The verb 'vie' entered English in the mid-16th century, a shortening of the now-obsolete word 'envie', meaning to challenge or invite to a contest. This 'envie' came from the Old French 'envier', meaning 'to invite, to challenge, to wager'. The French term traces back to the Latin 'invitare', meaning 'to invite'. The semantic journey from 'invite' to 'compete' is a classic example of semantic narrowing and intensification; the sense of issuing a challenge naturally evolved into the act of engaging in a rivalry. The present participle form 'vying' thus carries the core sense of actively engaging in such eager competition.

The word 'vying' is the present participle form of the verb 'vie'. The root 'vie' is a simplex word of French origin, ultimately from Latin. The '-ing' suffix is a productive English suffix used to form present participles and gerunds, of Germanic origin.