In 1884, Angelo Moriondo of Turin, Italy, demonstrated the first working example of an espresso machine.
FURTIVE
backstair, backstairs, furtive
(adjective) secret and sly or sordid; “backstairs gossip”; “his low backstairs cunning”- A.L.Guerard; “backstairs intimacies”; “furtive behavior”
furtive, sneak, sneaky, stealthy, surreptitious
(adjective) marked by quiet and caution and secrecy; taking pains to avoid being observed; “a furtive manner”; “a sneak attack”; “stealthy footsteps”; “a surreptitious glance at his watch”
Source: WordNet® 3.1
Etymology
Adjective
furtive (comparative more furtive, superlative most furtive)
Stealthy.
Exhibiting guilty or evasive secrecy.
Synonyms
• (stealthy): surreptitious
• See also covert
Source: Wiktionary
Fur"tive, a. Etym: [L. furtivus, fr. furtum theft, fr. fur thief, akin to ferre to bear: cf. F. furtif. See Fertile.]
Definition: Stolen; obtained or characterized by stealth; sly; secret; stealthy; as, a furtive look. Prior. A hasty and furtive ceremony. Hallam.
Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition
Recent Word Finds
Word of the Day
9 May 2025
RIGHT
(noun) anything in accord with principles of justice; “he feels he is in the right”; “the rightfulness of his claim”
Coffee Trivia
