Victor

How to spell victor

6 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce victor

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does victor mean?

1. nounThe person or side that wins a contest, battle, or competition.

Victor in a sentence

• The victor of the tournament collected the trophy and the cash prize.

• After a long campaign, the clear victor gave a short speech of thanks.

Where does victor come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This word comes straight from the Latin victor, meaning 'a conqueror' or 'one who wins', an agent noun formed from the verb vincere, 'to conquer' or 'to overcome'. The same vincere lies behind a whole family of English words, including 'victory', 'convince' (literally to overcome with argument), 'evict' (to conquer someone out of a property), and 'invincible' (unable to be conquered). English took 'victor' in during the Middle Ages, around the 1300s, partly through Old French and partly straight from the Latin form, and the Latin spelling survived almost untouched. The crucial spelling clue is that agent ending: it is the Latin -tor, the same -tor seen in 'actor', 'doctor', and 'editor', and not the more common English -er, which is why people who write it by ear sometimes slip into the wrong ending.

How the word is built

• vic (from vincere: to conquer)
• -tor (agent suffix: one who does)