Etymograph

English

conviction

Conviction comes from Latin convictiō ‘companionship’, from convictus ‘convinced’, 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. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEconvictiō2‘companionship’
  8. Anglo-Normanc. 1066–1400conviction2
  9. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500conviction2
  10. Englishearliest quotation 1825conviction2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin convinco
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English conviction
  3. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1825, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, Aphorisms on that which is indeed spiritual religion: “Analogies are used in aid of Conviction: Metaphors, as…”.

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 conviction‘to convict’
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEconvictusWiktionary, English conviction‘convinced’past participle of convincō
  7. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEconvictiōWiktionary, English conviction‘companionship’
  8. Anglo-Normanc. 1066–1400convictionWiktionary, English conviction
  9. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500convictionWiktionary, English conviction
  10. Englishearliest quotation 1825convictionWiktionary, English conviction. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1825, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, Aphorisms on that which is indeed spiritual religion: “Analogies are used in aid of Conviction: Metaphors, as…”

Formed from convict + -ion

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

…

Latin convincō ‘to convict’

Latin convictus ‘convinced’

Anglo-Norman convicter

Middle English convicten

English convict

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, vanquish, eviction, evict, 11 more

Today it means

noun A firmly held belief.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “conviction”; 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- / conviction

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