Etymograph

English

vindicate

Vindicate comes from Latin vindicātus ‘avenged’, from vindicō ‘lay legal claim to something’, and ultimately from dīcere.

  1. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEdīcere1
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEvindex1‘defender, protector’
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEvindicō2‘lay legal claim to something’
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEvindicātus2‘avenged’perfect passive participle of vindicō
  5. Englishearliest quotation 2008vindicate2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin vindico
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English vindicate
  3. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 2008, Drew Karpyshyn, Mass Effect: Ascension: “As a man of vision, he understood this. Without…”.

Earlier history not traced here. See Wiktionary.

Lineage

  1. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEdīcereWiktionary, Latin vindico
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEvindexWiktionary, Latin vindico‘defender, protector’
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEvindicōWiktionary, English vindicate‘lay legal claim to something’
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEvindicātusWiktionary, English vindicate‘avenged’perfect passive participle of vindicō
  5. Englishearliest quotation 2008vindicateWiktionary, English vindicate. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 2008, Drew Karpyshyn, Mass Effect: Ascension: “As a man of vision, he understood this. Without…”

A compound of vīs ‘force, power’ + dīcō ‘say’

Proto-Indo-European *weyh₁- ‘to rush’

Proto-Indo-European *wéyHs ‘force, strength’

Proto-Italic *wīs ‘strength, force, power’

Latin vīs ‘force, power’

Proto-Indo-European *deyḱ- ‘to show’

Proto-Indo-European *déyḱeti ‘to show, point out’

Proto-Italic *deikō ‘to show, indicate’

Latin dīcō ‘say’

The story

Borrowed from Latin vindicātus, perfect passive participle of vindicō (‘lay legal claim to something; set free; protect, avenge, punish’), from vim, accusative singular of vīs (‘force, power’), + dīcō (‘say; declare, state’).

Full etymology on Wiktionary

Linked words

through Latin vindex ‘defender, protector’

avenge, 9 more

through Latin vindicō ‘lay legal claim to something’

vengeance, 7 more

Today it means

verb To clear of an accusation, suspicion or criticism.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “vindicate”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Latin vindico. 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 / Latin dīcere / vindicate

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