Meaning

adjective indirect in departing from the accepted or proper way; misleading

adjective characterized by insincerity or deceit; evasive

adjective deviating from a straight course

origin1590s, "out of the common or direct way," from Latin devius (“out of the way, remote, off the main road”), from de via, from de (“off”) (see de-) + via (“way, road”). Compare deviate. Originally in the Latin literal sense; the figurative sense of "deceitful" is first recorded 1630s. Related to deviously, deviousness. Figurative senses of the Latin word were "retired, sequestered, wandering in the…

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 3.0