vicious

See also: Vicious

English

Alternative forms

• vitious (obsolete)

Etymology

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.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈvɪʃəs/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɪʃəs

Adjective

vicious (comparative more vicious or viciouser, superlative most vicious or viciousest)

1. Violent, destructive and cruel.
2. Savage and aggressive.
   • 1922, Michael Arlen, “2/9/1”, in “Piracy”: A Romantic Chronicle of These Days:

     He had always been remarkably immune from such little ailments, and had only once in his life been ill, of a vicious pneumonia long ago at school. He hadn't the faintest idea what to with a cold in the head, he just took quinine and continued to blow his nose.

3. (archaic) Pertaining to vice; characterised by immorality or depravity.
   • 1603, Michel de Montaigne, translated by John Florio, The Essayes […], London: […] Val[entine] Simmes for Edward Blount […], →OCLC:
     , Folio Society, 2006, vol.1, p.195:

     We may so seize on vertue, that if we embrace it with an over-greedy and violent desire, it may become vicious.

   • 1814, Jane Austen, Mansfield Park:

     Admiral Crawford was a man of vicious conduct, who chose, instead of retaining his niece, to bring his mistress under his own roof

   • 1930, Ogden Nash, Lines to Be Mumbled at Ovington's:

     A murrain on you, Reverend Apse/I hope you get caught in a vicious moral lapse.

Synonyms

• scathy

Derived terms

• ultravicious
• unvicious
• vicious circle
• vicious cycle
• vicious intromission
• viciously
• viciousness

Related terms

• See vice#Related_terms

Translations

violent, destructive — see also violent,‎ destructive,‎ ferocious,‎ ruthless,‎ brutal,‎ atrocious,‎ malicious,‎ cruel,‎ sanguinary

• Albanian: please add this translation if you can
• Armenian: please add this translation if you can
• Bulgarian: зъл (bg) (zăl), злобен (bg) (zloben)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 暴虐的 (bàonüè de), 殘暴的 / 残暴的 (cánbào de)

• Esperanto: please add this translation if you can
• Estonian: please add this translation if you can
• Finnish: raju (fi), tuhoisa (fi), väkivaltainen (fi)
• French: violent(e), destructif (m)/destructive (f)
• Georgian: დამანგრეველი (damangreveli), აგრესიული (agresiuli)
• German: gewalttätig (de), destruktiv (de)
• Hungarian: rosszindulatú (hu), rossz (hu), gonosz (hu)
• Italian: violento (it)
• Japanese: 狂暴 (kyōbō) (violent, furious), 危険 (ja) (kiken) (dangerous)
• Latvian: please add this translation if you can
• Lithuanian: please add this translation if you can
• Polish: bezwzględny (pl), zacietrzewiony (pl)
• Portuguese: atroz (pt), brutal (pt), cruel (pt), desapiedado (pt) m, destrutivo (pt) m, sanguinolento (pt) m, violento (pt) m
• Romanian: please add this translation if you can
• Russian: злой (ru) (zloj), зло́бный (ru) (zlóbnyj), я́ростный (ru) (járostnyj), свире́пый (ru) (svirépyj)
• Slovak: please add this translation if you can
• Turkish: agresif (tr), saldırgan (tr)

  Ottoman Turkish: خشین (haşin)

• Ukrainian: злий (uk) (zlyj)

savage, aggressive — see also savage,‎ aggressive,‎ ruthless,‎ brutal,‎ atrocious,‎ ferocious,‎ fierce

• Asturian: bravu (ast)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 凶悍的 (xiōnghàn de), 凶暴的 (xiōngbào de)

• Finnish: raaka (fi), julma (fi), ärhäkkä (fi), aggressiivinen (fi)
• Georgian: აგრესიული (agresiuli), ველური (veluri)
• German: grausam (de), aggressiv (de)
• Hungarian: vad (hu), dühödt (hu), ádáz (hu)
• Italian: aggressivo (it)
• Japanese: 狂暴 (kyōbō) (violent, furious), 危険 (ja) (kiken) (dangerous)
• Polish: narowisty
• Portuguese: agressivo (pt) m, selvagem (pt)
• Turkish: agresif (tr)

pertaining to vice; characterised by immorality or depravity — see also addicted

• Armenian: արատավոր (hy) (aratavor)
• Bulgarian: порочен (bg) (poročen)
• Cebuano: mapintas nga
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 不道德的 (bùdàodé de), 墮落的 / 堕落的 (duòluò de), 邪惡的 / 邪恶的 (xié'è de)

• Czech: neřestný
• Esperanto: malvirta
• Finnish: paheellinen (fi)
• French: vicieux (fr)
• Georgian: მანკიერი (manḳieri), ბიწიერი (bic̣ieri), უზნეო (uzneo)
• German: böse (de), boshaft (de), übel (de), unmoralisch (de)
• Gothic: 𐌿𐌽𐌼𐌰𐌽𐌰𐍂𐌹𐌲𐌲𐍅𐍃 (unmanariggws)
• Hungarian: erkölcstelen (hu)
• Igbo: ajọ
• Irish: ainbhéasach, coirpe, drochmhúinte, duáilceach, mínáireach, oilbhéasach, olc
• Japanese: 悪徳 (ja) (akutoku) (dishonest, crooked), 堕落した (ja) (daraku shita) (corrupt, depraved)
• Javanese: ganas (jv)
• Latin: vitiosus
• Russian: поро́чный (ru) (poróčnyj)
• Spanish: vicioso (es)
• Swedish: illvillig (sv), elak (sv), ond (sv), omoralisk (sv)
• Turkish: ahlaksız (tr), kötü (tr), muzır (tr)
• Welsh: gwydus

Middle English

Alternative forms

• viciows, vicius, vycious, vycyus, vicyous, vecyous, vysyous, vycios, vycyous, vicyows

Etymology

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

Borrowed from Anglo-Norman vicious, from Latin vitiōsus; equivalent to vice +‎ -ous.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /visiˈuːs/, /visˈjuːs/, /ˈvisjus/

Adjective

vicious (plural and weak singular viciouse)

1. Iniquitous, sinful, wicked (often in a way that causes harm or vice to/in others)
2. (rare) Lacking purity or cleanness; spoiled or defiled.
3. (rare) Inaccurate, modified, or debased; of substandard quality.
4. (rare) Injurious, dangerous; causing serious harm.

Descendants

• English: vicious
• Scots: veecious

References

• “viciǒus, adj.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 1 March 2019.

Old French

Alternative forms

• vicios, vitios

Etymology

From Latin vitiōsus.

Adjective

vicious m (feminine viciouse)

1. vicious; malicious
2. defective; not capable of functioning

Declension

	Case	masculine	feminine	neuter
singular	subject	vicious	viciouse	vicious
	oblique				vicious	viciouse	vicious
plural	subject		vicious		viciouses	vicious
	oblique		vicious			viciouses	vicious

Descendants

• → Middle English: vicious, viciows, vicius, vycious, vycyus, vicyous, vecyous, vysyous, vycios, vycyous, vicyows
  • English: vicious
  • Scots: veecious
• Middle French: vitieux
  • French: vicieux
    • → Romanian: vicios

References

• “vicios”, in Anglo-Norman Dictionary, 2nd edition, Aberystwyth, Ceredigion: Aberystwyth University, 2001–2026.