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
Charles Selle, Chicago Tribune, 11 June 2025
People in the vicinity, from boaters to a flight instructor and student flying nearby, worked to locate the pair, WVIT reported.
—Theresa Braine, New York Daily News, 3 June 2025
Sixteen unused Molotov cocktails were found in Soliman's vicinity at the time of his arrest, law enforcement officials said.
—Nik Popli, Time, 2 June 2025
This month, residents of the Cory Neighborhood continued their opposition to a 17-story housing development at 826 N. Winchester Blvd., which, if approved, would have represented the largest building by far in the immediate vicinity.
—Devan Patel, Mercury News, 23 May 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 Jun. 2025.
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vicinity
noun
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