Equivocation
/ɪˌkwɪvəˈkeɪʃən/noun
The use of ambiguous language to conceal the truth or avoid committing oneself.
Did you know?In early modern religious and political controversy, equivocation was sometimes defended as a strategy of mental reservation: words could be technically true while deliberately misleading listeners.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*wekw-
“To speak or utter; the ancient root behind the voice-related part of the word.”
Classical Latin
Latin
aequivocus
“Having an equal or identical sound; ambiguous, capable of more than one interpretation.”
Classical Latin
Latin
aequivocare
“To call by the same name, or to use an ambiguous expression.”
Late Latin
Latin
aequivocatio
“Ambiguity or equivocation; the act of speaking ambiguously.”
14th Century
Anglo-French
equivocacioun
“Ambiguous speech or an evasive statement.”
15th Century–Modern English
English
equivocation
“Deliberately ambiguous language used to avoid a clear commitment or conceal the truth.”