apocrypha Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun 14 books of the Old Testament included in the Vulgate (except for II Esdras) but omitted in Jewish and Protestant versions of the Bible; eastern Christian churches (except the Coptic Church) accept all these books as canonical; the Russian Orthodox Church accepts these texts as divinely inspired but does not grant them the same status

WordNet

A*poc"ry*pha noun plural
Etymology
L. apocryphus apocryphal, Gr. hidden, spurious, fr. to hide; from + to hide.
Wordforms
plural Apocryphas
Definitions
  1. Something, as a writing, that is of doubtful authorship or authority; -- formerly used also adjectively. Obs. Locke.
  2. Specif.: Certain writings which are received by some Christians as an authentic part of the Holy Scriptures, but are rejected by others. ✍ Fourteen such writings, or books, formed part of the Septuagint, but not of the Hebrew canon recognized by the Jews of Palestine. The Council of Trent included all but three of these in the canon of inspired books having equal authority. The German and English Reformers grouped them in their Bibles under the title Apocrypha, as not having dogmatic authority, but being profitable for instruction. The Apocrypha is now commonly mitted from the King James's Bible.

Webster 1913