vicissitude
Definition from Wiktionary, the free dictionary
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English [edit]
Etymology [edit]
From Latin vicissitudo (“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 [edit]
- IPA: [vɨˈsɪsɨˌtu(ː)d]
- Hyphenation: vi‧cis‧si‧tude
Noun [edit]
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.
- (often plural) a change, especially in one's life or fortunes.
- 1667, John Milton, Paradise Lost, vii, 351,
- And God made.. the Stars, and set them in the firmament of Heaven to illuminate the Earth, and rule the day in their vicissitude...
- 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.
- Seneca
- Happy is the man who can endure the highest and lowest fortune. He who has endured such vicissitudes with equanimity has deprived misfortune of its power.
- 1667, John Milton, Paradise Lost, vii, 351,
Synonyms [edit]
- ups and downs (informal)
Translations [edit]
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, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Help:How to check translations.
Translations to be checked
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External links [edit]
- vicissitude in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913
- vicissitude in The Century Dictionary, The Century Co., New York, 1911
- vicissitude at OneLook Dictionary Search
