Suspicion
/səˈspɪʃən/noun
A feeling or belief that someone or something is guilty, false, or dangerous without full proof.
Did you know?The word comes from Latin *suspicari*, originally meaning “to look up at” or “to mistrust,” and it later developed the sense of secretly imagining wrongdoing.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*spek-
“to look, observe”
Latin
Latin
specere
“to look at, behold”
Latin
Latin
suspicari
“to look up at, mistrust, suspect”
Latin
Latin
suspiciō
“a suspicion, mistrust”
Old French
Old French
suspicion
“suspicion, distrust”
Middle English
English
suspicion
“mistrust, doubtful belief”
Modern English
English
suspicion
“a belief or feeling that someone or something is likely guilty, false, or harmful”