Word of the Day

: July 24, 2008

soupçon

noun soop-SAWNG (the final NG is not pronounced, but the vowel is nas

What It Means

: a little bit : trace

soupçon in Context

The author makes the protagonist seem more human by infusing a bit of vanity, a touch of greed, and a soupçon of self-doubt into his otherwise exceptional character.

Did You Know?

Culinary enthusiasts may think "soupçon" originated with a dash of garlic in the coq au vin or a splash of vanilla in the crème anglaise, but the etymology of the word has more to do with inklings and suspicions than with food. Sometime in the 18th century, English speakers borrowed "soupçon" from the French, who were using the word to mean "drop," "touch," or "suspicion." The Old French form of the word was "sospeçon," which in turn comes from the Latin forms "suspection-" and "suspectio." Etymologists have further traced the word's Latin ancestry to the verb "suspicere," meaning "to suspect." "Suspicere," as you might expect, is also the source of the English words "suspect" and "suspicion."