Etymograph

English

convict

Convict comes from Latin convictus ‘convinced’, from vincō ‘conquer, win’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *weyk- ‘to sift, separate’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*weyk-1‘to sift, separate’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*winékti ~ *winkénti1reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*winkō1‘to conquer, overcome’reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEvincō1‘conquer, win’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEconvincō2‘to convict’
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEconvictus2‘convinced’past participle of convincō
  7. Anglo-Normanc. 1066–1400convicter2
  8. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500convicten2
  9. Englishearliest quotation 1936convict2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin convinco
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English convict
  3. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1936, Robert Frost, The Vindictives: “And his subjects wrung all they could wring /…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*weyk-Wiktionary, Latin convinco‘to sift, separate’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*winékti ~ *winkéntiWiktionary, Latin convincoreconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*winkōWiktionary, Latin convinco‘to conquer, overcome’reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEvincōWiktionary, Latin convinco‘conquer, win’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEconvincōWiktionary, English convict‘to convict’
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEconvictusWiktionary, English convict‘convinced’past participle of convincō
  7. Anglo-Normanc. 1066–1400convicterWiktionary, English convict
  8. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500convictenWiktionary, English convict
  9. Englishearliest quotation 1936convictWiktionary, English convict. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1936, Robert Frost, The Vindictives: “And his subjects wrung all they could wring /…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *weyk- ‘to sift, separate’

province, weakness, witch, victim, wicked, wo, victor, iconic, icon, wight, weakly, vicar, wile, waw, ancona, 33 more

through Latin vincō ‘conquer, win’

victory, invincible, victorious, eviction, vanquish, evict, 11 more

Today it means

verb To find guilty, as a result of legal proceedings, or (informal) in a moral sense.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “convict”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Latin convinco. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *weyk- / convict

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