[freedumb2003]

>> Plausible but false or insincere; specious: made a meretricious argument. <<

That is a strange explanation. “Meretricious” has its base in “Merit.” In normal parlance, “meretricious” boils down to “having merit.”

Most peculiar.

[xsmommy]

Origin of meretricious
Latin meretrīcius, of prostitutes, from meretrīx, meretrīc-, prostitute, from merēre, to earn money; see (s)mer-2 in Indo-European roots.
Read more at http://www.yourdictionary.com/meretricious#h5aJHyQO6P0TXUkf.99

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seems to derive from prostitutes!