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
Starr Bowenbank, People.com, 13 Aug. 2025
The footage was shot in the alley behind the Savoy Hotel in London, and according to Pennebaker (who died in 2019), some of the handwritten lyrics were supplied by Joan Baez and Donovan, who were both in Dylan’s vicinity (and crosshairs) at the time.
—David Browne, Rolling Stone, 31 July 2025
Only marble from quarries in the immediate vicinity of the town of Carrara is allowed to be designated Carrara (much like champagne or Parma ham must come from a specific area to be described as such).
—Meara Sharma, The Dial, 22 July 2025
The institute’s purchase of the Birkenstock property is its second major investment in the vicinity in little more than a year.
—Richard Halstead, Mercury News, 31 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for vicinity
Cite this Entry
“Vicinity.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/vicinity. Accessed 19 Aug. 2025.
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vicinity
noun
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