Concept in Definition ABC

The adjective spurious comes from Latin, specifically from the word spurius. As for its meaning, it has two meanings. On the one hand, it refers to something or someone that from its origin is found degenerated by some reason. On the other hand, it is all that is misleading, wicked, inauthentic or false in some sense. In any of its uses, the term spurious has a connotation contemptuous.

It should be noted that this is one of those words that are usually misspelled and appears as spurious, a non-existent word.

Spurious son

Currently the concept of illegitimate child or extramarital child is used. In other times they spoke of a bastard son or a spurious son. In the latter case, it is a question of those children who were born at margin of marriage legal parent or is a child whose father is unknown. In this sense, it must be remembered that the ancient Romans used the name Sine Pater (without father) to refer to all those kids of unknown parents.

The use of the word in different contexts of language

The ideas that are argued from false, manipulated or adulterated data are spurious and, consequently, cannot be considered as true.

It is said that someone utters spurious words when he tells falsehoods with the intention of manipulating others.

The word spurious can be used as an insult directed at someone who lies, manipulates and deceives.

If someone pretends to be what he is not, he has a attitude spurious, as it is a false and lying behavior.

In the terminology of the statistics the spurious relationship exists and it consists in that two mathematical data or events do not maintain any connection logic.

A disused cultism

In the language Every day we say that something is false, corrupt or wrong. We could use the word spurious, but in practice it is only used in cultured or very formal language contexts.

Most of the cultisms are words that come from Greek or Latin, but that with the passage of time have not evolved or have incorporated new meanings. Espurio is a clear example in this regard.

Other cultisms in disuse are the following: atibar (from the Latin stipare and which means to fill an excavation), coramvobis (which comes from Latin Coram Vobis and what does it mean in our presence) or entombos (it is a contraction of the Latin between both and which is equivalent to both of them).

Photo: Fotolia - Alexander Pokusay