| apocryphal \uh-POK-ruh-fuhl\ (adjective) - 1 : (Bible) Pertaining to the Apocrypha. 2 : Not canonical. Hence: Of doubtful authority or authenticity; equivocal; fictitious; spurious; false.
"'Apocryphal!' exclaimed Rowland; 'on what authority do you believe that the Canticle of Canticles is a divinely inspired book, and on what do you reject the book of Machabees? Tell me, dear miss, if you please, who was the first person to discover that these books were apocryphal, after they had been admitted as canonical for twelve hundred years at least?" -- Charles Constantine Pise, 'A North American Tale'
Apocryphal ultimately derives from Greek apokruphos, "hidden (hence, spurious)," from apokruptein, "to hide away," from apo-, "away, from" + kruptein, "to hide." |
