- Today's Word
Vicissitude
vih-SIS-ih-tood (or vih-SIS-ih-tyood)
Definition
- (noun) A change or variation, often unexpected and typically one of life’s challenges or difficulties.
- The natural ups and downs or alternations of life.
Example
Despite the vicissitudes of her career, she remained resilient and adapted to every challenge with determination.
Fun Fact
“Vicissitude” originates from the Latin word vicissitudo, which stems from vicis, meaning “change” or “alternation.” The term was first used in English in the 16th century to describe the inevitable fluctuations of fortune and life’s unpredictable nature. Philosophers and writers have long explored the concept of vicissitudes, using it to illustrate the impermanence of human existence and the resilience required to navigate life’s ebb and flow.
(verb) To officially forbid something, especially by law or authority; to condemn or prohibit as harmful or unacceptable.
The new administration moved quickly to proscribe several previously tolerated practices, leaving industries scrambling to interpret exactly what compliance now required.
Proscribe derives from the Latin proscribere, meaning “to publish in writing” — from pro- (“before” or “publicly”) and scribere (“to write”). In ancient Rome, proscription was a formal public notice posted in the forum listing the names of enemies of the state — men whose property was forfeit and whose killers would be rewarded. To be proscribed was to be publicly condemned and stripped of all legal protection. The word’s journey from “publicly written” to “officially forbidden” traces directly through this brutal Roman practice.