soupçon
noun

- a very small quantity of something

- pinch of, a touch of, a dash of, a hint of

Oxford Languages, Collins Dictionary

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WORD ORIGIN

The word "soupçon" has an interesting etymology that traces back to the French soupçon, which means "a suspicion" or "a slight trace or suggestion”. This, in turn, derives from the Old French sospeçon, meaning "suspicion, worry, anxiety".

The earliest known use of "soupçon" in English dates back to 1766, in the writings of Horace Walpole, an English author and politician.

In English, "soupçon" has now come to mean "a very small amount, a hint, or a trace", carrying with it a sense of something so slight that it might only be suspected or barely noticed, much like its original connotation of suspicion.

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APPRECIATING THE “BARELY-THERE”

In a world that often celebrates the loud and the obvious, "soupçon" underlines the power of understatement. It invites us to pause and appreciate the barely-there, to see beauty in the smallest detail.

Perhaps, in the end, it's not only grand gestures, but the soupçons of life that provide true meaning – those subtle signals that, like the meaning of the word itself, leave an impression far greater than their size would suggest.

Paul Smith

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SYNONYMS

atom, barely any, bissel, bit, bite-sized, bobbin, crumb, dab, dash, dribble, drizzle, drop, droplet, dusting, fragment, glimmer, grain, hair, hint, hint of, iota, itty-bitty, jot, lick, like an apple of gold in a field of silver, little, mere suggestion, mite, modicum, morsel, nip, particle, pinch, scintilla, scrap, scruple, shade, shred, small bit, small quantity, smidge, smidgen, snippet, SOUPÇON, spark, speck, spot, sprinkle, sprinkling, suspicion of, tad, taste, teensy bit, thimbleful, tidbit, tinge, tiny amount, tittle, touch, trace, wee bit, whiff, whit

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SMUGGLE OWAD into a sentence. Say something like:

“The best presentations have at least a SOUPÇON of humour to keep the audience engaged.”

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THANKS to Florian for suggesting today’s OWAD.

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