Definify.com

Webster 1913 Edition

Vice

Vice

(vīs)
,
Noun.
[F., from L.
vitium
.]
1.
A defect; a fault; an error; a blemish; an imperfection;
as, the
vices
of a political constitution; the
vices
of a horse
.
Withouten
vice
of syllable or letter.
Chaucer.
Mark the
vice
of the procedure.
Sir W. Hamilton.
2.
A moral fault or failing; especially, immoral conduct or habit, as in the indulgence of degrading appetites; customary deviation in a single respect, or in general, from a right standard, implying a defect of natural character, or the result of training and habits; a harmful custom; immorality; depravity; wickedness;
as, a life of
vice
; the
vice
of intemperance.
I do confess the
vices
of my blood.
Shakespeare
Ungoverned appetite . . . a brutish
vice
.
Milton.
When
vice
prevails, and impious men bear sway,
The post of honor is a private station.
Addison.
3.
The buffoon of the old English moralities, or moral dramas, having the name sometimes of one vice, sometimes of another, or of Vice itself; – called also
Iniquity
.
☞ This character was grotesquely dressed in a cap with ass’s ears, and was armed with a dagger of lath: one of his chief employments was to make sport with the Devil, leaping on his back, and belaboring him with the dagger of lath till he made him roar. The Devil, however, always carried him off in the end.
Nares.
How like you the
Vice
in the play?
. . . I would not give a rush for a
Vice
that has not a wooden dagger to snap at everybody.
B. Jonson.
Syn. – Crime; sin; iniquity; fault. See
Crime
.

Vice

,
Noun.
[See
Vise
.]
1.
(Mech.)
A kind of instrument for holding work, as in filing. Same as
Vise
.
2.
A tool for drawing lead into cames, or flat grooved rods, for casements.
[Written also
vise
.]
3.
A gripe or grasp.
[Obs.]
Shak.

Vice

,
Verb.
T.
[
imp. & p. p.
Viced
;
p. pr. & vb. n.
Vicing
.]
To hold or squeeze with a vice, or as if with a vice.
Shak.
The coachman's hand was
viced
between his upper and lower thigh.
De Quincey.
‖

Vi′ce

,
p
rep.
[L., abl. of
vicis
change, turn. See
Vicarious
.]
In the place of; in the stead;
as, A. B. was appointed postmaster
vice
C. D. resigned
.

Vice

,
Adj.
[Cf. F.
vice-
. See
Vice
,
p
rep.
]
Denoting one who in certain cases may assume the office or duties of a superior; designating an officer or an office that is second in rank or authority;
as,
vice
president;
vice
agent;
vice
consul, etc
.
Vice admiral
.
[Cf. F.
vice-amiral
.]
(a)
An officer holding rank next below an admiral. By the existing laws, the rank of admiral and vice admiral in the United States Navy will cease at the death of the present incumbents.
(b)
A civil officer, in Great Britain, appointed by the lords commissioners of the admiralty for exercising admiralty jurisdiction within their respective districts.
–
Vice admiralty
,
the office of a vice admiral.
–
Vice-admiralty court
,
a court with admiralty jurisdiction, established by authority of Parliament in British possessions beyond the seas.
Abbott.
–
Vice chamberlain
,
an officer in court next in rank to the lord chamberlain.
[Eng.]
–
Vice chancellor
.
(a)
(Law)
An officer next in rank to a chancellor.
(b)
An officer in a university, chosen to perform certain duties, as the conferring of degrees, in the absence of the chancellor.
(c)
(R. C. Ch.)
The cardinal at the head of the Roman Chancery.
–
Vice consul
[cf. F.
vice-consul
]
,
a subordinate officer, authorized to exercise consular functions in some particular part of a district controlled by a consul.
–
Vice king
,
one who acts in the place of a king; a viceroy.
–
Vice legate
[cf. F.
vice-légat
]
,
a legate second in rank to, or acting in place of, another legate.
–
Vice presidency
,
the office of vice president.
–
Vice president
[cf. F.
vice-président
]
,
an officer next in rank below a president.

