*SET-U

English word origin

Etymology of vice

PIE word *dwóh₁ Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *dwóh₁ Proto-Indo-European *(d)wi-tyo-? ▲ Proto-Indo-European *dwi- Proto-Indo-European *wí? Latin vitium Old French vicebor. Middle English vice English vice From Middl

3 source sectionsExtended source reportWiktionary original ↗
In this entry · 3 source sections

The source etymologies

Wiktionary via Kaikki / Wiktextract

The source reports below are imported and unreviewed by *SET-U. Separate numbered origins and differing source variants are preserved; agreement within this extraction is not independent corroboration.

Source etymology 1

Original entry ↗
noun

Bad or immoral behaviour. (Especially often, a habit that harms oneself or others) · Any of various crimes related (depending on jurisdiction) to weapons, prostitution, pornography, gambling, alcohol, tobacco, or drugs. · Clipping of vice squad. · A defect in the temper or behaviour of a horse, such as to make the animal dangerous, to injure its health, or to diminish its usefulness.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

PIE word *dwóh₁ Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *dwóh₁ Proto-Indo-European *(d)wi-tyo-? ▲ Proto-Indo-European *dwi- Proto-Indo-European *wí? Latin vitium Old French vicebor. Middle English vice English vice From Middle English vice, from Old French vice, from Latin vitium (“fault or blemish”). Displaced native Old English unþēaw.

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

  • Inherited-form mentionviceenm
  • Derivation mentionvicefro
  • Derivation mentionvitiumla
Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

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    {
      "name": "dercat",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ine-pro"
      },
      "expansion": ""
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      "expansion": "Proto-Indo-European"
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    },
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        "2": ":inh",
        "3": "enm:vice",
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      },
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    },
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      },
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    ],
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      "*(d)wi-tyo-",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/dwi-"
    ],
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      "*dwi-",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/dwi-"
    ],
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      "*wí",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/wí"
    ],
    [
      "vitium",
      "vitium#Latin"
    ],
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      "vice",
      "vice#Old_French"
    ],
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      "vice",
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    ],
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      "blemish",
      "blemish"
    ],
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      "unþēaw",
      "unþeaw#Old_English"
    ]
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        "Bad or immoral behaviour. (Especially often, a habit that harms oneself or others)",
        "Any of various crimes related (depending on jurisdiction) to weapons, prostitution, pornography, gambling, alcohol, tobacco, or drugs.",
        "Clipping of vice squad.",
        "A defect in the temper or behaviour of a horse, such as to make the animal dangerous, to injure its health, or to diminish its usefulness."
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Source etymology 2

Original entry ↗
noun

Alternative spelling of vise (“mechanical screw apparatus used for clamping”). · A tool for drawing lead into cames, or flat grooved rods, for casements. · A winding or spiral staircase. · A grip or grasp.

verb

Alternative spelling of vise (“to hold or squeeze with a vice”).

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

See vise.

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

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      "pos": "noun",
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        "Alternative spelling of vise (“mechanical screw apparatus used for clamping”).",
        "A tool for drawing lead into cames, or flat grooved rods, for casements.",
        "A winding or spiral staircase.",
        "A grip or grasp."
      ],
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Source etymology 3

Original entry ↗
noun

One who acts in place of a superior.

adj

in place of; subordinate to; designating a person below another in rank

prep

Instead of; in place of; versus.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *weyk-der. Latin vicis Latin vicebor. English vice From Latin vice (“in place of”), ablative form of vicis. Compare French fois (“time”) and Spanish vez (“time, turn”).

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

  • Borrowed-form mentionvicela
  • Cognate mentionfoisfr
  • Cognate mentionvezes
Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

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    },
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Where this record stops

This page does not supply an independently verified sound-change sequence, first-use manuscript or complete family tree unless a cited analysis explicitly establishes one. Missing detail here is a limit of this record—not a claim that humanity knows nothing more.

An older meaning does not determine what a word must mean today. Follow the sources, preserve disagreements, and keep ancestry separate from interpretation.

Contribute located evidence for vice →

Source and snapshot

Imported from Wiktionary contributors; extracted by Tatu Ylonen / Wiktextract / Kaikki.org. Selected fields are reformatted and grouped; wording, source identity and etymology sections are retained. CC-BY-SA-4.0 applies to the imported source material.

Dump: 2026-10-01 · Extracted: 2026-10-30. These are snapshot dates, not the word’s first attestation or the page’s revision date.

Source entry and bibliography ↗Wiktionary revision history ↗Acquisition and rights ledger
Machine-source provenance
Source SHA-256
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Import run
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Permanent entry ID
w-dmljZQ