vicinity
noun
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Howdy, neighbor! Today we cozy up to vicinity, a word with neighborly origins that was welcomed into English as a French import in the 16th century from Middle French vicinité. It comes ultimately from Latin vicus, meaning "row of houses" or "village," by way of Latin vicinus, meaning "neighboring." Other descendants of vicinus in English include vicinal (a synonym of local) and vicinage, a synonym of vicinity in the sense of "a neighboring or surrounding district." Both of these are formal and rare, but vicinage is notable for giving title to the Vicinage Clause, a segment of the Sixth Amendment to the United States Constitution that entitles an accused person to "an impartial jury of the State and district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law."
Examples of vicinity in a Sentence
Jessie Yeung, CNN, 1 Apr. 2024
The ship's pilot sends a general VHF radio call requesting tugboats in the vicinity to assist.
—Ramon Padilla, USA TODAY, 30 Mar. 2024
But Fernandez said in a follow up phone call that five were found to be most in need, but others in the vicinity will be able to apply as well.
—Cody Copeland, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 26 Mar. 2024
Residents in the vicinity who value their mental health will either need to vacate the premises or invest in some pricey Bose headphones.
—Madeleine Marr, Miami Herald, 23 Mar. 2024
Gamble said a carjacking was reported around the same time and in the same vicinity as the shooting, near the Dollar Tree on Folsom Boulevard.
—Hanh Truong, Sacramento Bee, 22 Mar. 2024
No Russian missiles or explosive drones were seen in the vicinity, however.
—David L. Stern, Washington Post, 20 Mar. 2024
The electromagnetic pulse from a nuclear explosion would fry the electronic components of many satellites in the vicinity, rendering them useless.
—Aaron Bateman, Foreign Affairs, 7 Mar. 2024
In 2021, a massive spill of as much as 131,000 gallons of oil in the same vicinity prompted officials to close area beaches for about a week.
—Cheri Mossburg, CNN, 8 Mar. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'vicinity.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
Middle French vicinité, from Latin vicinitat-, vicinitas, from vicinus neighboring, from vicus row of houses, village; akin to Goth weihs village, Old Church Slavonic vĭsĭ, Greek oikos, oikia house
1560, in the meaning defined at sense 3
Phrases Containing vicinity
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Cite this Entry
“Vicinity.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/vicinity. Accessed 16 Apr. 2024.
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Kids Definition
vicinity
noun
More from Merriam-Webster on vicinity
Nglish: Translation of vicinity for Spanish Speakers
Britannica English: Translation of vicinity for Arabic Speakers
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