Etymograph

English

evince

Evince comes from Latin ēvincō ‘conquer entirely, prevail over’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *weyk- ‘to overcome’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*weyk-1‘to overcome’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 CEvincō2‘conquer’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEēvincō2‘conquer entirely, prevail over’
  6. Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600évincer2
  7. Englishearliest quotation 1661evince2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin vinco
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English evince
  3. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1661, Robert Boyle, The Sceptical Chymist: “For You will find in the Progress of our…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*weyk-Wiktionary, Latin vinco‘to overcome’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*winékti ~ *winkéntiWiktionary, Latin vincoreconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*winkōWiktionary, Latin vinco‘to conquer, overcome’reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEvincōWiktionary, English evince‘conquer’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEēvincōWiktionary, English evince‘conquer entirely, prevail over’
  6. Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600évincerWiktionary, English evince
  7. Englishearliest quotation 1661evinceWiktionary, English evince. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1661, Robert Boyle, The Sceptical Chymist: “For You will find in the Progress of our…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *weyk- ‘to overcome’

victim, weakness, icon, witch, wicked, victor, wo, province, wight, weakly, vicar, wile, waw, ancona, 31 more

through Latin vincō ‘conquer’

victory, conviction, convince, victorious, convict, invincible, vanquish, 8 more

through Latin ēvincō ‘conquer entirely, prevail over’

eviction, evict

Today it means

verb To show or demonstrate clearly; to manifest.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “evince”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Latin vinco. 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- / evince

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