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vice

 - 17 dictionary results

vice

1  [vahys] ,
Use vice in a Sentence
–noun
1. an immoral or evil habit or practice.
2. immoral conduct; depraved or degrading behavior: a life of vice.
3. sexual immorality, esp. prostitution.
4. a particular form of depravity.
5. a fault, defect, or shortcoming: a minor vice in his literary style.
6. a physical defect, flaw, or infirmity: a constitutional vice.
7. a bad habit, as in a horse.
8. (initial capital letter) a character in the English morality plays, a personification of general vice or of a particular vice, serving as the buffoon.
Origin:
1250–1300; ME < AF, OF < L vitium a fault, defect, vice

Synonyms:
1. See fault. 2. depravity, sin, iniquity, wickedness, corruption. 5. blemish.

Antonyms:
1, 2. virtue.

vice

2  [vahys] ,
–noun, verb (used with object), viced, vic⋅ing.
vise.

vi⋅ce

3  [vahy-see, -suh, vahys]
–preposition
instead of; in the place of.
Origin:
1760–70; < L: instead of, abl. of vicis (gen.; not attested in nom.) interchange, alternation

vice-

 
a combining form meaning “deputy,” used in the formation of compound words, usually titles of officials who serve in the absence of the official denoted by the base word: viceroy; vice-chancellor.
Origin:
ME ≪ L vice vice 3

vise

  [vahys] noun, verb, vised, vis⋅ing.
–noun
1. any of various devices, usually having two jaws that may be brought together or separated by means of a screw, lever, or the like, used to hold an object firmly while work is being done on it.
–verb (used with object)
2. to hold, press, or squeeze with or as with a vise.
Also, vice.

Origin:
1300–50; ME vis < OF: screw < L vītis vine (whose spiral form gave later sense)

Related forms:
viselike, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To vice
vice 1   (vīs)   
n.  

    1. An evil, degrading, or immoral practice or habit.

    2. A serious moral failing.

    3. Wicked or evil conduct or habits; corruption.

    4. A slight personal failing; a foible: the vice of untidiness.

    5. A flaw or imperfection; a defect.

    6. Vice A character representing generalized or particular vice in English morality plays.

    7. A jester or buffoon.

  2. Sexual immorality, especially prostitution.

    1. A slight personal failing; a foible: the vice of untidiness.

    2. A flaw or imperfection; a defect.

    3. Vice A character representing generalized or particular vice in English morality plays.

    4. A jester or buffoon.

  4. A physical defect or weakness.

  5. An undesirable habit, such as crib-biting, in a domestic animal.

    1. Vice A character representing generalized or particular vice in English morality plays.

    2. A jester or buffoon.


[Middle English, from Old French, from Latin vitium.]
vice 2   (vīs)   
n.   & v.
Variant of vise.
vi·ce 3   (vī'sē, -sə)   
prep.  In place of; replacing.

[Latin ablative of *vix, change; see vice-.]
vise also vice   (vīs)   
n.  A clamping device, usually consisting of two jaws closed or opened by a screw or lever, used in carpentry or metalworking to hold a piece in position.
tr.v.   vised also viced, vis·ing also vic·ing, vis·es also vic·es
To hold or compress in or as if in a vise.

[Middle English vis, screwlike device, from Old French, screw, from Latin vītis, vine (from its spiral wrappings); see wei- in Indo-European roots.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

vice  (1)
"moral fault, wickedness," 1297, from O.Fr. vice, from L. vitium "defect, offense, blemish, imperfection," in both physical and moral senses (cf. It. vezzo "usage, entertainment").
"Horace and Aristotle have already spoken to us about the virtues of their forefathers and the vices of their own times, and through the centuries, authors have talked the same way. If all this were true, we would be bears today." [Montesquieu]
Vice squad is attested from 1905.

vice  (2)
"tool for holding," see vise.

vice- 
prefix meaning "instead of, in place of," 15c., from L. vice "in place of," ablative of vicis "change, turn, office" (see vicarious). Sometimes borrowed in O.Fr. form vis-, vi-.

vise 
c.1300, "device like a screw or winch for bending a crossbow or catapult," from O.Fr. vis, viz "screw," from L. vitis "vine, tendril of a vine," lit. "that which winds," from base of viere "to bind, twist" (see withy). The meaning "clamping tool with two jaws closed by a screw" is first recorded 1500.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Legal Dictionary

Main Entry: vice
Pronunciation: 'vIs
Function: noun
1 : a moral fault or failing
2 : DEFECT
3 : immoral activity (as prostitution)

Main Entry: vice
Pronunciation: 'vIs, 'vI-sE
Function: preposition
Etymology: Latin, ablative of vic- place, turn
: in the place of vice the absent chairman>; also : rather than

Main Entry: vice-
Function: prefix
: one that takes the place of <vice-chancellor>
Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of Law, © 1996 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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Medical Dictionary

Main Entry: vice
Pronunciation: 'vIs
Function: noun
: an abnormal behavior pattern in a domestic animal detrimental to its health or usefulness
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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