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plagiarism (n.)

"the purloining or wrongful appropriation of another's ideas, writing, artistic designs, etc., and giving them forth as one's own," 1620s, from -ism + plagiary (n.) "plagiarist, literary thief" (c. 1600), from Latin plagiarius "kidnapper, seducer, plunderer, one who kidnaps the child or slave of another," used by Martial in the sense of "literary thief," from plagiare "to kidnap," plagium "kidnapping," from plaga "snare, hunting net" (also "open expanse, territory"), which is perhaps from PIE *plag- (on notion of "something extended"), variant form of root *plak- (1) "to be flat." De Vaan tentatively compares Greek plagia "sides, flanks," Old High German flah "flat," Old Saxon flaka "sole of the foot."

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Definitions of plagiarism from WordNet

plagiarism (n.)
a piece of writing that has been copied from someone else and is presented as being your own work;
plagiarism (n.)
the act of plagiarizing; taking someone's words or ideas as if they were your own;
Synonyms: plagiarization / plagiarisation / piracy
From wordnet.princeton.edu