furtive
/ˈfɝtɪv/
Word Rarity
Very rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.49 in modern English
13
Scrabble Score
7
Letters
2
Syllables
7
Unique Chars
Meaning
Example Sentences
- "[…] The Defendant never vvas acknovvledged by the Sieur Harrouard’s Family, nor by that of his VVife. Thus, granting him to have been in Poſſeſſion of his Son’s Eſtate, it vvould only be a furtive and clandeſtine, not a public and avovved Poſſeſſion; and conſequently ſuch a Poſſeſſion as is incapable of founding a juſt and legal Title."
- "[T]ender cares and mild domestic Loves, / With furtive watch, pursue her [a swan] as she moves; […]"
- "I noticed the same singular, and as it were, furtive glance over the shoulder that had attracted my attention in the Cassino."
- "The proprietor of the house cowered over a bed-candle and a furtive tea-pot in the back drawing-room."
- ""Don't call me Solomon. Do you want to be the death of me?" asked the man, in a furtive, frightened way."
- "At the edge of my kingdom scurry / Creatures in feathers and furs— / Crows in a furtive hurry— / Hungry and cringing curs— […]"
Etymology
From Middle English *furtyve (implied in furtyvely (adverb)), from Middle French furtif, furtive (“furtive, stealthy”) (modern French furtif), from Latin fūrtīvus (“clandestine, furtive, secret; concealed, hidden; stolen”), from fūrtum (“theft; robbery”) (from fūr (“thief”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *bʰer- (“to bear, carry”)) + -īvus (suffix forming adjectives).
Origin
Word Breakdown
- Root: *bʰer-, *furtyve, furtif, fūrtīvus
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ˈfɝtɪv/
- British English: /ˈfɜːtɪv/
Inflected Forms
more furtive (comparative)
most furtive (superlative)