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Origin and history of vicinity

vicinity(n.)

1550s, "nearness in place, quality of being near;" from French vicinité and directly from Latin vicinitas "of or pertaining to neighbors or a neighborhood," as a noun, "neighborhood, nearness, proximity," from vicinus (adj.) "of the neighborhood, near, neighboring," as a noun "the neighborhood, a neighbor," from vicus "group of houses, village," related to the -wick, -wich in English place names (from PIE root *weik- (1) "clan, settlement").

It is attested by 1796 in English as "neighborhood, surrounding district" in the phrase in the vicinity of "near or close to." Compare vicinage.

also from 1550s

Entries linking to vicinity

vicinage(n.)

early 14c., vesinage, "a neighborhood, a vicinity, the place or places nearby," from Old French vesinage, visenage, from Latin vicinus "near, neighboring" (see vicinity). By 1590s as "condition of being a neighbor." The spelling is a 16c. classical correction.

*weik-(1)

Proto-Indo-European root meaning "clan, social unit above the household."

It might form all or part of: antoecian; bailiwick; Brunswick; diocese; ecology; economy; ecumenical; metic; nasty; parish; parochial; vicinage; vicinity; viking; villa; village; villain; villanelle; -ville; villein; Warwickshire; wick (n.2) "dairy farm."

It might also be the source of: Sanskrit visah "house," vit "dwelling, house, settlement;" Avestan vis "house, village, clan;" Old Persian vitham "house, royal house;" Greek oikos "house;" Latin villa "country house, farm," vicus "village, group of houses;" Lithuanian viešpats "master of the house;" Old Church Slavonic visi "village;" Gothic weihs "village."

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    section
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    hood
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    place
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