Dictionary

sub rosa en · ADJ

Pronunciation

• (General-American) audio
• /ˌsʌb ˈɹəʊzə/ (Received-Pronunciation)
• /ˌsʌb ˈɹoʊzə/ (General-American)

Etymology

PIE word *upó The adverb and adjective are an unadapted borrowing from Late Latin sub rosā (literally “under the rose”), from Latin sub (“beneath, under”) + rosa (“rose”) (possibly from Ancient Greek ῥόδον (rhódon, “rose”), ultimately from Proto-Iranian *wardah (“flower; rose”) and Proto-Indo-European *Hwerdʰ-, possibly a metathesis of *h₁lewdʰ- (“to grow; to rise”)). The reason for the reference to a rose is uncertain, though it has been suggested that it derives from the Ancient Greek myth that Aphrodite (the goddess of love) gave a rose to her son Eros (the god of love and sex), who in turn gave it to Harpocrates (the god of silence, confidentiality, and secrets) to ensure that Aphrodite’s sexual indiscretions were not revealed. Roses thus became a symbol of secrecy—they were, for example, used at meetings to pledge the participants not to disclose what had been discussed. Compare under the rose which is attested earlier. The noun is derived from the adverb and adjective.

Meanings

1. Carried out confidentially or secretly.
   • He began a sub rosa campaign of obstruction, terror and depredation along the Thurn and Taxis mail routes. 1966 March, Thomas Pynchon, chapter 6, in The Crying of Lot 49, New York, N.Y.: Bantam Books, published November 1976, →ISBN, page 160:
2. Not formally stated; implicit, tacit, unspoken.

Forms

Antonyms

public · explicit · above-board · expressed · spoken · open

Synonyms

under the rose · abstruse · huggermugger · backstairs · catlike · mousy · lurksome · underground · obfuscated · clandestine · slinky · undercover · concealed · stealth · sneaky · unperceived · under-the-table · on the down-low · sub rosa · off-the-books · covert · incognito · stealthy · backroom · hush-hush · sly · behind the scenes · under the radar · confidential · furtive · secret · low profile · lurky · under wraps · surreptitious · under the table · dern · inconspicuous · secretive · disguised · cloak-and-dagger · on the sly · deep-laid · behind the scenes

Translations (1)

fi kulissientakainen (carried out confidentially or secretly)

wikipedia: Harpocrates · wikipedia: Aphrodite · wikipedia: Eros · wikipedia: Louis-Philippe Mouchy

sub rosa en · ADV

Pronunciation

• (General-American) audio
• /ˌsʌb ˈɹəʊzə/ (Received-Pronunciation)
• /ˌsʌb ˈɹoʊzə/ (General-American)

Etymology

PIE word *upó The adverb and adjective are an unadapted borrowing from Late Latin sub rosā (literally “under the rose”), from Latin sub (“beneath, under”) + rosa (“rose”) (possibly from Ancient Greek ῥόδον (rhódon, “rose”), ultimately from Proto-Iranian *wardah (“flower; rose”) and Proto-Indo-European *Hwerdʰ-, possibly a metathesis of *h₁lewdʰ- (“to grow; to rise”)). The reason for the reference to a rose is uncertain, though it has been suggested that it derives from the Ancient Greek myth that Aphrodite (the goddess of love) gave a rose to her son Eros (the god of love and sex), who in turn gave it to Harpocrates (the god of silence, confidentiality, and secrets) to ensure that Aphrodite’s sexual indiscretions were not revealed. Roses thus became a symbol of secrecy—they were, for example, used at meetings to pledge the participants not to disclose what had been discussed. Compare under the rose which is attested earlier. The noun is derived from the adverb and adjective.

Meanings

1. Covertly or in secret; confidentially, privately, secretly.
   • I run my boat into New York, buy from Yankee firms, sub rosa, of course, and away I go. 1936 June 30, Margaret Mitchell, chapter IX, in Gone with the Wind, New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company, published June 1944, →OCLC, part II, page 188:
   • They held the meeting sub rosa.
   • By the by, I wonder some of you lawyers (sub rosa, of course) have not quoted the pithy lines in Mandeville […] 1833 July 1, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, “Mandeville’s Fable of the Bees—Bestial Theory—Character of Bertram—Beaumont and Fletcher’s Dramas—Æschylus, Sophocles, Euripides—Milton”, in H[enry] N[elson] C[oleridge], editor, Specimens of the Table Talk of the Late Samuel Taylor Coleridge. […], volume II, London: John Murray, […], published 1835, →OCLC, pages 203–204:

Forms

Antonyms

openly · above-board · publicly

Synonyms

under the rose · under the table · behind the scenes

wikipedia: Harpocrates · wikipedia: Aphrodite · wikipedia: Eros · wikipedia: Louis-Philippe Mouchy

sub rosa en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• (General-American) audio
• /ˌsʌb ˈɹəʊzə/ (Received-Pronunciation)
• /ˌsʌb ˈɹoʊzə/ (General-American)

Etymology

PIE word *upó The adverb and adjective are an unadapted borrowing from Late Latin sub rosā (literally “under the rose”), from Latin sub (“beneath, under”) + rosa (“rose”) (possibly from Ancient Greek ῥόδον (rhódon, “rose”), ultimately from Proto-Iranian *wardah (“flower; rose”) and Proto-Indo-European *Hwerdʰ-, possibly a metathesis of *h₁lewdʰ- (“to grow; to rise”)). The reason for the reference to a rose is uncertain, though it has been suggested that it derives from the Ancient Greek myth that Aphrodite (the goddess of love) gave a rose to her son Eros (the god of love and sex), who in turn gave it to Harpocrates (the god of silence, confidentiality, and secrets) to ensure that Aphrodite’s sexual indiscretions were not revealed. Roses thus became a symbol of secrecy—they were, for example, used at meetings to pledge the participants not to disclose what had been discussed. Compare under the rose which is attested earlier. The noun is derived from the adverb and adjective.

Meanings

1. (US, slang, uncountable) Covert surveillance video used as evidence against applicants for workers' compensation to show they are not in fact (seriously) injured.
   • Questions about Esparza's surveillance practices were exacerbated by an incident in December 2003, in which another subject of a sub-rosa complained of being followed by Esparza wielding a video camera. 2006 March 23, Daniel Blackburn, “Fraud Busters”, in New Times:

Forms

Translations (1)

fi salaa kuvattu video (covert surveillance video used as evidence against applicants for workers’ compensation)

wikipedia: Harpocrates · wikipedia: Aphrodite · wikipedia: Eros · wikipedia: Louis-Philippe Mouchy