Etymology

vicious

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Today it means: Violent, destructive and cruel. Full definition →

Middle English vicious ← Anglo-Norman vicious ← Latin vitiōsus
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vicious · adjective1

  1. Latin · derived fromvitiōsus
  2. Anglo-Norman · derived fromvicious
  3. Middle English · inherited fromvicious
  4. English todayvicious

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 Proto-Indo-European *h₃ed- Proto-Indo-European *-os Proto-Indo-European *h₃édosder.? Proto-Italic *-ŏ̄dsos? Old Latin -ōssus Latin -ōsus Latin vitiōsus Anglo-Norman viciousbor. Middle English vicious English vicious From Middle English vicious, from Anglo-Norman vicious, (modern French vicieux), from Latin vitiōsus, from vitium (“fault, vice”). Equivalent to vice + -ous.

Vicious · proper noun2

Originally a nickname for a vicious person.

Words from the same roots

Latinvitiōsus all →

viciosity

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.