counterfeit (v.)

c. 1300, countrefeten, "pretend to be," from countrefet (adj.), Old French contrefait "imitated" (Modern French contrefait), past participle of contrefaire "imitate," from contre- "against" (see contra-) + faire "to make, to do" (from Latin facere "to make, do," from PIE root *dhe- "to set, put").

From late 14c. as "assume, simulate" (a feeling, quality, etc.); also "to make a copy of, imitate without authority or right," especially with a view to deceive or defraud. Medieval Latin contrafactio meant "setting in opposition or contrast." Related: Counterfeited; counterfeiting.

late 14c. (late 13c. in Anglo-French), countrefet, "spurious, forged, made in semblance of an original with a view to defraud," also "feigned, simulated, hypocritical," from Old French contrefait "imitated" (Modern French contrefait), past participle of contrefaire "imitate," from contre- "against" (see contra (prep., adv.)) + faire "to make, to do" (from Latin facere "to make, do," from PIE root *dhe- "to set, put").

As a noun, "an imitation or copy designed to pass as an original," late 14c., from the adjective.