English
suspect
Suspect comes from Old French suspect, from Latin suspectus, past participle of suspiciō ‘to mistrust’ (sub ‘under’ + speciō ‘to look’).
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEsuspiciō1‘mistrust’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEsuspectus1perfect passive participle of suspiciō
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400suspect1
- Englishearliest quotation 1667suspect1
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, English suspect
- Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1667, John Milton, Book IX: “From her hand I could suspect no ill.”.
Lineage
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEsuspiciōWiktionary, English suspect‘mistrust’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEsuspectusWiktionary, English suspectperfect passive participle of suspiciō
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400suspectWiktionary, English suspect
- Englishearliest quotation 1667suspectWiktionary, English suspect. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1667, John Milton, Book IX: “From her hand I could suspect no ill.”
A compound of sub ‘under’ + speciō ‘watch, look at’
Proto-Indo-European *upó ‘up; from below’
Proto-Italic *supo ‘under’
Latin sub ‘under’
Proto-Indo-European *speḱ- ‘to see, to look, to observe’
Proto-Indo-European *spéḱyeti ‘to be looking at, to keep looking at’
Proto-Italic *spekjō ‘to observe, see’
Latin speciō ‘watch, look at’
Linked words
through Latin suspiciō ‘mistrust, suspect’
Today it means
verb To imagine or suppose (something) to be true, or to exist, without proof.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “suspect”. 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 suspiciō / suspect