conspirator

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English conspiratour,^[2][3][4] borrowed from Old French conspiratour, the Anglo-Norman form,^[5][6] recorded from 1305,^[7] and French conspirateur,^[4][5][8] from Latin cōnspīrātor,^[5][3][9] from cōnspīrātus, the past participle of cōnspīrō (“to agree, unite, plot”),^[3][4][9] literally "to breathe together", from con- and spīrō (“to breathe”).^[4][9] The OED notes that the English spelling was later conformed to the Latin, but not the pronunciation.^[5] It is related to conspire, conspiracy and spirit.^[4][9]

Earliest recorded meaning

One who plots or carries out evil or unlawful designs, a plotter or traitor: about 1403, in a document printed by the Historical Manuscripts Commission, which lists conspirators beside false swearers in courts.^[2] The OED's first record is from Lydgate's Pilgrimage of the Soul (1413),^[5] and Etymonline dates the word to about 1400.^[4]

Semantic evolution

The word has kept its sense from the start: in Lydgate's Troy Book (about 1425) conspirators rise against their lord as traitors,^[2] and the OED's definition adds one who conspires with others to commit treason.^[5] Johnson (1755) defined it as a man engaged in a plot, quoting Shakespeare's Henry VI and Dryden.^[10] The feminine conspiratrice is recorded from the early 15th century and conspiratress from 1760.^[4]

Timeline

• c. 1403 – one who plots evil or unlawful designs; a traitor.^[2][5]
• early 15th century – feminine conspiratrice.^[4]
• 1760 – feminine conspiratress.^[4]

Meanings

Noun

1. A person who takes part in a conspiracy; a plotter, especially one plotting treason.^[3][5]

Word family

• nonconspirator
• co-conspirator

Related words

• conspire
• conspiracy
• conspiratorial
• spirit
• inspire
• aspire

References

1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d Kurath, Hans; Kuhn, Sherman M.; Lewis, Robert E., eds. (1952–2001), Middle English Dictionary, Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press; online edition ed. Frances McSparran et al. (2000–2018)
3. ^ a b c d Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
5. ^ a b c d e f g h Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
6. ^ Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
7. ^ Anglo-Norman Dictionary (AND2), Aberystwyth University, anglo-norman.net (2nd ed., 2005–)
8. ^ Stevenson, Angus, ed. (2010), Oxford Dictionary of English, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
9. ^ a b c d Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
10. ^ Johnson, Samuel (1755), A Dictionary of the English Language, London; 4th ed. 1773; Johnson's Dictionary Online, ed. Beth Rapp Young et al.