Vicarious

3 definitions found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Vicarious \Vi*ca"ri*ous\ (v[-i]*k[=a]"[i^]*[u^]s), a. [L.
     vicarius, from vicis change, alternation, turn, the position,
     place, or office of one person as assumed by another; akin to
     Gr. e'i`kein to yield, give way, G. wechsel a change, and
     probably also to E. weak. See {Weak}, and cf. {Vice}, prep.]
     1. Of or pertaining to a vicar, substitute, or deputy;


        deputed; delegated; as, vicarious power or authority.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     2. Acting or suffering for another; as, a vicarious agent or
        officer.
        [1913 Webster]
  
              The soul in the body is but a subordinate efficient,
              and vicarious . . . in the hands of the Almighty.
                                                    --Sir M. Hale.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     3. Performed,experienced, or suffered in the place of
        another; substituted; as, a vicarious sacrifice; vicarious
        punishment; vicarious pleasure.
        [1913 Webster + PJC]
  
              The vicarious work of the Great Deliverer. --I.
                                                    Taylor.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     4. (Med.) Acting as a substitute; -- said of abnormal action
        which replaces a suppressed normal function; as, vicarious
        hemorrhage replacing menstruation.
        [1913 Webster]

From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  vicarious
       adj 1: experienced at secondhand; "read about mountain climbing and
              felt vicarious excitement"
       2: occurring in an abnormal part of the body instead of the
          usual site involved in that function; "vicarious
          menstruation"
       3: suffered or done by one person as a substitute for another;
          "vicarious atonement"

From Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 [moby-thes]:

  30 Moby Thesaurus words for "vicarious":
     alternate, alternative, assigned, backup, commissioned,
     counterfeit, delegated, dummy, equivalent, ersatz, fake, imitation,
     indirect, makeshift, mock, phony, pinch, provisional, proxy,
     reserve, secondary, spare, stopgap, substitute, substituted,
     surrogate, temporary, tentative, token, utility