soupçon

Forms

soupçon m (plural soupçons)^[1] Old French sospeçon (about 1155) and soupeçon (about 1240); Middle French soubçon (1549); the modern spelling dates from 1564.^[2][3] It was feminine, like the Latin noun, until the end of the 16th century.^[4][2]

Etymology

It is inherited from Old French sospeçon, inherited from Latin suspectiōnem (“suspicion”), the accusative of a noun of the imperial period.^[5][4][3][6] The Latin noun was formed on the supine of suspiciō (“to look up at, to suspect”), from sub- and speciō (“to look at”), and replaced the classical noun for suspicion, from which French later borrowed suspicion.^[3][4]

Bloch and Wartburg note that the accusative of the classical noun is also put forward as the source of the Gallo-Romance forms; for French the question cannot be settled, but Old Occitan sospeisso would then lack its ⟨i⟩.^[4] Italian sospetto has another source, suspectus.^[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first found as sospeçon in Wace's Conception Nostre Dame (about 1145), meaning an unfavourable opinion, mixed with unease, about someone's conduct or plans.^[5]

Semantic evolution

By the early 13th century it also meant the state of being suspected, whence tomber en soupçon (1660), now obsolete, and today être au-dessus de tout soupçon, said of someone of spotless honesty.^[3][5] In the classical period ôter quelqu'un de soupçon (1638) meant to show him that his suspicions were unfounded.^[3]

From the 16th century it was used for a mere conjecture (1558, Du Bellay).^[5] Pascal used it for an appearance that hints at the presence of something (1657–1662), whence aucun soupçon de ressemblance (Molière, 1671) and finally “a very small quantity” of a material thing (1746).^[5][3]

Timeline

• c. 1145 – Sospeçon appears in Wace's Conception Nostre Dame.^[5]
• c. 1225 – It is used for the state of being suspected.^[5]
• c. 1240 – Guillaume de Lorris writes soupeçon.^[2]
• 1558 – Du Bellay uses it for a conjecture.^[5]
• 1564 – Thierry records the spelling soupçon.^[5][2]
• 1657–1662 – Pascal uses it for a faint appearance of something.^[5]
• 1660 – Corneille writes tomber en soupçon.^[5]
• 1746 – La Morlière uses it for a very small quantity.^[5]

Meanings

Noun

1. A suspicion, an unfavourable opinion of someone resting on doubtful clues: éveiller les soupçons de la police.^[5][7]
2. The fact of being suspected: être au-dessus de tout soupçon.^[7][3]
3. A conjecture, a vague idea.^[7][5]
4. Un soupçon de: a hint or tiny amount of something: un soupçon de lait.^[7][5][1]

Word family

• soupçonner
• soupçonneux

Related words

• soupçonnable
• suspicion
• suspect

References

1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
3. ^ a b c d e f g Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
4. ^ a b c d e Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Trésor de la langue française informatisé (2004), ATILF – CNRS & Université de Lorraine, atilf.fr/tlfi; electronic version of Imbs, Paul; Quemada, Bernard, eds. (1971–1994), Trésor de la langue française, Paris: CNRS / Gallimard
6. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 12, 469b
7. ^ a b c d Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert