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soup·çon

(sp-sôɴ, spsŏn′)

A very small amount; a trace: not a soupçon of mercy.

[French, from Old French sospeçon, suspicion, from Latin suspectiō, suspectiōn-, fear, from suspectus, past participle of suspicere, to suspect; see SUSPECT.]

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

Indo-European Roots

Semitic Roots

The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.

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