Vindicate vs. Vindictive

This past weekend was the annual DUMBO Under the Bridge Festival.

This is when artists living and working down under the Manhattan Bridge underpass open their studios for the day to visitors. Galleries host special shows. Local bands play on street corners.

A group of friends and I were enjoying the scene, making our way from one floor to another in a loft building, when one of my friends said the following, out of the blue:

“Why do vindictive and vindicate have such different meanings when their roots are so similar?”

It was an interesting question but the truly interesting thing to me was what made him think of it.

He and I had walked over the Brooklyn Bridge on our way to the festival and, en route, discussed an ex of his. I was thinking this had spurred his train of thought.

But no, he said, that had nothing to do with it. In fact when pressed he couldn’t come up with a single reason for why he'd thought of vindictive and vindicate seemingly out of nowhere.

“It must have something to do with the Latin root,” I said.

Though in fact the two words have different meanings.

“Or perhaps one of them is misused all the time. There are lots of words like that,” he said.

The dictionary definition for vindicate is ‘to clear of blame.’ The definition for vindictive is ‘having a desire for revenge,’ which could be interpreted as having a desire to blame or to take blame out on someone. Thus in a way the two could be seen as polar opposites.

Which brings us back to the original question and, in turn, the Latin.

Vindicta is vengeance or punishment. Vindex is an avenger. Vindicatio is protecting or avenging.

Thus the evolution of vindictive. And, once you turn it inside out, vindicate.

Now if only we could figure out why questions like these pop into peoples' minds on sunny Saturday afternoons. Especially when there is no need whatsoever to either vindicate or be vindictive.