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• apocrypha
  apocrypha

  noun

  a group of 14 books, not considered canonical, included in the Septuagint and the Vulgate as part of the Old Testament, but usually omitted from Protestant editions of the Bible.
• Apocrypha
  Apocrypha

  noun

  the 14 books included as an appendix to the Old Testament in the Septuagint and the Vulgate but not included in the Hebrew canon. They are not printed in Protestant versions of the Bible

apocrypha

American  

[uh-pok-ruh-fuh] / əˈpɒk rə fə /

noun

(often used with a singular verb)

1. (initial capital letter) a group of 14 books, not considered canonical, included in the Septuagint and the Vulgate as part of the Old Testament, but usually omitted from Protestant editions of the Bible.

2. various religious writings of uncertain origin regarded by some as inspired, but rejected by most authorities.

3. writings, statements, etc., of doubtful authorship or authenticity.

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Apocrypha British  

/ əˈpɒkrɪfə /

noun

1. the 14 books included as an appendix to the Old Testament in the Septuagint and the Vulgate but not included in the Hebrew canon. They are not printed in Protestant versions of the Bible

2. RC Church another name for the Pseudepigrapha

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Apocrypha Cultural  

1. Religious writings that have been accepted as books of the Bible (see also Bible) by some groups but not by others. The Roman Catholic Church, for example, includes seven books, such as Judith, I and II Maccabees, and Ecclesiasticus, in the Old Testament that Jews (see also Jews) and Protestants do not consider part of the Bible. Some churches may read the Apocrypha for inspiration but not to establish religious doctrine.

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Discover More

By extension, an “apocryphal” story is one that is probably false but nevertheless has some value.

Etymology

Origin of apocrypha

1350–1400; Middle English < Late Latin < Greek, neuter plural of apókryphos hidden, unknown, spurious, equivalent to apokryph- (base of apokrýptein to hide away; see apo-, crypt) + -os adj. suffix

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

apocrypha Apocrypha

This is “El Nino,” a retelling of the birth and early life of Jesus through a mix of biblical verses and modern Latin American poetry, medieval texts and apocrypha.

From Seattle Times ● Apr. 18, 2024

The capricious churn of internet-charged culture is producing more main characters, apocrypha and relics than we can handle.

From New York Times ● Mar. 6, 2024

Drier still, if spiked with apocrypha, is Noël Coward’s definition: “A perfect martini should be made by filling a glass with gin, then waving it in the general direction of Italy.”

From The New Yorker ● Dec. 2, 2019

“Legends, apocrypha and truths hover around their heads like crazed doves,” George Garrett, a former creative writing teacher at the University of Virginia, told The Washington Post in 2002.

From Washington Post ● Oct. 13, 2018

The popularity of Chaucer’s poetry is shown not only by repeated references to him as master and teacher, made by his immediate successors, but by the entire Chaucer apocrypha which soon sprang into being.

From Chaucer and His Times by Grace E. Hadow

Apocrypha like the "Acts of Thomas" and "Acts of Bartholomew" were popular in the medieval period, and even those who couldn't read or write knew these stories.

From Salon ● Aug. 1, 2020

Hopefully with Apocrypha that won’t be the case.

From The Verge ● Oct. 2, 2017

A mythical figure conflated from three different characters in the Gospels, she also turns up in the Apocrypha.

From The Guardian ● Apr. 14, 2017

“Every man that writes is writing a new Bible, or a new Apocrypha; to last for a week or a thousand years,” the Scottish philosopher Thomas Carlyle recorded in his journal in 1832.

From The New Yorker ● Feb. 9, 2015

That is one pet project of the Reverend’s: getting other Baptists to swallow the Apocrypha.

From "The Poisonwood Bible" by Barbara Kingsolver