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vice

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English has three main words spelled vice: the moral fault, from Latin vitium; the clamping tool, from Latin vītis “vine”; and the preposition “in place of”, from Latin vice, which also stands for the prefix vice-, “deputy”.[1][2][3]

vice1 fault

Pronunciation

  • IPA: /vaɪs/[4]

Etymology

The fault is inherited from Middle English vice,[5] borrowed from Old French vice (“fault, failing, defect, misdemeanour”),[2][1] from Latin vitium (“defect, offence, blemish”), in both physical and moral senses,[2][1][5] which is of uncertain origin;[2] de Vaan supports a derivation from Proto-Indo-European *(d)ui-tio- (“apart, wrong”).[2] It is related to vicious and vitiate.[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Depravity, corruption of morals: 1297 in the OED,[6] about 1300 in Etymonline,[2] and the 13th century in Hoad.[1]

Semantic evolution

A particular sin is from the mid-14th century;[2] in Old French the seven deadly sins were les set vices.[2] A minor moral fault or flaw, a bad habit, is from 1338 in the OED[6] and the late 14th century in Etymonline,[2] and a physical defect from about 1386.[6] The Vice was a character in the morality plays, a buffoon, from 1551–2.[6] A horse's bad habit is from 1726.[6] The vice squad, a police unit dealing with prostitution, drugs and gambling, was introduced in New York City in 1905.[2]

Timeline

  • 1297 – depravity.[6]
  • 1338 – a moral flaw.[6]
  • mid-14th century – a particular sin.[2]
  • 1551–2 – the Vice of the morality plays.[6]
  • 1726 – a bad habit in a horse.[6]
  • 1905 – vice squad.[2]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. An evil or immoral habit or practice.
  2. Wicked conduct; corruption.
  3. Criminal or immoral activity such as prostitution or drug dealing.
  4. A minor personal failing; a foible.
  5. A flaw or defect.

Word family

  • vicious
  • vice squad

vice2 tool

Pronunciation

  • IPA: /vaɪs/[4]

Etymology

The tool, spelled vise in American English, is inherited from Middle English vys,[7] borrowed from Anglo-Norman vice, Old French vis, viz “screw”,[2][7][1] the nominative of a lost oblique case *vit,[7] from Latin vītis (“vine, tendril of a vine”), literally “that which winds”,[2][7][3] from the root of viēre (“to bind, twist”),[2][1] from Proto-Indo-European *wei- (“to turn, twist, bend”).[2] It is related to withy.[7]

Earliest recorded meaning

A device like a screw or winch for bending a crossbow or catapult: probably before 1300 in Barnhart,[7] the early 14th century in Etymonline, also a winch or crane for lifting,[2] and the 14th century in the OED.[6] A winding staircase is from 1334–5.[6]

Semantic evolution

Middle English also used the word of the newel of a spiral staircase, the screw of a press and a twisted tie fastening a hood under the chin.[2][6] A screw is from 1412–20.[6] The tool with two jaws opened and closed by a screw, to hold an object firmly while working on it, is from about 1500,[2][7] or the 16th century in Hoad.[1] The verb, to hold in a vice, is from 1602.[7][6]

Timeline

  • before 1300 – a winch for a crossbow.[7]
  • 1334–5 – a spiral staircase.[6]
  • 1412–20 – a screw.[6]
  • c. 1500 – the clamping tool.[2][7]
  • 1602 – verb.[7][6]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. A tool with two jaws closed by a screw or lever, used to hold an object firmly while it is worked on.

Verb

  1. To hold or squeeze as if in a vice.

Word family

  • vicelike

vice3 in place of

Pronunciation

  • IPA: UK /ˈvaɪ.si/, US /ˈvaɪ.sə/[4]

Etymology

The preposition is borrowed from Latin vice (“in the place of”), ablative of vicis (“change, alternation, stead”),[5][1] a noun found only in oblique forms.[1] The noun, a deputy, is the noun use of the prefix vice-, from the same Latin word.[1][5] It is related to vicar, vicarious and vicissitude.[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

The noun, one who acts in the place of another, a deputy: 1597 in the OED.[6] The preposition, “in place of, in succession to”, is from 1770,[6] or the 18th century in Hoad.[1]

Semantic evolution

In more recent use the noun stands for a title with vice- whose second element is implied by the context, such as vice-chancellor or vice president.[1][8]

Timeline

  • 1597 – a deputy.[6]
  • 1598 – stead, place.[6]
  • 1770 – preposition, in place of.[6]

Modern meaning

Preposition

  1. In place of; succeeding: appointed vice the late director.

Noun

  1. (informal) A person who acts in place of another; a deputy, such as a vice president.
  • vitiate
  • vituperate
  • vise
  • vicar
  • vicarious
  • vicissitude

Usage notes

In Somerset, Devon and Cornwall dialect vice was a form of fist.[9]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  3. ^ a b c Cresswell, Julia (2021), Oxford Dictionary of Word Origins, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  4. ^ a b c Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
  5. ^ a b c d e Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
  7. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  8. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
  9. ^ Wright, Joseph, ed. (1898–1905), The English Dialect Dictionary, 6 vols., Oxford: Henry Frowde; via EDD Online 4.0, University of Innsbruck (CC BY 4.0)