English
conspire
Conspire comes from Latin conspirare, and goes back to spīrō ‘breathe’.
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEspīrō1‘breathe’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEconspirare1
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400conspirer1
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500conspiren1
- Englishearliest quotation 1597conspire1
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, English conspire
- Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1597, Joseph Hall, (please specify the page): “Angry clouds conspire your overthrow.”.
Earlier history uncertain. See Wiktionary.
Lineage
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEspīrōWiktionary, English conspire‘breathe’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEconspirareWiktionary, English conspire
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400conspirerWiktionary, English conspire
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500conspirenWiktionary, English conspire
- Englishearliest quotation 1597conspireWiktionary, English conspire. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1597, Joseph Hall, (please specify the page): “Angry clouds conspire your overthrow.”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *(s)peys- ‘to blow’
through Latin spīrō ‘breathe’
spirit, respiratory, spree, sprite, expire, aspiration, aspire, esprit, aspirant, 52 more
Today it means
verb To secretly plot or make plans together, often with the intention to bring bad or illegal results; to collude, to connive, to plot.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “conspire”. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.
Etymograph / Latin spīrō / conspire