Apocrypha

==Etymology==
The word's origin is the [[Medieval Latin]] adjective {{Lang|la-x-medieval|apocryphus}} (secret, or non-canonical) from the [[Greek language|Greek]] adjective {{lang|grc|ἀπόκρυφος}}, {{transliteration|grc|apokryphos}}, (private) from the verb {{lang|grc|ἀποκρύπτειν}}, {{transliteration|grc|apokryptein}} (to hide away).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/apocrypha |title=Apocrypha - Definition |work=merriam-webster.com}}</ref>

It comes from [[Greek language|Greek]] and is formed from the combination of {{transliteration|grc|apo}} (away) and {{transliteration|grc|kryptein}} (hide or conceal).<ref name="978-1-59955-384-9">{{cite book|author-last=Webb |author-first=Diana Barton |title=Forgotten women of God |date=2010 |publisher=Bonneville Books |isbn=978-1-59955-384-9 |oclc=704859621}}</ref>

The word ''apocrypha'' has undergone a major change in meaning throughout the centuries. The word ''apocrypha'' in its ancient Christian usage originally meant a text read in private, rather than in public church settings. In English, it later came to have a sense of the esoteric, suspicious, or heretical, largely because of the Protestant interpretation of the usefulness of non-canonical texts.