victory English · revision 3719

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=c. 1300|origins=la vincō}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ˈvɪk.tᵊr.i/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|victorie]],^(Etymonline) [[bor|xno|victorie]], Old French victorie (French victoire),^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986)^(NODE 1998) and directly [[der|la|victōria|t=victory]],^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986) from the feminine of an unrecorded *victōrius “victorious”,^(MWU 2024) from [[m|la|victus]], past participle of [[m|la|vincere|t=to overcome, conquer]].^(Etymonline)^(MWU 2024) It is related to [[victor]], [[convince]], [[convict]], [[evict]] and [[vanquish]].^(Cresswell 2021)^(Hoad 1986)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Military supremacy achieved in battle, the defeat of an enemy: about 1300 in Etymonline,^(Etymonline) and the 14th century in the OED and Hoad, as in ''to have the victory''.^(OED 1989)^(Hoad 1986)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Latin Victōria was also the name of a Roman goddess, identified with the Greek Nike,^(Etymonline) and the goddess is so called in English from 1569.^(OED 1989)^(Hoad 1986) Victory personified is from 1563, and as an interjection of triumph from 1591.^(OED 1989) A ''Pyrrhic victory'', won at too great a cost, is from the mid-19th century, after Pyrrhus, king of Epirus, who defeated the Romans at Asculum in 279 BC with heavy losses.^(Cresswell 2021) The ''victory dance'' is from 1921, and the ''victory garden'', grown to provide food in wartime, from 1942;^(Etymonline) ''Dig for Victory'' was a British slogan of the Second World War.^(Cresswell 2021) The adjective victorial (about 1400), from Latin victōriālis, kept the plain sense, as [[Victorian]] has a special one.^(Etymonline) In Cornwall dialect ''victory'' meant conversion, salvation, at a revival meeting.^(Wright 1898)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 1300 – defeat of an enemy.^(Etymonline)

+ * c. 1400 – ''victorial''.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1563 – personified.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1569 – the Roman goddess.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1591 – interjection.^(OED 1989)

+ * mid-19th century – ''Pyrrhic victory''.^(Cresswell 2021)

+ * 1942 – ''victory garden''.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # The defeat of an enemy or opponent; a [[win]].^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # Success in a struggle against difficulties.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # The state of having [[triumph|alt=triumphed]].^(AHD)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[victoryless]]

+ * [[nonvictory]]

+ * [[Cadmean victory]]

+ * [[Pyrrhic victory]]

+ * [[victory garden]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[victor]]

+ * [[victoria]]

+ * [[victorious]]

+ * [[victress]]

+ * [[victrix]]

+ * [[vanquish]]

+ * [[convince]]

+ * [[convict]]

+ * [[evict]]

+ * [[invincible]]

+ * [[province]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ The American Heritage Dictionary notes that victory is the most general word for winning, especially the final defeat of an opponent, while [[conquest]] implies subjugation and [[triumph]] an outstanding or decisive victory.^(AHD)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}