Forgers

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A group of individuals who create counterfeit items, such as money or documents, with the intent to deceive for personal gain
2. People engaged in the illicit practice of producing fraudulent works, replicating authentic items to mislead others
3. Those who falsify various objects, risking legal consequences by altering originals to benefit from the deception

Etymology: "Forgers" is simply the plural of "forger", so its history is that of the singular noun. The base word is "forge", which in English has long meant to shape metal by heating and hammering it, and also to make something false or counterfeit. The agent suffix "-er" then names the person who carries out the action, which is how a blacksmith-like maker of fakes came to be called a forger. The noun entered English in Middle English, borrowed from Old French "forgiere", a word that shares its root with the verb "forge". The French word itself came from the same Latin source as the verb, which originally referred to the workshop where metal was hammered into shape. The sense of the noun has stayed close to the original idea of making something by working it into a new form, only now the thing made is a false copy rather than a tool or a horseshoe.

Synonyms: counterfeiters, fabricators, falsifiers, impersonators