The act of making illegal copies of currency, documents, or goods with intent to deceive or defraud.
From Old French contrefait, meaning 'made in opposition' or 'imitated', from contre ('against') and faire ('to make'). Originally meant any kind of imitation, but by the 14th century specifically referred to fraudulent copying, especially of money.
Counterfeiting money is literally one of the oldest crimes in the world - the ancient Greeks and Romans dealt with fake coins over 2000 years ago. The word originally just meant 'copying' but became associated with fraud because most copying was done to deceive rather than honor the original.
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