# forgery

> English word · Noun · IPA /ˈfɔː.dʒəɹ.ɪ/ · frequency rank #22,676

## Definitions
1. The act of forging metal into shape.
2. The act of forging, fabricating, or producing falsely; especially the crime of fraudulently making or altering a writing or signature purporting to be made by another, the false making or material alteration of or addition to a written instrument for the purpose of deceit and fraud.
3. That which is forged, fabricated, falsely devised or counterfeited.
4. An invention, creation.

## Etymology
Recorded since 1574; from forge + -ery, from Middle English forgen, via Anglo-Norman forger, from Old French forgier, from Latin fabricārī (“to frame, construct, fabricate”), itself from fabrica (“workshop; construction”), from faber (“workman, smith”).
(fake): Compare typologically Russian кова́рный (kovárnyj), кова́рство (kovárstvo), ко́зни (kózni) (akin to кова́ть (kovátʹ), ку́зница (kúznica)).

## Easily confused with
- **former** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/forgery-vs-former)
- **forget** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/forgery-vs-forget)
- **formerly** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/forgery-vs-formerly)
- **forge** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/forge-vs-forgery)
- **forged** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/forged-vs-forgery)

## Common misspellings (11)
`fforgery`, `fogrery`, `foregry`, `forgerry`, `forgeryy`, `forgeyr`, `forggery`, `forgrey`, `forrgery`, `frogery`, `ofrgery`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/forgery