noun
- Writings or works falsely attributed to an author or time period; texts published under a false or assumed name.
Usage: plural of pseudepigraph; commonly used in biblical and religious scholarship; academic and literary contexts
Examples
- Scholars debate whether certain pseudepigraphs in the biblical canon were intentionally misattributed.
- The library's collection includes several pseudepigraphs attributed to ancient philosophers.
- Many pseudepigraphs emerged during the medieval period when authorship was less carefully documented.
- Religious historians study pseudepigraphs to understand how texts were valued and transmitted in early communities.
- The discovery of pseudepigraphs among the Dead Sea Scrolls provided new insights into ancient Jewish thought.
- Some pseudepigraphs were written to lend authority to new ideas by associating them with respected historical figures.