A word caught my eye this morning, as I was reading. When I first saw the word duplicity, my word rolodex spun up, and then shuddered to a stop.

Whenever I read a word that makes me pause, I find it’s a good idea to look it up, just in case I’ve misunderstood a thing. It happens to everyone, I’m sure, what with the English language having so many words, meanings, innuendos, and side rules for certain words and letters. Why they had to make things so darn hard, I’ll never understand.

But, I didn’t make the rules, so there’s no point in griping about them, right?!

Well, when I thought on what was bothering me about the word, it’s meaning fit in the context of the sentence I was reading, but I kept wanting to read it as duplicate, even though that word isn’t necessarily a negative one.

So, yes, I googled it!

First things first, I looked up the actual definition for duplicity…

Definitions from Oxford Languages · Learn more

du·plic·i·ty /do͞oˈplisədē/ noun: duplicity

1. 1. deceitfulness; double-dealing.”he was accused of duplicity and branded a traitor”. Opposite: honesty

archaic doubleness.

So, in the light of what I was reading, duplicity certainly fit, but why did my mind go to duplicate? Look just above this sentence, at the bottom of the definition. I guess my mind was triggered by the old form, which apparently was called doubleness. What does doubleness mean? Well, I checked…

doubleness /ˈdəb(ə)lnəs/ noun: doubleness

1. the quality or state of having two parts; duality.”the focus is on puns that reveal the doubleness of the poet’s meaning”

I get what doubleness means, and in a negative light such as duplicity reflects, I agree with the words usage.

Why then, did I get stuck on that silly word, duplicate, when I knew it was not the right word? Most likely, it was simply the similar spelling of both words. I deduced that part in the first five minutes, but went down a tiny rabbit hole, provided by none other than Google.

If I’m to share the definitions for duplicity, as well as, doubleness, we have to look at duplicate… just to be fair.

du·pli·cate adjective: duplicate /ˈdo͞opləkət/

1. 1. exactly like something else, especially through having been copied.”a duplicate license is issued to replace a valid license which has been lost” Opposite: different

noun: duplicate; plural noun: duplicates /ˈdo͞opləkət/

1. 1. one of two or more identical things.”books may be disposed of if they are duplicates”
   • a copy of an original. “locksmiths can make duplicates of most keys” Opposite: original

verb: duplicate; 3rd person present: duplicates; past tense: duplicated; past participle: duplicated; gerund or present participle: duplicating

Did you know that duplicate is considered an adjective, a noun, AND a verb, depending on it’s usage? Call me crazy, but I didn’t realize this, til I looked it up this morning. I also discovered that I’m not the only one who has come upon this little conundrum. It’s true! There’s already an explanation out there for the difference between duplicity and duplicate… go figure!

Check this out, and then I’ll leave you alone.

The word duplicate is derived from the Latin word duplicare, which means to double. Duplicity means deceitfulness, treacherousness, underhandedness, fraud or dishonesty. Duplicity is a noun, a related word is duplicitous.

This made more sense than all three of the other definitions. I wish I had have read this at the beginning of my research… sheesh!