vicissitude

Etymology

From Middle French vicissitude, from Latin vicissitūdō (“change”), from vicissim (“on the other hand, in turn”), from vicis (“change, vicissitude”), whence Spanish vez and French fois (“time (as in "next time"), occurrence”).

noun

1. Regular change or succession from one thing to another, or one part of a cycle to the next; alternation; mutual succession; interchange.
2. (often in the plural) A change, especially in one's life or fortunes.
   Among the vicissitudes incident to life, no event could have filled me with greater anxieties than that of which the notification was transmitted by your order, and received on the fourteenth day of the present month. 1789, George Washington, First Inaugural Address
   The vicissitudes of war in Iraq cast a dreary backdrop for Donald Rumsfeld's first visit to Asian military allies since he became US Defense Secretary in 2001. Nov 18 2003, “US redeployments afoot in Asia”, in Christian Science Monitor, page 6
   Engaged intellectuals were obliged to take a stand on the side of progress and History, whatever the occasional moral vicissitudes. 2005, Tony Judt, “Culture Wars”, in Postwar: A history of Europe since 1945, London: Vintage Books, published 2010
   Despite all the monarchy’s vicissitudes, however, Queen Elizabeth II, a figure from another age, who was stiff and formal and not noticeably particularly warm and empathetic, had won and retained the affection, loyalty and support of the overwhelming majority of the British public, who respected her for her diligence and sense of duty. September 8 2022, Stephen Bates, “Queen Elizabeth II obituary”, in The Guardian