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“sub rosas”
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.
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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".
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This entry is located in the following unit:
roseo-, ros-
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“sub rosas”
That which is covert or secret and private or confidential. (1)
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Word a Day Revisited Index of Cartoons Illustrating the Meanings of Words
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