• victory •
Pronunciation: vik-tê-ri • Hear it!
Part of Speech: Noun
Meaning: 1. Triumph, conquest, the achievement of success over obstacles. 2. A win in a contest, the defeat of an enemy or opponent, as 'victory on the basketball court or battlefield'.
Notes: The plural of today's Good Word is victories. (Don't forget Y is replaced by I.) It is derived from the agent noun, victor, the individual or collective that wins. The adjective is victorious and the adverb, victoriously.
In Play: In past wars victory was easily determined when the weaker nation surrendered to the victor: "Victory in Europe (V-E) Day celebrates the day, May 8, 1945, on which the Allies accepted the formal surrender of the German Army." Today this word is probably used more in sports than in military jargon: "The citizens of New Monia, Pennsylvania, celebrated the victory of their high school football team by rampaging down Market Street."
Word History: English borrowed today's Good Word from Old French victorie (currently victoire) This word came from Latin victoria "victory", the quality noun from victor, which retained its meaning when borrowed by English. Latin victor is an agentive noun from victus, the past participle of vincere "to conquer". As you can see, the root had a 'fickle N' that comes and goes. It is present in vanquish and in invincible, which come ultimately from the present tense stem of vincere unlike today's Good Word.
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