The term suspicion first appeared in the English language in a religious manuscript from 1290, where it was spelled suspecioun. Over time, various forms of the word emerged, such as suspition, suspecyon, susspecion, and more. The form suspecion gained popularity, reflecting its origins in Old French sospeçon. The reintroduction of the letter ‘i’ was influenced by the Latin etymon of suspeçon, suspicere, which not only meant suspicion but also encompassed notions of belief and supposition. The Latin roots of suspicere are the prefix sub-, meaning “up to”, and specere, meaning “to look at”. This suggests that someone who is suspicious of another may look up at them secretly to monitor their actions. The prefix sub- can be traced back to Proto-Indo-European upo, meaning “below”, while specere comes from PIE spek, meaning “to see”.
