subterfuge
English
Etymology
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Borrowed from Middle French subterfuge, from Medieval Latin subterfugium, from Latin subterfugio (“I flee secretly”), from subter (“under”) and fugio (“I flee”).
Pronunciation
Noun
subterfuge (countable and uncountable, plural subterfuges)
- (countable) An indirect or deceptive device or stratagem; a blind. Refers especially to war and diplomatics.
- Overt subterfuge in a region nearly caused a minor accident.
- 2010, Clare Vanderpool, Moon Over Manifest, →ISBN, →OCLC:
- How’s the spy hunt going? Uncovered any subterfuge?
- 2012 March, William E. Carter with Merri Sue Carter, “The British Longitude Act Reconsidered”, in American Scientist[1], volume 100, number 2, Sigma Xi, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 20 February 2012, page 87:
- But was it responsible governance to pass the Longitude Act without other efforts to protect British seamen? Or might it have been subterfuge—a disingenuous attempt to shift attention away from the realities of their life at sea.
- (uncountable) Deception; misrepresentation of the true nature of an activity.
Translations
indirect or deceptive device or stratagem; blind
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deception
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Translations to be checked
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French
Etymology
Borrowed from Medieval Latin subterfugium, from Latin subterfugio (“I flee secretly”), from subter (“under”) and fugio (“I flee”).
Pronunciation
Noun
subterfuge m (plural subterfuges)
- subterfuge
- Synonym: stratagème
Further reading
- “subterfuge”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.
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- English terms borrowed from Middle French
- English terms derived from Middle French
- English terms derived from Medieval Latin
- English terms derived from Latin
- English 3-syllable words
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- English lemmas
- English nouns
- English uncountable nouns
- English countable nouns
- English terms with quotations
- French terms borrowed from Medieval Latin
- French terms derived from Medieval Latin
- French terms derived from Latin
- French 3-syllable words
- French terms with IPA pronunciation
- French lemmas
- French nouns
- French countable nouns
- French masculine nouns