sub rosa

American  

[suhb roh-zuh] / sʌb ˈroʊ zə /

adverb

1. confidentially; secretly; privately.

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sub rosa British  

/ ˈrəʊzə /

adverb

1. in secret

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Etymology

Origin of sub rosa

First recorded in 1650–60; from Latin sub rosā literally, “under the rose,” from the ancient use of the rose at meetings as a symbol of the sworn confidence of the participants, based on the Greek myth that Aphrodite gave a rose to her son Eros, who then gave the rose to Harpocrates, the god of silence and secrets, to ensure that Aphrodite’s dalliances remained hidden

Example Sentences

But she also has, beneath the top layers of this Christmas story she was asked to make by Oscar-winning auteur Alfonso Cuarón, her own sub rosa meanings.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 23, 2023

But Poor can also claim a quirky bit of sub rosa fame, and when he revealed it over dinner that night, I nearly fell out of my chair.

From Washington Post • Mar. 22, 2022

“There is a lot of sub rosa sanctions enforcement going on with U.S. officials at State and Treasury and others,” Mr. Klingner said.

From Washington Times • Mar. 1, 2020

Sociologists Rhys Williams suggests this is a result of the sub rosa association that makes “white Christian American” the baseline and default cultural understanding of the United States.

From The Guardian • Jul. 16, 2019

His wife had left him within a year of his marriage, and whatever investigations he may have privately made, they were sub rosa, and he had persistently refused to make public ones.

From Christopher Hibbault, Roadmaker by Bryant, Marguerite