Etymology Explorer › Middle French

Where does “vice” come from?

vice (Middle French) comes from Old French vice, from Latin vitium, from Proto-Indo-European wi-tio-, from Proto-Indo-European wei — guilt, vice, fault.

vice (Middle French): vice

Definitions

  1. vice

Ancestry of “vice”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Old Frenchvice—
2Latinvitiumflaw, defect, blemish, error, fault; vice; crime
3Proto-Indo-Europeanwi-tio-—
4Proto-Indo-Europeanweiguilt, vice, fault

Words derived from “vice”

  • viceroy
  • viceroyship
  • vices
  • vice
  • vice-roi
  • vice-rei
  • vice-roy
Every word from Proto-Indo-European wei →