THE FIRST WORD

sub rosa

PRONUNCIATION:

(sub RO-zuh) 

MEANING:

adverb: Secretly, privately, or confidentially.

ETYMOLOGY:

From Latin sub (under) rosa (rose). Earliest documented use: 1654. The English term "under the rose" is also used to refer to something in secret.

NOTES:

In Roman mythology, Venus's son Cupid gave a rose to Harpocrates, the god of silence, to ensure his silence about Venus's many indiscretions. Thus the flower became a symbol of secrecy. Ceilings of banquet halls were decorated with roses to indicate that what was said sub vino (under the influence of wine) was also sub rosa.

USAGE:

"'Much of this goes on sub rosa and never comes to public view,' said Wesley Wark."
Peter Goodspeed; Vladimir Putin's Support of Spying; National Post (Canada); Jan 23, 2012.