vicinage

noun

vic·​i·​nage ˈvi-sə-nij 

ˈvis-nij

: a neighboring or surrounding district : vicinity

Synonyms

• backyard
• environs
• neighborhood
• purlieus
• vicinity

Examples of vicinage in a Sentence

potential jurors were to be drawn from the vicinage in which the crime occurred

Recent Examples on the Web

Of the 28 judgeships in vicinage 15, which is made up of Cumberland, Gloucester and Salem counties, there are nine vacancies. —Minyvonne Burke, NBC News, 7 Feb. 2023

Word History

Etymology

Middle English vesinage, from Anglo-French veisinage, from neighboring, from Vulgar Latin *vecinus, alteration of Latin vicinus

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined above

Legal Definition

vicinage

noun

vic·​i·​nage ˈvis-ᵊn-ij 

: a particular vicinity or district: as

a

: the district in which a crime takes place and from which the accused is entitled to have an impartial jury selected as required by the Sixth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution

b

in the civil law of Louisiana : the neighborhood in which one is obligated not to cause material injury to others (as by a nuisance) in the free exercise of rights of ownership in immovable property

these obligations of vicinage are legal servitudes imposed on the owner of property

—Rodrigue v. Copeland, 475 So. 2d 1071 (1985)

Etymology

Anglo-French veisinage neighborhood, from veisin neighboring, from Old French, from Latin vicinus