Expert: Maria - 1/28/2009

Question
Is it fair to say that vici is the root of victory and vinci is the root of invincible, i.e. always wins?

Answer
Hello,

Both VICTORY (Latin,“victoria”)and INVINCIBLE(Latin, “invincibilis”) derive from the Latin verb VINCO (I win/I conquer) whose paradigm is just the following:

-VINCO (1st.person singular, present indicative) = I win/I conquer

-VICI (1st.person singular, past indicative ) = I won/I conquered

-VICTUM (supine, i.e. defective verbal noun used with verbs of motion and indicates purpose) = to win, as in “Venit victum” meaning “He came to win”.

-VINCERE (infinitive) = to win/ to conquer

In short, while the seeming root of “victory” is “victor” from “victus”(see the supine “victum”), past participle of 'vincere', and the seeming root of “invincible” is “invincibilis”, either VICTORY and INVINCIBLE derive in fact from the Latin verb VINCERE.

Best regards,
Maria