From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishapocryphala‧poc‧ry‧phal /əˈpɒkrəfəl $ əˈpɑː-/ adjective TRUEan apocryphal story is well-known but probably not true
Examples from the Corpus
apocryphal• It is difficult now to tell which tales are real and which apocryphal.• The bagel has a rich history, though its origin is somewhat apocryphal.• The story might or might not have been apocryphal.• The whole story may be apocryphal.• I am still not sure whether these stories were apocryphal or not, but the danger was clearly present.• In one apocryphal story that circulated on trading floors years ago, Black once tried to execute several trades using his model.• In another, slightly later apocryphal work, the Acts of Thomas, the issue is further clarified.Origin apocryphal (1500-1600) apocrypha “works not by the claimed writer” ((14-21 centuries)), from Late Latin, from apocryphus “secret, not part of the official list of works”, from Greek, from apokryptein “to hide away”, from apo- ( → APOCALYPSE) + kryptein “to hide” 