Etymology Explorer › French

Where does “suspect” come from?

suspect (French) comes from Latin suspectus, from Latin suspiciō, from Latin suspicere, from Latin specere, from Latin specio, from Proto-Italic spekjō, from Proto-Indo-European spéḱyeti, from Proto-Indo-European speḱ- — to see, to look, to observe.

suspect (French): suspicious; suspect; a suspect

Definitions

  1. suspicious; suspect; a suspect

Ancestry of “suspect”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Latinsuspectusmistrusted, suspected, having been suspected;...
2Latinsuspiciō—
3Latinsuspiceresecond-person singular present active subjunctive...
4Latinspecerepresent active infinitive of speciō;...
5LatinspecioI observe, watch, look at
6Proto-Italicspekjōto observe, to see
7Proto-Indo-Europeanspéḱyetito be looking at, to keep looking at
8Proto-Indo-Europeanspeḱ-to see, to look, to observe
Every word from Proto-Indo-European speḱ- →