“Tergiversation” has a few elements at play in its etymology. The verb “tergiversate” was recorded in English around the mid-17th century, but the noun form was in use a century before. In Latin, the root “tergiversat-” described something done “with one’s back turned,” from the verb “tergiversari.” That word was created from the Latin terms “tergum” (“back”) and “vertere” (“to turn”). The ancient Romans might have used “tergiversari” in a more literal body-turning sense, but by the time the noun “tergiversation” was in English, it was used for metaphorical back-turning, or betrayal. Even when it isn’t quite so dramatic as desertion, tergiversation can still be waffling back and forth or acting deliberately ambiguous instead of choosing a clear side.