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Definition 2024

sub-rosa

sub rosa

English

Alternative forms

Adjective

sub rosa

  1. Carried out secretly or confidentially

Synonyms

  • See also Wikisaurus:covert

Adverb

sub rosa

  1. In secret or covertly; privately or confidentially.
    they held the meeting sub rosa

Noun

sub rosa

  1. (slang) Used in workers' compensation cases to mean covert surveillance video used to catch workers' compensation applicants and show that they are in fact not injured.

Synonyms

Etymology

First attested 1654. Borrowing from Latin sub rosā ‎(“under the rose”), from sub ‎(“under”) + rosā ‎(“rose”).

The rose's connotation for secrecy dates back to Greek mythology. Aphrodite gave a rose to her son Eros, the god of love; he, in turn, gave it to Harpocrates, the god of silence, to ensure that his mother's indiscretions (or those of the gods in general, in other accounts) were kept under wraps. In the Middle Ages a rose suspended from the ceiling of a council chamber pledged all present – those under the rose, that is – to secrecy.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˌsʌb.ˈɹəʊ.zə/

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