Surreptitious
/ˌsʌr.ɪpˈtɪʃ.əs/noun
Obtained, done, or made in a secret and sneaky way.
Did you know?It comes from Latin *surrepticius*, tied to *surripere*—“to snatch away secretly” — so the word’s DNA is basically stealth theft, not just secrecy.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*reup-
“to snatch, seize”
Latin
Latin
rapere
“to seize, carry off by force”
Latin
Latin
surripere
“to snatch away secretly, pilfer”
Late Latin
Latin
surrepticius
“secretly taken or stolen”
Middle English
English
surreptitious
“done or obtained by stealth”
Modern English
English
surreptitious
“done in a secret and sneaky way”