vincere

Vincere is a Latin verb meaning to conquer, win, or overcome. It is a third-conjugation verb, with the principal parts vinco, vincere, vici, victum. Its present active infinitive is vincere, and the present indicative first person singular is vinco. Latin verbs of this class form a full set of tenses and voices, including the passive forms vincor, vinceris, vincitur, vincimur, vincimini, vincuntur, and the perfect passive participle victus (masculine), victa (feminine), victum (neuter).

In classical Latin, vincere is used for both physical and moral triumphs, such as defeating opponents or overcoming difficulties. A well-known classical motto associated with the verb is Veni, vidi, vici—“I came, I saw, I conquered”—attributed to Julius Caesar. The verb also appears in a wide range of literary and philosophical expressions, often metaphorically: to conquer fear, to overcome obstacles, or to prevail in debate.

Vincere is the origin of several Romance-language verbs that share the meaning of conquering or overcoming. Italian vincere, Spanish vencer, Portuguese vencer, and French vaincre all descend from the Latin vincere, though the exact forms and spellings diverge in each language. The semantic center remains the act of overcoming opposition or difficulty.

In modern usage, Vincere is also used as a proper noun, most notably as the name of a software company that provides cloud-based recruitment and relationship-management tools. This contemporary usage preserves the original sense of overcoming challenges and achieving success in a business context. Related terms in English include vanquish, conquer, and overcome.