suspect

Where does the word "suspect" come from? It comes from Latin suspicere, and was adopted directly into English (1300s).

Suspect’s story begins in Latin: suspicere meant “to mistrust secretly.” To look up from below, to mistrust secretly, from sub- (up from below) and specere (to look). It reached English by 1300s as suspect. Settled as the English word for believing something without proof. Today, suspect means to believe someone is guilty or something is true without proof.

1. Stage 1 · Latin · ancient suspicere "to mistrust secretly", to look up from below, to mistrust secretly, from sub- (up from below) and specere (to look).
2. Stage 2 · English · 1300s suspect "to believe something is true without proof", settled as the English word for believing something without proof.