Etymograph

English

suspicious

Suspicious comes from Latin suspiciō.

  1. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEsuspiciō1
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEsuspiciosus2
  3. Old Frenchc. 842–1400sospecious2
  4. Englishearliest quotation c. 1587–1588suspicious2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin suspiciosus
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English suspicious
  3. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: c. 1587–1588, Christopher Marlowe, Tamburlaine the Great. […] The First Part […]: “Betraide by fortune and ſuſpitious loue, Threatned with frowning…”.

Earlier history not traced here. See Wiktionary.

Lineage

  1. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEsuspiciōWiktionary, Latin suspiciosus
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEsuspiciosusWiktionary, English suspicious
  3. Old Frenchc. 842–1400sospeciousWiktionary, English suspicious
  4. Englishearliest quotation c. 1587–1588suspiciousWiktionary, English suspicious. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: c. 1587–1588, Christopher Marlowe, Tamburlaine the Great. […] The First Part […]: “Betraide by fortune and ſuſpitious loue, Threatned with frowning…”

Linked words

through Latin suspiciō

suspect, 3 more

Today it means

adj Arousing suspicion.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “suspicious”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Latin suspiciosus. 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 / suspicious

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