apocryphon
|a-poc-ry-phon|
🇺🇸
/əˈpɑkrɪfən/
🇬🇧
/əˈpɒkrɪfən/
hidden writing
Etymology
'apocryphon' originates from Greek, specifically the word 'apokryphos', where 'apo-' meant 'away' or 'off' and 'kryph-' (from 'kryptein') meant 'to hide'.
'apocryphon' passed from Greek 'apokryphon' into Late Latin/Medieval Latin as 'apocryphon' or 'apocrypha' and entered English usage via ecclesiastical and scholarly contexts in the 16th–17th centuries.
Initially it meant 'hidden' or 'secret,' then 'a secret/hidden writing'; over time it came to be used specifically for noncanonical or doubtful religious writings (i.e., 'apocryphal' works).
Meanings by Part of Speech
Noun 1
a secret or hidden writing; especially a work of religious or mystical character kept from general view.
Early Christians sometimes preserved an apocryphon that circulated only among initiates.
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Noun 2
a noncanonical or spurious literary work attributed to an author but of doubtful authenticity (often used of writings outside the accepted canon, e.g., apocryphal gospels).
The manuscript was judged an apocryphon rather than an authentic gospel.
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Last updated: 2025/09/19 10:54