Deceit

How to spell deceit

6 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce deceit

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does deceit mean?

1. nounThe act of concealing or misrepresenting the truth in order to mislead someone.

Deceit in a sentence

• The auditor uncovered years of deceit in the company accounts.

• Their marriage collapsed once the deceit came to light.

Where does deceit come from?

Language of origin: French

This word travelled into English from the Old French deceite, the past participle of the verb decevoir, meaning 'to deceive'. That French verb grew out of the Latin decipere, which literally meant 'to catch' or 'to ensnare', built from de- ('away, down') and capere ('to take or seize'). The underlying image, then, is of someone being caught off guard or trapped by a lie. English adopted the word in the 1300s, and it has kept the sense of deliberate trickery ever since. The same capere root appears in the relatives 'capture', 'receive' and 'conceive', and it is exactly that 'cei' spelling, an 'ei' following a 'c', that makes deceit a recurring trap for writers who half-remember the 'i before e' rule.

How the word is built

• de- (from, away)
• -ceit (from Latin capere: to take, catch)