tergiversate

English

WOTD – 19 December 2008

Etymology

From Latin tergiversārī (“to evade, to avoid, to turn one's back on”) + English -ate (verb-forming suffix), from tergum (“back, hind”) + vertere (“to turn”).

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˈtɜːd͡ʒɪvəseɪt/
• (US) enPR: tər-jɪv'ər-sāt, IPA^(key): /tɝˈd͡ʒɪvɝseɪt/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

Verb

tergiversate (third-person singular simple present tergiversates, present participle tergiversating, simple past and past participle tergiversated)

1. (intransitive) To evade, to equivocate using subterfuge; to obfuscate in a deliberate manner.
   • 1999, Philip McCutchan, Werner Levi, The Hoof, →ISBN, page 18:

     The officials soon concluded that the easiest way to remain on good terms with the court was to elude responsibility, to tergiversate, to prevent results.

2. (intransitive) To change sides or affiliation; to apostatize.
   • 2002, Colin Morris, Peter Roberts, chapter 8, in Pilgrimage: The English Experience from Becket to Bunyan, →ISBN, page 221:

     Henry had hesitated before authorising the spoliation; he would soon tergiversate on other matters of doctrine but this act was irreversible.

3. (intransitive, rare) To flee by turning one's back.

Synonyms

• (to evade, obfuscate): prevaricate, beat around the bush
• (to change sides): desert

Related terms

• tergiversation
• tergiversator

 

Translations

to evade, to equivocate using subterfuge; to deliberately obfuscate

• Bulgarian: увъртам (bg) (uvǎrtam)
• Czech: vytáčet se, vymlouvat se
• French: se dérober (fr); tergiverser (fr) (in part)
• Italian: tergiversare (it)
• Latin: tergiversor
• Portuguese: tergiversar (pt)
• Romanian: tergiversa (ro)
• Russian: уклоня́ться (ru) impf (uklonjátʹsja), уви́ливать (ru) impf (uvílivatʹ), увёртываться (ru) impf (uvjórtyvatʹsja)

to change sides or affiliation; to apostatize

• Arabic: اِرْتَدَّ (irtadda)
• Czech: odpadnout, přeběhnout
• Finnish: kääntää takkinsa
• French: changer de camp, retourner sa chemise (fr)
• Russian: предава́ть (ru) impf (predavátʹ), отступа́ться (ru) impf (otstupátʹsja), переметну́ться (ru) pf (peremetnútʹsja)

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

• Spanish: tergiversar (es)

References

• “tergiversate, v.”, in OED Online ⁠, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2022.

Italian

Etymology 1

Verb

tergiversate

1. inflection of tergiversare:
   1. second-person plural present indicative
   2. second-person plural imperative

Etymology 2

Participle

tergiversate f pl

1. feminine plural of tergiversato

Anagrams

• gravitereste

Latin

Participle

tergiversāte

1. vocative masculine singular of tergiversātus

Spanish

Verb

tergiversate

1. second-person singular voseo imperative of tergiversar combined with te