undercover
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Pronunciation
- /ˌʌndə(ɹ)ˈkʌvə(ɹ)/[1]
Etymology
It was formed in English from under- and the noun cover,[2][3][4] from the phrase under cover.[5]
Earliest recorded meaning
Sheltered, especially protected from enemy fire: 1854 in Etymonline;[5] the Shorter Oxford dates the sense "situated or occurring under cover" to the mid 19th century,[2] and Dictionary.com dates the word to 1850–55.[3]
Semantic evolution
The figurative sense, operating in secret within a community or organization, especially to investigate or spy, is recorded from 1920,[5][4] the early 20th century in the Shorter Oxford.[2] American criminal slang had undercover man by 1931 for an employer's detective who watched workers without their knowledge,[6] and undercover as a noun for a plain-clothes detective.[6]
Timeline
- 1854 – sheltered, protected from fire.[5]
- 1920 – operating in secret.[5][4]
- 1931 – undercover man, a secret detective.[6]
Modern meaning
Adjective
- Done or acting in secret, especially as a spy or a police officer posing as someone else: an undercover agent or She spent two years working undercover in a smuggling ring.
- Situated under a roof or shelter; sheltered.
Related words
References
- ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
- ^ a b c Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
- ^ a b Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
- ^ a b c Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
- ^ a b c d e Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
- ^ a b c Green, Jonathon (2010), Green's Dictionary of Slang, London: Chambers; digital ed. 2016–, https://greensdictofslang.com