vicissitude

English

Etymology

From Middle French vicissitude, from Latin vicissitūdō (“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

• (UK, US) IPA^(key): /vɪˈsɪs.ɪˌt(j)uːd/, /vaɪˈsɪs.ɪˌtuːd/

  • Audio (Southern England); /vɪ-/:

    (file)

  • Audio (US); /vɪ-/:

    (file)

• Hyphenation: vi‧cis‧si‧tude

Noun

vicissitude (plural vicissitudes)

1. Regular change or succession from one thing to another, or one part of a cycle to the next; alternation; mutual succession; interchange.

   Synonym: (informal) ups and downs

2. (often in the plural) A change, especially in one's life or fortunes.
   • 1667, John Milton, “Book VII”, in Paradise Lost. […], London: […] [Samuel Simmons], and are to be sold by Peter Parker […]; [a]nd by Robert Boulter […]; [a]nd Matthias Walker, […], →OCLC; republished as Paradise Lost in Ten Books: […], London: Basil Montagu Pickering […], 1873, →OCLC:

     And God made.. the Stars, and set them in the firmament of Heaven to illuminate the Earth, and rule the day in their vicissitude...

   • 1789, George Washington, First Inaugural Address:

     Among the vicissitudes incident to life, no event could have filled me with greater anxieties than that of which the notification was transmitted by your order, and received on the fourteenth day of the present month.

   • 2003 November 18, “US redeployments afoot in Asia”, in Christian Science Monitor, page 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.

   • 2005, Tony Judt, “Culture Wars”, in Postwar: A history of Europe since 1945, London: Vintage Books, published 2010, →ISBN:

     Engaged intellectuals were obliged to take a stand on the side of progress and History, whatever the occasional moral vicissitudes.

   • September 8 2022, Stephen Bates, “Queen Elizabeth II obituary”, in The Guardian‎^[1]:

     Despite all the monarchy’s vicissitudes, however, Queen Elizabeth II, a figure from another age, who was stiff and formal and not noticeably particularly warm and empathetic, had won and retained the affection, loyalty and support of the overwhelming majority of the British public, who respected her for her diligence and sense of duty.

Related terms

• vicar
• vicarious
• vice-
• vice versa

 

Translations

regular change or succession from one thing to another

• Arabic: تبدل (ar) m
• Bulgarian: смяна (bg) f (smjana), редуване (bg) n (reduvane)
• Catalan: vicissitud (ca) f
• Dutch: onbestendigheid (nl)
• Finnish: vaihtelu (fi)
• French: vicissitude (fr) f
• Georgian: ცვალებადობა (cvalebadoba)
• German: Unbeständigkeit f, Wandel (de) m
• Irish: tréimhseacht f
• Italian: vicissitudine (it) f
• Korean: 변천(變遷) (ko) (byeoncheon)
• Kurdish:

  Northern Kurdish: guherîn (ku) f

• Latin: vicissitūdō f
• Portuguese: vicissitude (pt) f
• Russian: сме́на (ru) f (sména), чередова́ние (ru) n (čeredovánije)
• Spanish: vicisitud (es) f
• Turkish: değişim (tr), istikrarsızlık

a change, especially in one's life or fortunes

• Arabic: تقلب الأحوال m
• Bulgarian: превра́тност (bg) f (prevrátnost)
• Catalan: vicissitud (ca) f
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 沧桑 (zh) (cāngsāng)

• Dutch: wisselvalligheid (nl)
• Finnish: käänne (fi)
• French: vicissitude (fr) f
• Georgian: უკუღმართობა (uḳuɣmartoba)
• German: Wandel (de) m, Wechsel (de) m, Veränderung (de) f
• Italian: vicissitudine (it) f
• Kurdish:

  Northern Kurdish: werçerx (ku) f

• Latin: vicissitūdō f, vicissitās
• Portuguese: vicissitude (pt) f
• Romanian: vicisitudine (ro) f
• Russian: превра́тность (ru) f (prevrátnostʹ), непостоя́нство (ru) f (nepostojánstvo)
• Spanish: vicisitud (es) f
• Turkish: değişim (tr)

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

• Latin: ^{(please verify)} vicissitudo

Further reading

• “vicissitude”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
• “vicissitude”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911, →OCLC.
• “vicissitude”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.

Dutch

Etymology

Borrowed from French vicissitude.

Noun

vicissitude f (plural vicissitudes, diminutive vicissitudetje n)

1. vicissitude

French

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin vicissitūdō.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /vi.si.si.tyd/

Noun

vicissitude f (plural vicissitudes)

1. vicissitude

Further reading

• “vicissitude”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

Portuguese

Etymology

Learned borrowing from Latin vicissitūdō.

Pronunciation

 

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /vi.si.siˈtu.d͡ʒi/

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /vi.si.siˈtu.d͡ʒi/
  • (Southern Brazil) IPA^(key): /vi.si.siˈtu.de/

 

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /vi.si.siˈtu.dɨ/ [vi.si.siˈtu.ðɨ]

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /vi.si.siˈtu.dɨ/ [vi.si.siˈtu.ðɨ]
  • (Northern Portugal) IPA^(key): /bi.si.siˈtu.dɨ/ [bi.si.siˈtu.ðɨ]

• Rhymes: -ud͡ʒi, -udɨ
• Hyphenation: vi‧cis‧si‧tu‧de

Noun

vicissitude f (plural vicissitudes)

1. variation (change that occurs in things that happen)
2. chance, eventuality
3. adversity, reversal (change of circumstances or conditions, usually unfavorable)
4. setback

Further reading

• “vicissitude”, in Dicionário infopédia da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Porto: Porto Editora, 2003–2024
• “vicissitude”, in Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Lisbon: Priberam, 2008–2024