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black-a-vised

(blăkə-vīst′, -vīzd′)

adj.
Chiefly British

Having a dark complexion.

[From dialectal black a vice : BLACK + dialectal a, of, on (probably from French à, from Old French, from Latin ad, to, on; see AD-) + vice, face (from Old French vis, face, from Latin vīsus, past participle of vidēre, to see; see weid- in the Appendix of Indo-European roots).]

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

Indo-European Roots

Semitic Roots

The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.

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