evicted
UK[ɪˈvɪktɪd]US[ɪˈvɪktɪd]
v
To force someone to leave a property, especially a rented home, by legal authority.
Morpheme Breakdown
e
vict
ed
e
out
vict
conquer
ed
verb suffix, past tense
Etymology
The word "evicted" originates from the Latin evictus, the past participle of evincere, meaning "to conquer completely, overcome, expel." This verb is composed of the prefix e- (a variant of ex-, meaning "out") and vincere ("to conquer"). The literal sense of "conquering out" or "expelling by conquest" was applied in Roman law to the recovery of property by legal process. Over time, the term entered English legal vocabulary, retaining its core sense of removal by authority but narrowing specifically to the forced expulsion of occupants from land or dwellings. Thus, the modern meaning of being legally forced out of a property preserves the ancient logic of being "conquered out" of a place.
Analysis
Structure: e (out) + vict (conquer) + ed (verb suffix, past tense)
- e: A prefix of Latin origin, meaning "out" or "from."
- vict: A root of Latin origin (from vincere, "to conquer"), meaning "to conquer" or "to overcome."
- ed: An English inflectional suffix indicating the past tense or past participle form of a verb.
Examples
The tenants were evicted for failing to pay rent for six months.
The old law allowed landlords to evict families with very little notice.
After the foreclosure, the bank moved to evict the homeowners.