Etymograph

English

vicinity

Vicinity comes from Latin vīcīnitās ‘neighborhood’, from vīcus ‘village’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *weyḱ-.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*weyḱ-1‘village’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*weikos1‘village’reconstructed
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEvīcus2‘village’
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEvīcīnus2‘neighbor’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEvīcīnitās2‘neighborhood’
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1883vicinity2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin vicus
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English vicinity
  3. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1883, A. E. Housman: “O suitably-attired-in-leather-boots Head of a traveller, wherefore seeking whom…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*weyḱ-Wiktionary, Latin vicus‘village’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*weikosWiktionary, Latin vicus‘village’reconstructed
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEvīcusWiktionary, English vicinity‘village’
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEvīcīnusWiktionary, English vicinity‘neighbor’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEvīcīnitāsWiktionary, English vicinity‘neighborhood’
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1883vicinityWiktionary, English vicinity. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1883, A. E. Housman: “O suitably-attired-in-leather-boots Head of a traveller, wherefore seeking whom…”

Formed from vicine + -ity

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *weyḱ- ‘village’

village, parish, villa, ecology, diocese, parochial, ville, 40 more

through Latin vīcus ‘village’

wick, 7 more

Today it means

noun Proximity; the state of being near.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “vicinity”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Latin vicus. 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 *weyḱ- / vicinity

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