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Origin and history of conviction

conviction(n.)

mid-15c., "the proving or finding of guilt of an offense charged," from Late Latin convictionem (nominative convictio) "proof, refutation," noun of action from past-participle stem of convincere "to overcome decisively," from com-, here perhaps an intensive prefix (see com-), + vincere "to conquer" (see vincible).

The meaning "mental state of being convinced or fully persuaded" is from 1690s; that of "firm belief, a belief held as proven" is from 1841. In a religious sense, "state of being convinced one has acted in opposition to conscience, admonition of the conscience," from 1670s.

also from mid-15c.

Entries linking to conviction

vincible(adj.)

1540s, "capable of being conquered or vanquished," from French vincible and directly from Latin vincibilis "which can be gained; easily maintained," from vincere "to overcome, conquer."

According to Watkins this is from a nasalized form of PIE root *weik- (3) "to fight, conquer." But de Vaan reports it from the similar PIE root meaning "to bend; tie" (see *weik- (2)) and notes, " 'to bend' can easily develop into 'overcome, conquer' (one bending the other) or 'give in, yield' (the one being bent by the other)."

Related: Vincibility. A vincible ignorance in theology is an ignorance in one who possesses the means of overcoming it.

convictions(n.)

"those ideas which one believes to be true," 1830, plural of conviction.

com-

word-forming element usually meaning "with, together," from Latin com, archaic form of classical Latin cum "together, together with, in combination," from PIE *kom- "beside, near, by, with" (compare Old English ge-, German ge-). The prefix in Latin sometimes was used as an intensive.

Before vowels and aspirates, it is reduced to co-; before -g-, it is assimilated to cog- or con-; before -l-, assimilated to col-; before -r-, assimilated to cor-; before -c-, -d-, -j-, -n-, -q-, -s-, -t-, and -v-, it is assimilated to con-, which was so frequent that it often was used as the normal form.