Etymograph

English

vicissitude

Vicissitude comes from Latin vicissitūdō ‘change’, from vicissim ‘on the other hand, in turn’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *weyk- ‘to curve, bend’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*weyk-1‘to curve, bend’reconstructed
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEvicis2‘change, vicissitude’
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEvicissim2‘on the other hand, in turn’
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEvicissitūdō2‘change’
  5. Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600vicissitude2
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1667vicissitude2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin vicis
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English vicissitude
  3. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1667, John Milton, Book VII: “And God made.. the Stars, and set them in…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*weyk-Wiktionary, Latin vicis‘to curve, bend’reconstructed
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEvicisWiktionary, English vicissitude‘change, vicissitude’
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEvicissimWiktionary, English vicissitude‘on the other hand, in turn’
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEvicissitūdōWiktionary, English vicissitude‘change’
  5. Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600vicissitudeWiktionary, English vicissitude
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1667vicissitudeWiktionary, English vicissitude. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1667, John Milton, Book VII: “And God made.. the Stars, and set them in…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *weyk- ‘to curve, bend’

victory, province, victim, convince, weakness, icon, witch, conviction, victor, wicked, wo, convict, wight, invincible, weakly, eviction, evict, wile, vanquish, ancona, waw, vicarious, 31 more

through Latin vicis ‘change, vicissitude’

vicar, 4 more

Today it means

noun Regular change or succession from one thing to another, or one part of a cycle to the next; alternation; mutual succession; interchange; variability.

Sources

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

Shirt and support for this word