Definition of "Plagiarism"
According to the Oxford English Dictionary, plagiarism is:
- The action or practice of taking someone else's work, idea, etc., and passing it off as one's own; literary theft.
- A particular idea, piece of writing, design, etc., which has been plagiarized; an act or product of plagiary.
"plagiarism, n.". OED Online. June 2011. Oxford University Press. 22 August 2011 <http://www.oed.com/view/Entry/144939>.
Definition of "Plagiarize"
According to Merriam-Webster's Online Dictionary, plagiarize means:
- to steal and pass off (the ideas or words of another) as one's own : use (another's production) without crediting the source
- to commit literary theft : present as new and original an idea or product derived from an existing source
"plagiarize, v." Merriam-Webster Online. 2011. Merriam-Webster, Inc. 22 August 2011 <http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/plagiarize>.
Adapted from the L.V. Johnson Library, Plagiarism, Copyright & Fair Use