give ideas greater legitimacy. Lexicurio rates it Rare gem — a strength score of 77 out of 100.
Why this word is great
PSEUDEPIGRAPHY — [Noun] The practice of falsely attributing authorship to a written work, typically to lend it greater authority or legitimacy. From the combining form pseudo- ("false") and epigraphy (from Greek epigraphē, "inscription, title, ascription"). Unlike forgery, which implies deceit for material gain, or allonymy, which denotes publication under another real person’s name, pseudepigraphy is a grander, devotional deceit. It is the humble scribe signing “Paul” to an epistle in a candlelit scriptorium, the ancient poet invoking Homer’s ghost to sing a new verse, the whole cloth of a gospel woven in a disciple’s name long after his martyrdom—a quiet, reverent lie told for a truth believed too vital to risk obscurity, a testament to the human need for a venerable past to authorize an uncertain present.
noun
- The composition of pseudepigrapha, false credit of authorship to give ideas greater legitimacy.“Pseudepigraphy was sometimes regarded as a literary lie, a forgery, which enabled the apocalyptic writers to acquire authority for their writings by using a borrowed identity.”