English
suspicion
Suspicion comes from Latin suspicere, from sub ‘under, beneath, below’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *speḱ- ‘to see, to look, to observe’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*speḱ-‘to see, to look, to observe’root as named
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*upó‘up; from below’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*supo‘under’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEsub‘under, beneath, below’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEsuspicere
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEsuspīciō
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500suspecioun
- Englishearliest quotation 1620suspicion
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*speḱ-‘to see, to look, to observe’root as named
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*upó‘up; from below’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*supo‘under’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEsub‘under, beneath, below’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEsuspicere
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEsuspīciō
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500suspecioun
- Englishearliest quotation 1620suspicion
Earliest quotation: 1620, Giovanni Bocaccio, The Decameron: “[…]purſued his vnneighbourly purpoſe in ſuch ſort: that hee…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *speḱ- ‘to see, to look, to observe’
special, respect, despite, specific, species, perspective, scope, aspect, inspector, spectrum, spy, spectacular, expectation, inspection, spite, speculation, skeptical, spectacle, inspect, specify, specimen, speculative, retrospective, spectator, spice, speculate, retrospect, expectant, specter, espionage, skeptic, conspicuous, macroscopic, spectroscopic, endoscopic, speculator, circumspect, espy, specular, specious, 118 more
through Proto-Indo-European *upó ‘up’
up, above, upper, sum, upward, oft, hypo, 9 more
through Latin sub ‘under, beneath, below’
suggest, sub, subaltern, 5 more
through Latin suspīciō
Today it means
noun The act of suspecting something or someone, especially of something wrong.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *speḱ- / suspicion