mid-15c., "recover (property) by judicial means," from Latin evictus, past participle of evincere "overcome and expel, conquer, subdue, vanquish; prevail over; supplant," from assimilated form of ex- "out," or perhaps here merely intensive (see ex-) + vincere "conquer" (see victor). Sense of "expel by legal process" first recorded in English 1530s, from a post-classical sense of the Latin word. Related: Evicted; evicting. Compare evince.