Editing Sincerity (section)

=== Controversy ===
An often repeated [[false etymology|folk etymology]] proposes that ''sincere'' is derived from the [[Latin language|Latin]] {{lang|la|sine}} "without" and {{lang|la|cera}} "wax". According to one popular explanation, dishonest sculptors in [[Rome]] or [[Greece]] would cover flaws in their work with wax to deceive the viewer; therefore, a sculpture "without wax" would be one that was honestly represented. It has been said, "One spoke of sincere wine... simply to mean that it had not been adulterated, or, as was once said, sophisticated."<ref name=SAA>{{cite book|title=Sincerity and Authenticity|last=Trilling|first=Lionel|publisher=Harvard University Press|year=1972|location=Cambridge, Mass.}}</ref>{{rp|12–13}} Another explanation is that this [[etymology]] "is derived from a Greeks-bearing-gifts story of deceit and betrayal. For the feat of victory, the Romans demanded the handing over of obligatory tributes. Following bad advice, the Greeks resorted to some faux-marble statues made of wax, which they offered as tribute. These promptly melted in the warm Greek sun."<ref>{{cite news|first=Ruth|last=Wajnryb|url=https://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/books/if-you-hear-buzzing-get-the-wax-out-of-your-ears-20061118-gdougn.html|title=If you hear buzzing, get the wax out of your ears|newspaper=[[The Sydney Morning Herald]]|page=32|date=November 18, 2006}}</ref> The [[Oxford English Dictionary]] states, however, that "there is no probability in the old explanation from {{lang|la|sine cera}} 'without wax{{'"}}.{{cn|date=September 2023}}

The popularity of the ''without wax'' etymology is reflected in its use as a minor subplot in [[Dan Brown]]'s 1998 thriller novel ''[[Digital Fortress]]'', though Brown attributes it to the [[Spanish language]], not Latin. Reference to the same etymology, this time attributed to Latin, later appears in his 2009 novel, ''[[The Lost Symbol]]''.