The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2020 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
pho·ny also pho·ney  (f ōn ē)
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adj. pho·ni·er, pho·ni·est 1. Not genuine or real; sham or counterfeit: a phony credit card; a phony beard. 2. Spurious, deceptive, or false: a phony excuse. 3. Fraudulent, deceitful, or dishonest: a phony expert in investing. n. pl. pho·nies also pho·neys 1. A fraudulent or dishonest person. 2. Something that is not genuine; a fake.
[Alteration of fawney, gilt brass ring used by swindlers, from Irish Gaelic fáinne, ring, from Old Irish.]
phoni·ly adv. phoni·ness n. |
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2020 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices
Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:
Indo-European Roots
Semitic Roots
The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.
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