CONNIVE

[Dr. Goodword]

• connive •

Pronunciation: kê-naiv • Hear it!

Part of Speech: Verb, intransitive

Meaning: 1. To secretly plot, to scheme behind someone's back. 2. To turn a blind eye to, to pretend not to know about a misdeed carried out by someone, as to connive at the worthlessness of derivative securities being accumulated by a bank.

Notes: The noun suffix -ery is associated with mischief and we find it converting words referring to mischief of various sorts into nouns: thievery, debauchery, jiggery-pokery, to mention only a few. So it comes as no surprise that we create a noun from today's Good Word by adding this suffix: connivery. A conniving person is a conniver.

In Play: Connivery usually involves skullduggery of some sort: "Anna Conda connived for weeks with the office secretary and the previous occupant to get the corner office when it was vacated." The crucial element, however, is a mindful secret operation; it need not involve misbehavior: "Melanie was happy that all the conniving she involved her family in resulted in a successful surprise birthday party for her sister."

Word History: Today's Good Word comes via French conniver from Latin connivere "to blink, wink, close the eyes", made up of com- "together" + a variant of nictare "to wink, blink". The original metaphorical sense was apparently either to "wink at" or "close a blind eye to", metaphors we use in English today. The original Proto-Indo-European word from which nictare was derived was knei-gwh- "to bend". In the Germanic languages it emerged as Old Norse hniga and Modern German neigen "to bend, to bow". (Today we have decided without any connivery to thank Rune Ellingsen of Norway for suggesting today's very Good Word.)[/url]

[Slava]

Well, with no conniving on my part, a piece of this word has twice been previously debated on this site:

http://www.alphadictionary.com/bb/viewtopic.php?t=4080
http://www.alphadictionary.com/bb/viewtopic.php?t=577

I'll admit a generally favorable disposition to the illustration in the second, though earlier, post.

[Stargzer]

I've always heard connivance rather than connivery.

The Infoplease (Random House Unabridged Dictionary) has:

connivery
the practice of conniving

and

connivance
1. the act of conniving.
2. Law.
a. tacit encouragement or assent (without participation) to wrongdoing by another.
b. the consent by a person to a spouse's conduct, esp. adultery, that is later made the basis of a divorce proceeding or other complaint. Also,con•niv'ence.

There's a fine line between the two, I guess.

Does connivance denote specific act, while connivery denotes a general disposition to commit connivance?

Oy.

[gailr]

Is the honor among friendly thieves connivial?

[Slava]

Shall we connive at convivial connivance?

[Perry]

Is the honor among friendly thieves connivial?

It may be the night of the long connives.

PS: Hooray! Gail is back!

[LukeJavan8]

Or convivial?

[skinem]

Is the honor among friendly thieves connivial?

It may be the night of the long connives.

PS: Hooray! Gail is back!

That was funny...

Good to see Gail post again.