vicissitude
English
Etymology
From Middle French vicissitude, 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
Noun
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 in the 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
- ups and downs (informal)
Translations
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 Wiktionary:Entry layout#Translations.
Translations to be checked
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References
- “vicissitude” (US) / “vicissitude” (UK) in Oxford Dictionaries, Oxford University Press.
Further reading
- vicissitude in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
- vicissitude in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.
- vicissitude at OneLook Dictionary Search
Dutch
Etymology
Borrowed from French vicissitude.
French
Etymology
Borrowed from Latin vicissitūdō.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /vi.si.si.tyd/
Further reading
- “vicissitude” in le Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).
Portuguese
Noun
vicissitude f (plural vicissitudes)
- vicissitude (regular change or succession from one thing to another)
- an unfortunate occurrence
Synonyms
- (unfortunate occurrence): revés, infortúnio
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