Treachery
/ˈtrɛtʃ.ər.i/noun
Behavior that betrays trust or a duty; betrayal.
Did you know?Treachery comes through Old French from a Latin root tied to deceit and trickery, showing how language has long treated betrayal as a kind of deliberate enchantment of trust.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*trag-
“to pull, drag”
Latin
Latin
trahere
“to draw, drag, pull”
Late Latin
Latin
tractāre
“to handle, manage, deal with repeatedly”
Old French
Old French
trichier
“to cheat, deceive”
Middle English
English
trecherie
“deceit, fraud, betrayal”
Modern English
English
treachery
“betrayal of trust or duty”