conspiracy

[reloaded]

was the word conspiracy first introduced by one person or a group of people working together in secret ?

[Quizmonster]

Well...the word comes from the Latin 'con' = 'with' and 'spirare' = 'breathe', so it means 'breathe together'. You'll need to work out for yourself which is the more likely...that such a concept could (a) have been dreamt up by a committee, as it were, or (b) that it was the creation of a single mind!

[bernardo]

There is a conspiracy theory that it was invented by a conspiracy of etymologists as part of a plot to destroy democracy, but this is only a myth invented by the people at the Garrick club.