Webster 1828 Edition

Vice

VICE

,
Noun.
[L. vitium.]
1.
Properly, a spot or defect; a fault; a blemish; as the vices of a political constitution.
2.
In ethics, any voluntary action or course of conduct which deviates from the rules of moral rectitude, or from the plain rules of propriety; any moral unfitness of conduct, either from defect of duty, or from the transgression of known principles of rectitude. Vice differs from crime, in being less enormous. We never call murder or robbery a vice; but every act of intemperance, all falsehood, duplicity, deception, lewdness and the like, is a vice. The excessive indulgence of passions and appetites which in themselves are innocent, is a vice. The smoking of tobacco and the taking of snuff, may in certain cases be innocent and even useful, but these practices may be carried to such an excess as to become vices. This word is also used to denote a habit of transgressing; as a life of vice. Vice is rarely a solitary invader; it usually brings with it a frightful train of followers.
3.
Depravity or corruption of manners; as an age of vice.
When vice prevails, and impious men bear sway.
The post of honor is a private station.
4.
A fault or bad trick in a horse.
5.
The fool or punchinello of old shows.
His face made of brass, like a vice in a game.
6.
An iron press. [This should be written vise.]
7.
A gripe or grasp. [Not in use.]

VICE

,
Verb.
T.
To draw by a kind of violence. [Not in use. See Vise.]

VICE

, L. vice, in the turn or place, is used in composition to denote one qui vicem gerit, who acts in the place of another, or is second in authority.

Definition 2024

vice

vice

See also: více and vice-

English

Noun

vice ‎(plural vices)

  1. A bad habit.
    Smoking is a vice, not a virtue.
  2. (law) Any of various crimes related (depending on jurisdiction) to prostitution, pornography, gambling, alcohol, or drugs.
  3. A defect in the temper or behaviour of a horse, such as to make the animal dangerous, to injure its health, or to diminish its usefulness.
    • From the case of Scholefield v. Robb (1839). Gilligan, Brenda (2002) Practical Horse Law, ISBN 0-632-05673-8: “So a horse with say, navicular disease, making him suitable only for light hacking, would probably be unsound, whereas rearing would be a vice, being a "defect in the temper... making it dangerous". A vice can however render a horse unsound - possibly a crib biter will damage its wind.”
Antonyms
Derived terms
Related terms
Translations

See also

Etymology 2

From French vis ‎(“****, winding stairs”), from Old French vis, viz, from Latin vitis ‎(“vine”); akin to English withy.

Alternative forms

Noun

vice ‎(plural vices)

  1. A mechanical **** apparatus used for clamping or holding (also spelled vise).
  2. A tool for drawing lead into cames, or flat grooved rods, for casements.
  3. (obsolete) A grip or grasp.
Translations

Verb

vice ‎(third-person singular simple present vices, present participle vicing, simple past and past participle viced)

  1. To hold or squeeze with a vice, or as if with a vice.
    • 1610, William Shakespeare, The Winter's Tale, I. ii. 416:
      Camillo. As he had seen’t, or been an instrument / To vice you to't, that you have touched his queen / Forbiddenly
    • De Quincey
      The coachman's hand was viced between his upper and lower thigh.

Etymology 3

From Latin vice ‎(“in place of”), ablative form of vicis.

Adjective

vice ‎(not comparable)

  1. in place of; subordinate to; designating a person below another in rank
    vice president
    vice admiral
Derived terms

Preposition

vice

  1. instead of, in place of
    A. B. was appointed postmaster vice C. D. resigned.

Esperanto

Adverb

vice

  1. in rows

Related terms

Ido

Preposition

vice

  1. instead of

Adverb

vice

  1. instead

Italian

Etymology

From Latin vicem.

Noun

vice m, f ‎(invariable)

  1. deputy, substitute, vice

Related terms

Anagrams

Latin

Adjective

vice

  1. in place of, subordinate to

Noun

vice

  1. ablative singular of vicis

Derived terms

Descendants

Noun

vīce

  1. vocative singular of vīcus

References

Middle French

Etymology

From Old French vice, a borrowing from Latin vitium.

Noun

vice m (plural vices)

  1. vice (bad habit)

Descendants

Portuguese

Noun

vice m f (plural vices)

  1. used as an abbreviation of any word containing the prefix vice-

Slovene

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˈʋìːtsɛ/, /ˈʋíːtsɛ/
  • Tonal orthography: více, vȋce

Noun

více f pl ‎(genitive víc, plurale tantum)

  1. purgatory

Declension

Swedish

Pronunciation

Adjective

vice

  1. vice, second in rank, deputy, stand-in, acting

Related terms

Etymology

From Anglo-Norman, from Old French, from Latin vitium ‎(“fault or blemish”).

Pronunciation

  • (UK, US) IPA(key): /vaɪs/
  • Rhymes: -aɪs
  • Homophone: vise

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