Where does “suspook” come from?

suspook (English) comes from English suspect, from Middle French suspect, from Old French suspect, from Latin suspectus, from Latin suspiciō, from Latin suspicere, from Latin specere, from Latin specio — to see, to look, to observe.

suspook (English): A black person suspected of committing a crime

Definitions

  1. A black person suspected of committing a crime

Ancestry of “suspook”, step by step

suspook traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via English suspect

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishsuspectTo imagine or suppose to be true, or to exist,...
2Middle Frenchsuspect
3Old Frenchsuspect
4Latinsuspectusmistrusted, suspected, having been suspected;...
5Latinsuspiciōto look up at or to
6Latinsuspiceresecond-person singular present active subjunctive...
7Latinspecerepresent active infinitive of speciō;...
8LatinspecioI observe, watch, look at
9Proto-Italicspekjōto observe, to see
10Proto-Indo-Europeanspéḱyetito be looking at, to keep looking at
11Proto-Indo-Europeanspeḱ-to see, to look, to observe

via English spook

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishspookA ghost or phantom; A hobgoblin; A scare or...
2Dutchspookphantom, ghost; horror, terror; an annoying and...
3Middle Dutchspoocapparition, ghost; spook, ghost
4Middle Dutchspoke
5Proto-Germanicspōkspook, ghost, apparition; witchcraft, wizardry
Every word from Proto-Indo-European speḱ-