subreption

[ suhb-rep-shuhn ]

noun

1. Canon Law. a concealment of the pertinent facts in a petition, as for dispensation or favor, that in certain cases nullifies the grant. Compare obreption ( def 1 ).
2. Scots Law. the act of obtaining something, as an escheat, by concealing pertinent facts. Compare obreption ( def 2 ).
3. a fallacious representation or an inference from it.

subreption

/ səbˈrɛpʃən; ˌsʌbrɛpˈtɪʃəs /

noun

1. rare.
   the concealment of facts in order to obtain a benefit, esp an ecclesiastical benefit or, in Scots Law, a grant from the Crown Compare obreption
2. any deceitful misrepresentation or concealment of facts

Derived Forms

• subreptitious, adjective

Other Words From

• sub·rep·ti·tious [suhb-rep-, tish, -, uh, s], adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of subreption¹

1590–1600; < Latin subreptiōn- (stem of subreptiō ) “a stealing,” equivalent to subrept(us) (past participle of subripere “to steal,” itself equivalent to sub- sub- ( def ) + -rep- (combining form of rapere “to seize,” rape ¹ ) + -tus past participle suffix) + -iōn- -ion

Word History and Origins

Origin of subreption¹

C17: from Latin subreptiō theft, from subripere, from sub- secretly + rapere to seize

Example Sentences

Subreption, sub-rep′shun, n. a procuring of some advantage by fraudulent concealment, esp. in Scots law, the gaining of a gift of escheat by concealing the truth: false inference due to misrepresentation.—adj.

From Project Gutenberg

The methods are of the class known colloquially among the vulgar-spoken American politicians as "pussyfooting" and "log-rolling"; but always with such circumstance of magnitude, authenticity and well-bred deference to precedent, as to give the resulting routine of subreption, trover and conversion, an air not only of benevolent consideration but of austere morality.

From Project Gutenberg

Nevertheless, since in this contemplation we fix our thoughts entirely on the object without reflecting on ourselves, we transfer the admiration of right due to the reason and its Idea of the infinite by subreption to the object by which the Idea is occasioned, and call the object itself sublime, instead of the mood which it wakes in us.

From Project Gutenberg

This individual thing or being is then, by means of the above-mentioned transcendental subreption, substituted for our notion of a thing which stands at the head of the possibility of all things, the real conditions of whose complete determination it presents.*

From Project Gutenberg