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Both American Heritage and Merriam-Webster’s define “vicious circle” as (1) a circular argument or (2) a situation in which the apparent solution to one problem creates a second one that makes it harder to solve the original problem. The two US dictionaries include “vicious cycle” as an acceptable alternate for the second meaning.

Examples of "vicious" in the sense of flawed reasoning can be found in the 17th century as suggested by The Grammophobia:

Logicians in the early 17th century used the term “vicious” (from the Latin vitiosus, meaning faulty or defective) to refer to a flawed syllogism.

The Wordwizzard cites an early usage of vicious circle in the sense of a situation in which action and reaction intensify each other from 1838:

Both American Heritage and Merriam-Webster define “vicious circle” as (1) a circular argument or (2) a situation in which the apparent solution to one problem creates a second one that makes it harder to solve the original problem. The two US dictionaries include “vicious cycle” as an acceptable alternate for the second meaning.

Examples of "vicious" in the sense of flawed reasoning can be found in the 17th century as suggested by Grammarphobia:

Logicians in the early 17th century used the term “vicious” (from the Latin vitiosus, meaning faulty or defective) to refer to a flawed syllogism.

The Wordwizard cites an early usage of vicious circle in the sense of a situation in which action and reaction intensify each other from 1838:

The 1792 usage appears to be earliest available in the scientific sense. The figurative usage established later, mid-19th century as shown by the Phrase Finder :

Both American Heritage and Merriam-Webster’s define “vicious circle” as (1) a circular argument or (2) a situation in which the apparent solution to one problem creates a second one that makes it harder to solve the original problem. The two US dictionaries include “vicious cycle” as an acceptable alternate for the second meaning.

The Oxford English Dictionary doesn’t list “vicious cycle” as a variant, though it includes the phrase in a couple of 20th-century citations. –

The research posted below supports the above statements:

The 1792 usage appears to be earliest available in the scientific sense. The figurative usage established later, mid-19th century as shown by the Phrase Finder :

The 1792 usage appears to be earliest available in the scientific sense. The figurative usage established later, mid-19th century as shown by the Phrase Finder :

A vicious circle was the name given by 18th century logicians for a fallacious proof in this form:

• A depends on B - B depends on C - C depends on A

This was alluded to in Edition 3 of The Encyclopedia Britannica, in 1792:

• "He runs into what is termed by logicians a vicious circle."

A wider use of the expression was taken up by the medical profession and there are several examples from the early 19th century of it being used to describe conditions where one symptom affects another and the health of the patient steadily deteriorates.

The figurative, that is, not specifically logical or medical, meaning became established in the middle of the century; for example, this piece from Henry James' Notebooks, 1892:

• "The whole situation works in a kind of inevitable rotary way - in what would be called a vicious circle."

Examples of "vicious" in the sense of flowed reasoning can be found in the 17th century as suggested by The Grammophobia:

Logicians in the early 17th century used the term “vicious” (from the Latin vitiosus, meaning faulty or defective) to refer to a flawed syllogism.

Here’s an OED citation from 1697:

• “If from true premisses follows what is false, it is a sign that the form of the syllogism is vitious.”

By extension, the phrase “vicious circle” was used in the 1700s for an argument that circles back on itself because its premise is flawed (usually the premise is used to justify the conclusion, which in turn is used to justify the premise).

The Wordwizzard cites an early usage of vicious circle in the sense of a situation in which action and reaction intensify each other from 1838:

The earliest example of VICIOUS CIRCLE (in sense cited above) that I was able to find was from 1838 (see quote below), which predates the OED’s 1839 offering (see quote below) by a ‘big’ one year – that was a thrill.

• 1838 “Woman, whose influence over the heart of man is resistless, whenever she is corrupted or debased, revisits her corruption upon man, and thus this pervading influence of the sexes over each other, by a species of mutual contamination, moves from generation to generation in one "VICIOUS CIRCLE,” from which they can only be delivered by the supernatural and refining agency of Christianity.”—‘Southern Literary Messenger,’ Vol. 4, Issue: 12, December, page 745

and

the earliest example that I could find for VICIOUS CYCLE was from 1858 (see quote below), in agreement with my speculation in one of my earlier posts that VICIOUS CIRCLE was the older term.

• 1858 “We are told that the seas and provinces of the Turkish Empire must be occupied until all the stipulations of the Treaty be fulfilled. But this is voluntarily to go into a VICIOUS CIRCLE, in which, as appears to us, our opponents are desirous of entrenching themselves . . .”—‘New York Times,’ 24 November, page 2.

The 1792 usage appears to be earliest available in the scientific sense. The figurative usage established later, mid-19th century as shown by the Phrase Finder :

A vicious circle was the name given by 18th century logicians for a fallacious proof in this form:

• A depends on B - B depends on C - C depends on A

This was alluded to in Edition 3 of The Encyclopedia Britannica, in 1792:

• "He runs into what is termed by logicians a vicious circle."

A wider use of the expression was taken up by the medical profession and there are several examples from the early 19th century of it being used to describe conditions where one symptom affects another and the health of the patient steadily deteriorates.

The figurative, that is, not specifically logical or medical, meaning became established in the middle of the century; for example, this piece from Henry James' Notebooks, 1892:

• "The whole situation works in a kind of inevitable rotary way - in what would be called a vicious circle."

Examples of "vicious" in the sense of flawed reasoning can be found in the 17th century as suggested by The Grammophobia:

Logicians in the early 17th century used the term “vicious” (from the Latin vitiosus, meaning faulty or defective) to refer to a flawed syllogism.

Here’s an OED citation from 1697:

• “If from true premisses follows what is false, it is a sign that the form of the syllogism is vitious.”

By extension, the phrase “vicious circle” was used in the 1700s for an argument that circles back on itself because its premise is flawed (usually the premise is used to justify the conclusion, which in turn is used to justify the premise).

The Wordwizzard cites an early usage of vicious circle in the sense of a situation in which action and reaction intensify each other from 1838:

The earliest example of VICIOUS CIRCLE (in sense cited above) that I was able to find was from 1838 (see quote below), which predates the OED’s 1839 offering (see quote below) by a ‘big’ one year – that was a thrill.

• 1838 “Woman, whose influence over the heart of man is resistless, whenever she is corrupted or debased, revisits her corruption upon man, and thus this pervading influence of the sexes over each other, by a species of mutual contamination, moves from generation to generation in one "VICIOUS CIRCLE,” from which they can only be delivered by the supernatural and refining agency of Christianity.”—‘Southern Literary Messenger,’ Vol. 4, Issue: 12, December, page 745

and

the earliest example that I could find for VICIOUS CYCLE was from 1858 (see quote below), in agreement with my speculation in one of my earlier posts that VICIOUS CIRCLE was the older term.

• 1858 “We are told that the seas and provinces of the Turkish Empire must be occupied until all the stipulations of the Treaty be fulfilled. But this is voluntarily to go into a VICIOUS CYCLE, in which, as appears to us, our opponents are desirous of entrenching themselves . . .”—‘New York Times,’ 24 November, page 2.