evince

Where does the word "evince" come from? It comes from Latin vincere, passing through Latin before entering English (1600s).

Evince’s story begins in Latin: vincere meant “to conquer.” To conquer, combined with ex- (out). Within Latin, it grew into evincere by ancient. To conquer thoroughly, to prove, from ex- and vincere. It reached English by 1600s as evince. Settled as the English word for clearly showing or revealing a quality or feeling. Today, evince means to clearly show or reveal that one has a particular quality or feeling.

1. Stage 1 · Latin · ancient vincere "to conquer", to conquer, combined with ex- (out).
2. Stage 2 · Latin · ancient evincere "to conquer thoroughly, to prove", to conquer thoroughly, to prove, from ex- and vincere.
3. Stage 3 · English · 1600s evince "to clearly show or reveal a quality or feeling", settled as the English word for clearly showing or revealing a quality or feeling.