Etymograph

English

furtively

Furtively comes from Latin fūrtīvus ‘secret’, from fūrtum ‘theft’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *bʰer- ‘to bear, carry’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰer-1‘to bear, carry’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰṓr1‘thief’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*fōr1‘thief’reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEfūr1‘a thief’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEfūrtum1‘theft’
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEfūrtīvus2‘secret’
  7. Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600furtif2
  8. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500ly2
  9. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500furtyvely3
  10. Englishearliest quotation 1906furtively3

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin furtivus
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Middle English furtyvely
  3. 3 Wiktionary, English furtively
  4. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1906, Lord Dunsany [i.e., Edward Plunkett: “And furtively Time looked him in the face and…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰer-Wiktionary, Latin furtivus‘to bear, carry’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰṓrWiktionary, Latin furtivus‘thief’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*fōrWiktionary, Latin furtivus‘thief’reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEfūrWiktionary, Latin furtivus‘a thief’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEfūrtumWiktionary, Latin furtivus‘theft’
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEfūrtīvusWiktionary, Middle English furtyvely‘secret’
  7. Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600furtifWiktionary, Middle English furtyvely
  8. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500lyWiktionary, Middle English furtyvely
  9. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500furtyvelyWiktionary, English furtively
  10. Englishearliest quotation 1906furtivelyWiktionary, English furtively. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1906, Lord Dunsany [i.e., Edward Plunkett: “And furtively Time looked him in the face and…”

Formed from furtive + -ly

Proto-Indo-European *bʰer- ‘to bear, carry’

…

Latin fūrtum ‘theft’

Latin fūrtīvus ‘clandestine, furtive, secret’

Middle French furtif

Middle English *furtyve

English furtive

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *bʰer- ‘to bear, carry’

different, offer, difference, bar, reference, transfer, bear, prefer, birth, broad, bread, suffer, extraordinary, translation, fortune, relate, burden, differ, barn, relation, barrel, referendum, bore, translate, baron, breeze, referee, bark, relative, frustration, borne, fertility, broom, phosphate, extravagant, barrow, embargo, fertile, fret, phosphorus, 156 more

through Latin fūr ‘a thief’

fury, ferret, 4 more

Today it means

adv In a furtive manner.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “furtively”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Latin furtivus, Middle English furtyvely. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *bʰer- / furtively

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