Where does “vice” come from?

Vice comes from Latin vicis, the genitive form of vix, combined with the suffix -io, ultimately deriving from Latin videre meaning "to see" and Proto-Indo-European gʷeih₃w-.

vice (English): A bad habit; Any of various crimes related to...

Definitions

  1. A bad habit; Any of various crimes related to...

Ancestry of “vice”, step by step

vice traces back through 3 separate lines of ancestry.

via Middle English vice

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle EnglishviceA fault or imperfection; a negative quality or...
2Old Frenchvice—
3Latinvitiumflaw, defect, blemish, error, fault; vice; crime
4Proto-Indo-Europeanwi-tio-—
5Proto-Indo-Europeanweiguilt, vice, fault

via Latin vice

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Latinviceablative singular of vicis; vocative singular of...
2Latinvicischange, alternation, turn; time, instance; season
3Proto-Indo-Europeanweyḱ-to enter in; to settle; settlement
4Proto-Indo-Europeanwey-to wither; fade; to move, go ahead; to be strong;...

via Latin vītis

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Latinvītisvine, grapevine
2Proto-Italic*wītis—
3Proto-Indo-Europeanwéh₁itisthat which twines or bends; branch, switch
4Proto-Indo-Europeanweh₁y-to twist, wind, weave, plait; to wrap, enclose,...

Words derived from “vice”

Every word from Proto-Indo-European wei →