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Origin and history of suggest

suggest(v.)

1520s, "place before another's mind; put forward a proposition," from Latin suggestus, past participle of suggerere "bring up, bring under, lay beneath; furnish, afford, supply; prompt" (see suggestion).

The meaning "act so as to call up the idea of (something else); introduce to another's mind by indirect association" is from 1709. It also had a bad sense, "seduce, tempt away from" (1580s). Related: Suggested; suggesting.

also from 1520s

Entries linking to suggest

suggestion(n.)

mid-14c., suggestioun, "action of prompting or urging," originally especially "a prompting to evil," from Anglo-French and Old French suggestioun "hint; temptation," from Latin suggestionem (nominative suggestio) "an addition, intimation, suggestion," noun of action from suggestus, past participle of suggerere "bring up, bring under, lay beneath; furnish, afford, supply; prompt," from sub "under; up from below" (see sub-) + gerere "bring, carry" (see gest).

The sense evolution in Latin is from "heap up, build" to "bring forward an idea." In English, "act of placing before the mind problematically" is by late 14c.; also "proposal, statement, declaration." It was extended by c. 1600 to the action of an idea in bringing another idea to mind by association or natural connection. The older English notion of "evil prompting" remains in the euphemistic use of suggestive.

The hypnotism sense, "insinuation of a belief or impulse into the mind of the subject," is from 1887.

suggestible(adj.)

1851, "capable of being influenced," from suggest + -ible. The meaning "capable of being suggested" is from 1836. Related: Suggestibly; suggestibility.

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propose
mid-14c., proposen, "form a design or intention;" late 14c., "put forward or offer for consideration;" from Old French proposer "propose, advance, suggest" (12c.), from pro "forth" (see pro-) + poser "put, place" (see pose (v.1)). The notion is "place before as something to be do
advise
late 13c., avisen "to view, consider" (a sense now obsolete); late 14c., "to give counsel to," from Old French aviser "deliberate, reflect, consider" (13c.), from avis "opinion," from phrase ço m'est à vis "it seems to me," or from Vulgar Latin *mi est visum "in my view," ultimat
hint
c. 1600 (Shakespeare), "an indirect suggestion intended to be caught by the knowing," apparently from obsolete hent, from Middle English hinten "to tell, inform" (c. 1400), from Old English hentan "to seize," from Proto-Germanic *hantijan (source also of Gothic hinþan "to seize")
serviette
Spanish servilleta, Italian salvieta suggest folk-etymology changes somewhere....
planxty
According to OED, some suggest ultimate derivation from Latin plangere "to strike, beat" (from PIE root *plak- (2) "to strike...
amphigory
French amphigouri (18c.), which is of unknown origin, perhaps itself a nonsense word, though the first element seems to suggest...
fumble
Similar words in Scandinavian and North Sea Germanic (Swedish fumla; Dutch fommelen) suggest onomatopoeia from a sound felt...
advocate
mid-14c., "one whose profession is to plead cases in a court of justice," a technical term from Roman law, from Old French avocat "barrister, advocate, spokesman," from Latin advocatus "one called to aid (another); a pleader (on one's behalf), advocate," noun use of past particip
adumbrate
1580s, "to outline, to sketch," from Latin adumbratus "sketched, shadowed in outline," also "feigned, unreal, sham, fictitious," past participle of adumbrare "cast a shadow over;" in painting, "to represent (a thing) in outline," from ad "to" (see ad-) + umbrare "to cast in shado
smack
"a taste, flavor, savor" especially a slight flavor that suggests something, Middle English smakke, from Old English smæc "taste; scent, odor," from Proto-Germanic *smakka- (source also of Old Frisian smek, Middle Dutch smæck, Dutch smaak, Old High German smac, German Geschmack,

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