Etymology From Middle English stelthe, from Old English stǣlþ, from Proto-Germanic *stēliþō, to Proto-Germanic *stelaną (“to steal, to sneak”) + *-iþō, equivalent to steal + -th (abstract nominal suffix). Compare Old English stalu (“theft, stealth”), Old High German stāla (“theft”), German Diebstahl (“theft”).
1
The attribute or characteristic of acting in secrecy, or in such a way that the actions are unnoticed or difficult to detect by others.
2
Archaic An act of secrecy, especially one involving thievery.
Claudio.[...] But it chances The stealth of our most mutuall entertainment With Character too grosse, is writ on Iuliet.c. 1603–1604 (date written), William Shakespeare, “Measure for Measure”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act I, scene iii]:
[The King] thinks it fit[...] that restitution according to this order be made to the petitioners for stealths committed upon them last winter (273).1877, George Hill, An Historical Account of the Plantation in Ulster at the Commencement of the Seventeenth Century, M'Caw, Stevenson & Orr, page 352:
Etymology From Middle English stelthe, from Old English stǣlþ, from Proto-Germanic *stēliþō, to Proto-Germanic *stelaną (“to steal, to sneak”) + *-iþō, equivalent to steal + -th (abstract nominal suffix). Compare Old English stalu (“theft, stealth”), Old High German stāla (“theft”), German Diebstahl (“theft”).
Slang To subject (someone) to stealthing (sexual intercourse without a condom through deception, for example removing the condom mid-act).
For her, there's a clear link between this behavior and that of avowed stealthers: : both stem from a place of sexism and misogyny, and to the extent that they differ, it's only by degree. Tellingly, Davis's work treats deception as merely one of several ways that men engage in the behavior she terms "condom use resistance." […] To the best of my knowledge, I've never been stealthed.2018 November 6, Lux Alptraum, Faking It: The Lies Women Tell about Sex--And the Truths They Reveal, Seal Press, →ISBN:
[He] tried to stealth her but Nikki checked him quick. “Unh-unh. You better strap up.” “Word?” “Word nigga.” “A'ight, a'ight.” Justus slid a condom on and entered Nikki real slow.2019 January 29, Shaun Sinclair, Blood Ties, Dafina, →ISBN:
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[…] condom. I'd seen him put it on and take it off afterward, so it wasn't like he'd tried to stealth me. Plus, my periods had always been irregular, so I could go six weeks before it appeared. When had I last gotten it, though? I couldn't[…]2019 November 5, Iris Morland, Oopsie Daisy: A Steamy Romantic Comedy: Professor Student Accidental Pregnancy Romance, Blue Violet Press LLC:
In Australia, one in three women and one in five men [...] in 2018 said they had been stealthed. The occurrence of stealthing is not exclusive to heterosexual intercourse, and while the majority of[…]2021 December 24, Brianna Chesser, Nadia David, April Zahra, Consent, Stealthing and Desire-Based Contracting in the Criminal Law, Routledge, →ISBN:
For example a sex worker complained about a client who 'stealthed' her by removing a condom and prosecuted him for rape. The court found him guilty (R v Campos).2021 November 9, Rosie Campbell, Teela Sanders, Sex Work and Hate Crime: Innovating Policy, Practice and Theory, Springer Nature, →ISBN:
stealth
adj
Etymology From Middle English stelthe, from Old English stǣlþ, from Proto-Germanic *stēliþō, to Proto-Germanic *stelaną (“to steal, to sneak”) + *-iþō, equivalent to steal + -th (abstract nominal suffix). Compare Old English stalu (“theft, stealth”), Old High German stāla (“theft”), German Diebstahl (“theft”).
Hiding one's transgender status (in general or in specific areas of one's life, e.g. at work) after transition.
go stealth; be stealth; live stealth
Lynn is a noted computer scienƟst and distnguished professor emerita of engineering who transitoned from male to female (MTF) in the 1960s and then lived “stealth,” or closeted about her transgender status, before coming out in 2000[…]2009 September 30, Joanne Herman, Transgender Explained for Those Who Are Not, AuthorHouse, →ISBN, page 15:
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They remained radical in their gender identities and not easily categorized; Darling, for example, lived “stealth” as a woman, and Curtis and Woodlawn alternated between female and male identities in different phases of their lives,[…]2010 July 9, Jon Davies, Trash: A Queer Film Classic, ReadHowYouWant.com, →ISBN, page 35:
Transgender Men and the Persistence of Gender Inequality Kristen Schilt. assigned: “Some of the boys, especially if they are really ... Trey, who was stealth, was accepted at work as one of the only black men in a male-dominated field.2011 January 15, Kristen Schilt, Just One of the Guys?: Transgender Men and the Persistence of Gender Inequality, University of Chicago Press, →ISBN, page 85:
Some respondents felt very comfortable being transgender FtM, […] One participant who was stealth about their gender identity and still presented as female to some friends and family,[…]2015 January 9, Tiffany Jones, Andrea del Pozo de Bolger, Tinashe Dune, Amy Lykins, Gail Hawkes, Female-to-Male (FtM) Transgender People’s Experiences in Australia: A National Study, Springer, →ISBN, page 97:
Jazz great and band leader Billy Tipton is one well-known example of a transgender person who lived “stealth” (secretly) most of his life. Born Dorothy Lucille tipton, Dorothy became “Billy” as an adolescent and, following a brief[…]2017 March 29, David Elias Weekley, Retreating Forward: A Spiritual Practice with Transgender Persons, Wipf and Stock Publishers, →ISBN, page 13: