Vicinage
/ˈvɪs.ɪ.nɪdʒ/noun
The area or people living near or around a place; a neighborhood or vicinity.
Did you know?Vicinage enters English through Anglo-French legal language, ultimately from Latin *vicinus* (“neighbor”), a word tied to the same root that gave us the Roman *vicus*—a settlement, street, or village.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*weik-
“to bend, turn, settle; a dwelling or clan settlement”
Latin
Latin
vicus
“a neighborhood, street, village, or district”
Latin
Latin
vicinus
“neighboring, nearby; a neighbor”
Old French
Old French
vage / voisinage
“neighborhood, vicinity, neighboring district”
Middle English
English
vicinage
“a neighborhood; the people living near one another”
Modern English
English
vicinage
“the area or community near a particular place”