
It is frequently claimed that people in antiquity had no concept of plagiarism, or at least did not condemn it, and it only came to be seen as immoral much later, anywhere from the Age of Enlightenment in the 17th century to the Romantic movement in the 18th century. The Latin plagiārius, "kidnapper", and plagium, "kidnapping", have the root plaga ("snare", "net"), based on the Indo-European root *-plak, "to weave" (seen for instance in Greek plekein, Bulgarian "плета" pleta, and Latin plectere, all meaning "to weave"). The derived form plagiarism was introduced into English around 1620. Plagiary, a derivative of plagiarus, was introduced into English in 1601 by dramatist Ben Jonson during the Jacobean Era to describe someone guilty of literary theft. In the 1st century, the use of the Latin word " plagiarius" (literally "kidnapper") to denote stealing someone else's creative work was pioneered by the Roman poet Martial, who complained that another poet had "kidnapped his verses". 3.1.4 Factors influencing students' decisions to plagiarize.Students who move to the United States and other Western countries from countries where plagiarism is not frowned upon often find the transition difficult. In other instances, plagiarism might be the complete opposite of "academic dishonesty" in fact, in some countries the act of plagiarizing a professional's work is seen as flattering. Some countries, such as India and Poland, consider plagiarism to be a crime, and there have been cases of people being imprisoned for plagiarizing. Plagiarism might not be the same in all countries. Plagiarism and copyright infringement overlap to a considerable extent, but they are not equivalent concepts, and many types of plagiarism do not constitute copyright infringement, which is defined by copyright law and may be adjudicated by courts. In academia and industry, it is a serious ethical offense. Generally, plagiarism is not in itself a crime, but like counterfeiting fraud can be punished in a court for prejudices caused by copyright infringement, violation of moral rights, or torts. Recently, cases of "extreme plagiarism" have been identified in academia.

It is subject to sanctions such as penalties, suspension, expulsion from school or work, substantial fines and even incarceration. Plagiarism is considered a violation of academic integrity and a breach of journalistic ethics. In educational contexts, there are differing definitions of plagiarism depending on the institution. Plagiarism is the representation of another author's language, thoughts, ideas, or expressions as one's own original work.
