praevaricari

Latin praevaricari meant 'to walk crookedly' or 'to straddle'—from prae (before) and varicare (to straddle), itself from varus (bow-legged, bent). In Roman law, a praevaricator was an advocate who colluded with the opposing side while pretending to represent his own client. He walked a crooked line between two loyalties.

Cicero prosecuted several praevaricatores in the Roman courts. The charge was specific: not incompetence but betrayal—a lawyer who deliberately weakened his own case to benefit the other party. The word combined physical awkwardness (straddling) with moral failure (treachery). Roman legal Latin made no distinction between a crooked walk and a crooked conscience.

English borrowed prevaricate in the 1580s, initially keeping the legal sense of colluding with an opponent. But by the 1630s, the meaning had softened to 'equivocate' or 'speak evasively'—to avoid a straight answer, to wander around the truth without quite lying. The treachery evaporated; only the crookedness remained.

Modern English uses prevaricate to mean 'beat around the bush' or 'avoid giving a direct answer.' The Roman lawyer who sabotaged his own client has been replaced by the person who cannot commit to a restaurant choice. The word has traveled from criminal betrayal to social annoyance.