Deceyte

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. Archaic term for deliberate deception, the act of misleading someone through lies or trickery
2. An old word for dishonesty practiced to make another person believe something false
3. Obsolete noun meaning fraud or cunning concealment used to mislead others for gain

Etymology: "Deceyte" is a Middle English spelling of what is now "deceit," and it reached English through Old French. The Old French "deceite" came from the Latin "decepta," the past participle of "decipere," meaning "to ensnare" or "to catch," built from "de-" (away, down) and "capere" (to take). The underlying image is of someone taking a person in a trap, which is the same root that gives English "capture" and "receive." English adopted the word around the late 1200s, and spellings varied widely for centuries, with "deceite," "deceyte," and "deceit" all in circulation before the modern form settled. The "-cept" of the Latin became "-ceit" in French, a change that also shaped "conceit" and "receipt," which share the same ancestry through different routes.

Synonyms: deceit, deception, fraud, trickery, duplicity

Antonyms: honesty, candor, sincerity, truthfulness, openness