fake / fāk/ • n. a thing that is not genuine; a forgery or sham. ∎  a person who appears or claims to be something that they are not. ∎  a pretense or trick: his excuse for coming was a fake.• adj. not genuine; counterfeit: expressing fake emotions. ∎  (of a person) claiming to be something that one is not: a fake doctor.• v. [tr.] forge or counterfeit (something). ∎  pretend to feel or suffer from (an emotion or illness): to fake a stomach ache. ∎  make (an event) appear to happen: he faked his own death. ∎  accomplish (a task) by improvising: all the experts agree that you can't fake it ∎  Mus. improvise.DERIVATIVES: fak·er n.fak·er·y / ˈfākərē/ n.fake² • n. & v. variant spelling of flake⁴ .

fake ‘do’, do for; do up, make so as to deceive. XIX (orig. thieves' sl.). Later form of †feak, †feague beat, thrash — G. fegen polish, furbish, sweep, (sl.) thrash, scold, rate.
Hence as sb.