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
George Avalos, Mercury News, 4 Apr. 2026
Lake Nona is also the name of a lake in the vicinity.
—Ryan Gillespie, The Orlando Sentinel, 4 Apr. 2026
The school sits in the vicinity of archaeologically significant Native American land, including burial grounds, according to a letter from the city of Fort Lauderdale.
—Scott Travis, Sun Sentinel, 4 Apr. 2026
In addition to wandering tourists, expect to see theater crew, set designers, actors, and matronly sensei in pastel kimonos and big, pinned up hairdos haunting the vicinity.
—Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 3 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for vicinity
Cite this Entry
“Vicinity.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/vicinity. Accessed 6 Apr. 2026.
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vicinity
noun
