/
ˌsʌrəpˈtɪʃəs/
adj.
covert or clandestine.
Derivative
- surreptitiously adv.
- surreptitiousness n.
Etymology
ME (in the sense ‘obtained by suppression of the truth’): from L. surreptitius (from surripere, from sub- ‘secretly’ + rapere ‘seize’) + -ous.