English
vindicate
Vindicate comes from Latin vindicātus ‘avenged’, from vindicō ‘lay legal claim to something’, and ultimately from dīcere.
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEdīcere
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEvindex‘defender, protector’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEvindicō‘lay legal claim to something’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEvindicātus‘avenged’perfect passive participle of vindicō
- Englishearliest quotation 2008vindicate
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Earlier history not traced here.
Lineage
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEdīcere
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEvindex‘defender, protector’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEvindicō‘lay legal claim to something’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEvindicātus‘avenged’perfect passive participle of vindicō
- Englishearliest quotation 2008vindicate
Earliest quotation: 2008, Drew Karpyshyn, Mass Effect: Ascension: “As a man of vision, he understood this. Without…”
A compound of vīs ‘force, power’ + dīcō ‘say’
Proto-Indo-European *weyh₁- ‘to rush’
Proto-Indo-European *wéyHs ‘force, strength’
Proto-Italic *wīs ‘strength, force, power’
Latin vīs ‘force, power’
Proto-Indo-European *deyḱ- ‘to show’
Proto-Indo-European *déyḱeti ‘to show, point out’
Proto-Italic *deikō ‘to show, indicate’
Latin dīcō ‘say’
The story
Borrowed from Latin vindicātus, perfect passive participle of vindicō (‘lay legal claim to something; set free; protect, avenge, punish’), from vim, accusative singular of vīs (‘force, power’), + dīcō (‘say; declare, state’).
Linked words
through Latin vindex ‘defender, protector’
through Latin vindicō ‘lay legal claim to something’
Today it means
verb To clear of an accusation, suspicion or criticism.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Latin dīcere / vindicate