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Etymology and origin of the English word vice

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

Confidence
Established
Formation
Borrowing
First attested
1297
Borrowed from
Old French vice via Middle English
Ultimate origin
Latin vitium

Pronunciation

Forms

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

vice2 tool

Confidence
Established
Formation
Borrowing
First attested
1300–1330
Borrowed from
Anglo-Norman vice via Middle English
Ultimate origin
Latin vītis

Pronunciation

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 vieō (“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

Confidence
Established
Formation
Borrowing
First attested
1597
Borrowed from
Latin vice
Ultimate origin
Latin vicis

Pronunciation

  • UK: /ˈvaɪ.si/[4]
  • 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.

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 d 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)

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“Vice.” Etymologically, 6 Nov. 2026, etymologically.com/en/vice. Accessed 15 Nov. 2026.

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