Skip to the word

Added 9 October 2026

cloak-and-dagger

adjective

First recorded: 1840 Wiktionary

adjective Definition from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). More about cloak-and-dagger at Wordnik → Where our words come from →

Marked by menacing furtive secrecy, often with a melodramatic tint or espionage involved.

Origin

Calque of French de cape et d'épée (“of the cloak and the sword”); first attested 1840. The French term referred to a genre of drama in which the main characters wore cloaks and had swords. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow used the “cloak and sword” term in 1840, whereas Charles Dickens preferred “cloak and dagger” a year later.

From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)

Back to today's word