Etymograph

English

vindictive

Vindictive comes from Latin vindicta ‘vengeance’.

  1. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEvindicta1‘vengeance’
  2. Englishearliest quotation 1834vindictive1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English vindictive
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1834, Letitia Elizabeth Landon, London: Richard Bentley: “Lord Avonleigh was an angry rather than a vindictive…”.

Lineage

  1. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEvindictaWiktionary, English vindictive‘vengeance’
  2. Englishearliest quotation 1834vindictiveWiktionary, English vindictive. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1834, Letitia Elizabeth Landon, London: Richard Bentley: “Lord Avonleigh was an angry rather than a vindictive…”

Linked words

through Latin vindicta ‘vengeance’

vendetta

Today it means

adj Having a tendency to seek revenge when wronged, vengeful.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “vindictive”. 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 vindicta / vindictive

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