English
Etymology
First attested from w:1797|1797, as underworld term for counterfeit coins. Meaning of the machine (known as a bogus press) was first attested w:1828|1828. Sense of phony paper money as well as a general adjective applied to anything, being less valuable than it first appeared was first attested w:1848|1848. Later, the word was applied to anything of poor quality. The current use to mean useless is probably from the slang of computer hackers.
The origin is unknown, but there are at least two theories that try to trace its origin:
From Hausa boko, to fake. Since bogus first appeared in the USA, this may be possible that its ancestor was brought there on a slave ship.
From criminal slang as a short form of tantrabogus, a 19th century slang term for a menacing object, making some believe that bogus might be linked to bogy or bogey (see bogeyman).
Pronunciation
:Rhymes: Rhymes:English:-ÉÊÉ¡És|-ÉÊÉ¡És
Adjective
bogus
- Counterfeit or fake; not genuine.
#: The organization of âbogus companies,â started purely for the purpose of eliminating competitors, seems to have been a not infrequent practice. --âThe Age of Big Businessâ by w:Burton J. Hendrick|Burton J. Hendrick
- Incorrect; useless; broken.
#: So what Jefferson was saying was "Hey! You know, we left this England place because it was bogus. So if we don't get some cool rules ourselves, pronto, we'll just be bogus too." --“Fast Times at Ridgemont High”, 1982
- (stamp-collecting) a totally fictitious issue printed for collectors, often issued on behalf of a non-existent territory or country.
#:Should not be confused with âforgeryâ which is a copy of a genuine stamp.
Synonyms
(counterfeit): counterfeit, fake, phony
(incorrect): incorrect, useless, broken
(stamp-collecting) illegal
Translations
trans-top|Counterfeit or fake; not genuine
Finnish: väärä, väärennetty, tekaistu, teko-, vale-
trans-mid
trans-bottom
trans-top|Incorrect; useless; broken
trans-mid
trans-bottom
trans-top|a totally fictitious issue printed for collectors
trans-mid
trans-bottom
Derived terms
bogon
bogosity
Category:Stamp collecting
io:bogus
vi:bogus
zh:bogus
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