Fun fact about the word “devious”: “Devious” took a crooked path into English. Latin devius meant off the road or out of the way. The word first described routes, then wandered into the moral territory we know now: indirect, underhanded methods. Which feels more devious: a winding trail or a carefully hidden motive? #words #vocabulary
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KNOW MORE ABOUT THIS WORD: devious. Say it: DEE-vee-us Meaning: Indirect or underhanded. Its older image was physical: off the road.
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THE STORY: Where it started. English borrowed devious from Latin devius: off the road or out of the way. Latin de via carries the image of moving away from a road.
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NEXT: What changed. The word first described a winding or roundabout route. It later moved from geography into conduct that was not straightforward.
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NOW: Where it ended up. Devious took a crooked path into English. Latin devius meant off the road or out of the way. The word first described routes, then wandered into the moral territory we know now: indirect, underhanded methods.
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YOUR TURN: What about you?. Which feels more devious: a winding trail or a carefully hidden motive?