nounplural noun vici/ˈvʌɪkiː/ /ˈviːkiː/

• 1The smallest unit of ancient Roman municipal administration, consisting of a village or part of a town.

  ‘Life for the ordinary people of the vicus or village seemed a little more interesting than that of the upper classes, but it remained harsh and unforgiving.’

  More example sentences

  • ‘However, to complicate matters, ‘wich ‘in some instances may derive from the Latin vicus, which was used broadly for dwellings, farms, hamlets, or subsidiary settlements.’’
  • ‘Similar stakeholes were found near Wallsend, surrounding the vicus enclosure outside the Roman fort.’
  • ‘The settlement was abandoned by the end of the 3rd century - like other vici on the northern frontier - and was then cultivated as fields or allotments, presumably by the garrison.’
  • ‘Antiquarian reports had recorded Roman tombstones from the area east of the fort and vicus, an attached civilian settlement, alongside the trans-Pennine road.’
  • ‘The principal sites to have received archaeological attention are the forts and their associated civilian settlements or vici.’

  1. 1.1A medieval European township.