Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • transitive verb To defeat or conquer in battle; subjugate.
  • transitive verb To defeat in a contest, conflict, or competition. synonym: defeat.
  • transitive verb To overcome or subdue (an emotion, for example); suppress.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun A disease of sheep in which they pine away. Also vinquish.
  • To conquer; overcome; especially, to subdue in battle, as an enemy.
  • To defeat in any contest, as in argument; get the better of.
  • To confute; show to be erroneous or unfounded; overturn.
  • To overpower; prostrate; be too much for.
  • To overpower the peculiar virtue or properties of; destroy or render inert; neutralize.
  • = Syn. 1. Overcome, Subdue, etc. (see conquer), surmount, overthrow; rout, crush.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun (Far.) A disease in sheep, in which they pine away.
  • transitive verb To conquer, overcome, or subdue in battle, as an enemy.
  • transitive verb Hence, to defeat in any contest; to get the better of; to put down; to refute.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • verb To defeat, to overcome.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • verb come out better in a competition, race, or conflict

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Middle English vaynquisshen, from Old French vainquir, vainquiss-, from Latin vincere; see weik- in Indo-European roots.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Middle English vaynquisshen, from Old French vanquir, from Latin vincere.

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