Etymograph

English

vincible

Vincible comes from Latin vincibilis ‘conquerable’, 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 CEvincō2as vincere‘to conquer’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEvincibilis2‘conquerable’
  6. Englishearliest quotation a. 1628vincible2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin vinco
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English vincible
  3. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: a. 1628, John Hayward, The Life: “He, not easily vincible in spirit […] drew his…”.

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 vincibleas vincere‘to conquer’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEvincibilisWiktionary, English vincible‘conquerable’
  6. Englishearliest quotation a. 1628vincibleWiktionary, English vincible. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: a. 1628, John Hayward, The Life: “He, not easily vincible in spirit […] drew his…”

Linked words

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

victim, weakness, icon, witch, wicked, victor, province, wo, wight, weakly, vicar, waw, wile, ancona, 32 more

through Latin vincō ‘to conquer’

victory, conviction, convince, victorious, convict, eviction, evict, vanquish, 9 more

Today it means

adj Capable of being defeated or overcome; assailable or vulnerable.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “vincible”; 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- / vincible

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