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

Ed Newton, a Philadelphia-based photographer, entered the sub rosa world of the ramp hunt when he set out with several foragers this spring.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 13, 2026

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

The backbiting — and the sub rosa efforts to thwart their own president — led to constant personnel turnover, a dreary parade of firings, resignations and defenestrations.

From New York Times • Sep. 14, 2022

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

Even Courtney could find nothing to criticise in Lotzen's behavior; nor had his secret agents been able to detect anything sub rosa.

From The Colonel of the Red Huzzars by Scott, John Reed