Vie is a shortening of Middle English 'envie', from Old French 'envier' ('to challenge, wager'), from Latin 'invitare' ('to invite, challenge'). Originally a gambling term meaning to stake or bid. In current use it is a verb meaning "to compete eagerly in order to gain something". That sense is explained by the older material without requiring a speculative semantic step: the inherited or borrowed base supplies the field of meaning, while the English formation fixes its modern role. The history is mainly one of transmission into English, with the older form and sense carried through borrowing or adaptation. The historical chain includes Old French envier and Latin invitare. Related English forms include invite and envy. For dictionary purposes, the important point is the continuity between the older form, the route into English, and the present lexical sense.