A more thorough explanation:

NOTHOUS

nothous (noh-thəs), adj. Archaic. Spurious; illegitimate.

The term nothous is an old-fashioned word that means something is not genuine or legitimate. It is often used to describe something that is fake or false.

1. The painting was declared nothous after experts discovered it was a forgery.

2. The historian argued that the document was nothous because it had been altered.

In the first example, the painting was declared nothous because it was not an original work of art, but a fake. In the second example, the document was considered nothous because it had been changed in some way, making it unreliable or illegitimate.