victory

victory · noun, interjection¹

1. Proto-Indo-European · derived from*weyk-“to contain, envelop; to overcome”
2. Latin · derived fromvictōria“victory”
3. Old French · derived fromvictorie
4. Anglo-Norman · derived fromvictorie
5. Middle English · inherited fromvictory
6. English todayvictory

The noun is derived from Middle English victory, victori, victorie (“supremacy, victory; a defeat or vanquishing, conquest; superior military force; might, power, strength; triumphal celebration or procession; monument commemorating a defeat; superior position, dominance; mastery; moral victory, vindication; success, triumph; redemption, salvation; resurrection of Jesus; means of achieving spiritual victory; reward for or token of perseverance in a spiritual struggle”) [and other forms], borrowed from Anglo-Norman victorie and Old French victorie, a variant of victoire (“victory, win”) (modern French victoire), from Latin victōria (“victory”), from victor (“champion, winner, victor; conqueror, vanquisher”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *weyk- (“to contain, envelop; to overcome”)) + -ia (suffix forming feminine abstract nouns). The English word is analysable as victor + -y (suffix forming abstract nouns denoting a condition, quality, or state), and displaced Middle English siȝe, sye. The interjection is derived from the noun. Cognates Cognate with French victoire, Italian vittoria, Portuguese vitoria, Spanish victoria, Romanian victorie. Tamil வெற்றி (veṟṟi) (pronounced roughly like "vetri") is a false cognate.

victory · verb²

1. Latin · derived fromvictōria
2. Medieval Latin · derived fromvictōriāre
3. Old French · derived fromvictorier
4. Middle English · inherited fromvictorien“to overcome, vanquish”
5. English todayvictory

From Middle English victorien (“to overcome, vanquish”), from Old French victorier, or from Medieval Latin victōriāre, from Latin victōria (noun); see further at etymology 1. Cognates * Italian vittoriare

Words from the same roots