Word origins - 2ed. J. Ayto. 2005.
Surreptitious — Sur rep*ti tious, a. [L. surreptitius, or subreptitius, fr. surripere, subripere, to snatch away, to withdraw privily; sub under + rapere to snatch. See {Sub }, and {Ravish}.] Done or made by stealth, or without proper authority; made or… … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
surreptitious — I adjective artful, clandestine, clandestinus, concealed, conniving, covert, crafty, cunning, deceitful, deceptive, delitescent, disguised, done by stealth, evasive, faked, fraudulently introduced, furtive, furtivus, guileful, hidden, indirect,… … Law dictionary
surreptitious — mid 15c., from L. surrepticius stolen, furtive, clandestine, from surreptus, pp. of surripere seize secretly, from sub from under (hence, secretly ) + rapere to snatch (see RAPID (Cf. rapid)). Related: Surreptitiously … Etymology dictionary
surreptitious — underhand, underhanded, *secret, covert, stealthy, furtive, clandestine Analogous words: sneaking, slinking, skulking, lurking (see LURK): hidden, concealed, screened (see HIDE) … New Dictionary of Synonyms
surreptitious — [adj] sneaky, secret clandestine, covert, fraudulent, furtive, hidden, hole andcorner*, hush hush*, on the QT*, on the sly*, private, skulking, slinking, sly, sneaking, stealthy, sub rosa, unauthorized, undercover, underhand, under the table*,… … New thesaurus
surreptitious — ► ADJECTIVE ▪ done secretly or furtively. DERIVATIVES surreptitiously adverb. ORIGIN originally in the sense «obtained by suppression of the truth»: from Latin surreptitius obtained secretly … English terms dictionary
surreptitious — [sʉr΄əp tish′əs] adj. [ME surrepticious < L surrepticius < surreptus, pp. of surripere, to take away secretly < sub (see SUB ) + rapere, to seize (see RAPE1)] 1. done, gotten, made, etc. in a secret, stealthy way; clandestine 2. acting… … English World dictionary
surreptitious — [[t]sʌ̱rəptɪ̱ʃəs, AM sɜ͟ːr [/t]] ADJ GRADED A surreptitious action is done secretly. He made a surreptitious entrance to the club through the little door in the brick wall... They had several surreptitious conversations. Syn: furtive Derived… … English dictionary
surreptitious — adjective Etymology: Middle English, from Latin surrepticius, from surreptus, past participle of surripere to snatch secretly, from sub + rapere to seize more at rapid Date: 15th century 1. done, made, or acquired by stealth ; clandestine 2.… … New Collegiate Dictionary
surreptitious — surreptitiously, adv. surreptitiousness, n. /serr euhp tish euhs/, adj. 1. obtained, done, made, etc., by stealth; secret or unauthorized; clandestine: a surreptitious glance. 2. acting in a stealthy way. 3. obtained by subreption; subreptitious … Universalium
surreptitious — adj. Surreptitious is used with these nouns: ↑glance … Collocations dictionary
