You searched for:
“sub rosa”
sub rosa
Under the rose.
Secretly, confidentially, privately.
sub rosa (adverb) (not comparable)
A reference to something that happens or is done secretly or confidentially: "The spy organization operated sub rosa until it was revealed that friendly governments were also under surveillance."
This entry is located in the following unit:
roseo-, ros-
(page 1)
sub rosa (adjective) (not comparable)
Pertaining to doing something privately and not revealing it to others: "The police made sub rosa investigations to find evidence to convict the criminal."
This entry is located in the following unit:
roseo-, ros-
(page 1)
1. A secret or something that is private, or confidential, and which should not be revealed to anyone else: The workers met in sub rosa when they got together before voting on whether to strike against the company.
2. Etymology: from Latin, literally, "under the rose"; from the rose that, in ancient times, was hung over a government-council table as an indication of secrecy.
© ALL rights are reserved.
Go to this Word A Day Revisited Index
2. Etymology: from Latin, literally, "under the rose"; from the rose that, in ancient times, was hung over a government-council table as an indication of secrecy.
The origin of the phrase sub rosa came from Greek mythology when Cupid, the son of Aphrodite (the goddess of love), learned that Harpocrates (the god of silence) had observed Aphrodite's amorous adventures, and bribed him not to reveal what he had seen. The bribe was a rose and it came to be considered "an emblem of silence" or "a pledge of secrecy".
Go to this Word A Day Revisited Index
so you can see more of Mickey Bach's cartoons.
This entry is located in the following unit:
roseo-, ros-
(page 2)
Word Entries at Get Words:
“sub rosa”
That which is covert or secret and private or confidential. (1)
This entry is located in the following unit:
Word a Day Revisited Index of Cartoons Illustrating the Meanings of Words
(page 74)