vicissitude
English
Etymology
From Middle French vicissitude, from Latin vicissitūdō (“change”), from vicissim (“on the other hand, in turn”), from vicis (“change, vicissitude”), whence Spanish vez and French fois (“time (as in "next time"), occurrence”).
Pronunciation
- (UK, US) IPA(key): [vɨˈsɪs.ɨˌt(j)u(ː)d], [vaɪˈsɪs.ɨˌt(j)u(ː)d][1]
Audio (UK) (file) Audio (US) (file)
- Hyphenation: vi‧cis‧si‧tude
Noun
vicissitude (plural vicissitudes)
- Regular change or succession from one thing to another, or one part of a cycle to the next; alternation; mutual succession; interchange.
- Synonym: (informal) ups and downs
- (often in the plural) A change, especially in one's life or fortunes.
- 1667, John Milton, “Book VII”, in Paradise Lost. […], London: […] [Samuel Simmons], […], OCLC 228722708; republished as Paradise Lost in Ten Books: […], London: Basil Montagu Pickering […], 1873, OCLC 230729554:
- And God made.. the Stars, and set them in the firmament of Heaven to illuminate the Earth, and rule the day in their vicissitude...
- 1789, George Washington, First Inaugural Address
- Among the vicissitudes incident to life, no event could have filled me with greater anxieties than that of which the notification was transmitted by your order, and received on the fourteenth day of the present month.
- 2003, "US redeployments afoot in Asia", Christian Science Monitor, Nov. 18, Pg. 6.,
- The vicissitudes of war in Iraq cast a dreary backdrop for Donald Rumsfeld's first visit to Asian military allies since he became US Defense Secretary in 2001.
- 2005, Tony Judt, “Culture Wars”, in Postwar: A history of Europe since 1945, London: Vintage Books, published 2010, →ISBN:
- Engaged intellectuals were obliged to take a stand on the side of progress and History, whatever the occasional moral vicissitudes.
- September 8 2022, Stephen Bates, “Queen Elizabeth II obituary”, in The Guardian:
- Despite all the monarchy’s vicissitudes, however, Queen Elizabeth II, a figure from another age, who was stiff and formal and not noticeably particularly warm and empathetic, had won and retained the affection, loyalty and support of the overwhelming majority of the British public, who respected her for her diligence and sense of duty.
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Related terms
- vicar
- vicarious
- vice-
- vice versa
Translations
regular change or succession from one thing to another
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a change, especially in one's life or fortunes
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- The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.
Translations to be checked
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References
- “vicissitude”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.
Further reading
- vicissitude in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913
- vicissitude in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911
- vicissitude at OneLook Dictionary Search
Dutch
Etymology
Borrowed from French vicissitude.
Noun
vicissitude f (plural vicissitudes, diminutive vicissitudetje n)
- vicissitude
French
Etymology
Borrowed from Latin vicissitūdō.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /vi.si.si.tyd/
Noun
vicissitude f (plural vicissitudes)
- vicissitude
Further reading
- “vicissitude”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.
Portuguese
Etymology
Borrowed from Latin vicissitūdō.
Pronunciation
- (Brazil) IPA(key): /vi.si.siˈtu.d͡ʒi/
- (Southern Brazil) IPA(key): /vi.si.siˈtu.de/
- (Portugal) IPA(key): /vi.si.siˈtu.d(ɨ)/ [vi.si.siˈtu.ð(ɨ)]
- Hyphenation: vi‧cis‧si‧tu‧de
Noun
vicissitude f (plural vicissitudes)
- vicissitude (regular change or succession from one thing to another)
- an unfortunate occurrence
- Synonyms: revés, infortúnio