Betray
/bɪˈtreɪ/noun
To be disloyal to someone or reveal something entrusted in confidence.
Did you know?The word ultimately comes from Old French meanings tied to “handing over” or “delivering up,” and in English it widened into the devastating sense of treachery and deliberate disloyalty.
Etymological Timeline
Latin
Latin
tradere
“to hand over, deliver, transmit”
Old French
OF
trair / trahir
“to betray, deliver up”
Middle English
ME
betrayen
“to deliver into the hands of an enemy; to be disloyal”
Modern English
English
betray
“to be disloyal to; to reveal in violation of trust”