Clandestine
/klænˈdɛs.tɪn/noun
Kept secret or done in a private, concealed way.
Did you know?Clandestine comes from Latin *clandestinus*, a word for things done in secret, and its oldest root is linked to *clam*—“secretly” or “privately”—the same shadowy source behind other covert words.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*ḱel-
“to cover, conceal”
Latin
Latin
clam
“secretly, privately”
Latin
Latin
clandestinus
“secret, concealed, done in hiding”
Late Latin / Old French
Latin / Old French
clandestin
“secret, hidden”
14th–15th Century
English
clandestine
“secret; concealed; done in private”
Modern English
English
clandestine
“kept hidden from public knowledge or observation”