Stars & Stripes
The Stars & Stripes on the American flag would be stellae & clavi in Latin. This puns with sutelae & calvio “tricks & deceiving”. Because sutela for “trick” is derived from “stitched together”, we even get confirmation from the tale that Betsy Ross literally “stitched together” the stripes for the flag. It’s a pun!
Latin stellae = stars; sutelae = tricks
stēlla; stēllae :
a star; a star shape, a figure of a star
— Latin (Wikt)
sūtēla; sūtēlae :
a sewing together; a cunning device, artifice, trick, wile, stratagem
— Latin (Wikt)
Latin clavi = stripes; calvio = deceive
clāvus; clāvī :
a nail; purple stripe on the tunic
— Latin (Wikt)
calvio :
deceive, intrigue / use subterfuge / tricks against; be tricked / deceived
— Latin (LSJ.gr)
calvor; calvī :
deceive; intrigue against
— Latin (Wikt)
