different between empty vs vain

English

Etymology

From Middle English emty, amty, from Old English ?mti?, ?metti? (“vacant, empty, free, idle, unmarried”, literally “without must or obligation, leisurely”), from Proto-Germanic *uz- (“out”) + Proto-Germanic *m?tijô, *m?tô (“must, obligation, need”), *m?tiþô (“ability, accommodation”), from Proto-Indo-European *med- (“measure; to acquire, possess, be in command”). Related to Old English ?e?mti?ian (“to empty”), Old English ?metta (“leisure”), Old English m?tan (“must, might, have to”). More at mote, meet.

The interconsonantal excrescent p is a euphonic insertion dating from Middle English.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /??mpti/, /??mti/
• Hyphenation: emp?ty

Adjective

empty (comparative emptier, superlative emptiest)

1. Devoid of content; containing nothing or nobody; vacant.

   an empty purse; an empty jug; an empty stomach

   • 1949, George Orwell, Nineteen Eighty-Four, Part Two, Chapter 1, [1]

     […] something in the little man's appearance suggested that he would be sufficiently attentive to his own comfort to choose the emptiest table.
2. (computing, programming, mathematics) Containing no elements (as of a string, array, or set), opposed to being null (having no valid value).
3. (obsolete) Free; clear; devoid; often with of.
   • c. 1594, William Shakespeare, Love's Labour's Lost, Act V, Scene 2, [3]

     I shall find you empty of that fault,

   • 1674, John Milton, Paradise Lost, Book XI, lines 614-7, [4]

     For that fair femal Troop thou sawst, that seemd / Of Goddesses, so blithe, so smooth, so gay, / Yet empty of all good wherein consists / Womans domestic honour and chief praise;

4. Having nothing to carry, emptyhanded; unburdened.
   • c. 1607, William Shakespeare, Timon of Athens, Act III, Scene 6, [5]

     I hope it remains not unkindly with your lordship that I returned you an empty messenger.

   • 1611, King James Version of the Bible, Exodus 3:21, [6]

     And I will give this people favour in the sight of the Egyptians: and it shall come to pass, that, when ye go, ye shall not go empty:

5. Destitute of effect, sincerity, or sense; said of language.

   empty words, or threats

   empty offer

   empty promises

   • 1697, Colley Cibber, Woman's Wit, Act V, page 190, [7]

     […] words are but empty thanks; my future conduct best will speak my gratitude.

6. Unable to satisfy; hollow; vain.

   empty pleasures

   • 1713, Alexander Pope, Windsor-Forest, lines 429-430, [8]

     Ev'n I more sweetly pass my careless days, / Pleas'd in the silent shade with empty praise;

7. Destitute of reality, or real existence; unsubstantial.

   empty dreams

8. Destitute of, or lacking, sense, knowledge, or courtesy.

   empty brains; an empty coxcomb

   • 1599, William Shakespeare, As You Like It, Act II, Scene 7, [9]

     Art thou thus bolden'd, man, by thy distress? Or else a rude despiser of good manners, / That in civility thou seem'st so empty?

9. (of some female animals, especially cows and sheep) Not pregnant; not producing offspring when expected to do so during the breeding season.

   Empty cow rates have increased in recent years.

10. (obsolete) Producing nothing; unfruitful; said of a plant or tree.

    an empty vine

    • 1611, King James Version of the Bible, Genesis 42:27, [10]

      […] seven empty ears blasted with the east wind […]

Synonyms

• (devoid of content): unoccupied, clear, leer, toom, clean

Antonyms

• full
• (computing, mathematics): non-empty

Derived terms

Translations

Verb

empty (third-person singular simple present empties, present participle emptying, simple past and past participle emptied)

1. (transitive, ergative) To make empty; to void; to remove the contents of.

   to empty a well or a cistern

   The cinema emptied quickly after the end of the film.

   • The clouds […] empty themselves upon the earth.

2. (intransitive) Of a river, duct, etc: to drain or flow toward an ultimate destination.

Antonyms

• fill

Derived terms

• empty the clip
• empty the tank

Translations

Noun

empty (plural empties)

1. (usually plural) A container, especially a bottle, whose contents have been used up, leaving it empty.

Derived terms

• run on empty

Translations

References

Further reading

• empty in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
• empty in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.

English

Alternative forms

• wayn (obsolete)

Etymology

From Middle English veyn, from Old French vain, from Latin v?nus (“empty”).

Pronunciation

• enPR: v?n, IPA^(key): /ve?n/
• Homophones: vane, vein
• Rhymes: -e?n

Adjective

vain (comparative vainer or more vain, superlative vainest or most vain)

1. Overly proud of oneself, especially concerning appearance; having a high opinion of one's own accomplishments with slight reason.
   • 1959, Leo Rosten, The return of H*Y*M*A*N K*A*P*L*A*N

     Every writer is a narcissist. This does not mean that he is vain; it only means that he is hopelessly self-absorbed.

2. Having no real substance, value, or importance; empty; void; worthless; unsatisfying.
   • Let no man deceive you with vain words.
3. Effecting no purpose; pointless, futile.

   • Vain is the force of man / To crush the pillars which the pile sustain.
4. Showy; ostentatious.

Synonyms

• (overly proud of oneself): conceited; puffed up; inflated
• (pointless): pointless, futile, fruitless, ineffectual
• See also Thesaurus:arrogant
• See also Thesaurus:futile

Derived terms

• in vain
• vainness
• vainly

Related terms

• vanity

Translations

Further reading

• vain in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
• vain in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.
• vain at OneLook Dictionary Search

Anagrams

• Ivan, Na'vi, Vani, Vina, Viña, vina

Dalmatian

Alternative forms

• ven

Etymology

From Latin v?num. Compare Istriot veîn.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?e?/

Noun

vain m

1. wine

Finnish

Alternative forms

• vaan (colloquial, all senses; also has other non-colloquial meanings)

Etymology

Probably an old instructive plural of vajaa. Cognate with Estonian vaid.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /???i?n/, [???i?n]
• Rhymes: -?in
• Syllabification: vain

Adverb

vain

1. only, merely, exclusively, solely, just
2. ever (when used with an interrogative pronoun)

   mikä vain, milloin vain (“whenever”)

   Synonym: tahansa

3. An emphatic word used with the negative verb and -kö.

4. (with a verb in imperative) go ahead, be my guest

   Synonyms: sen kuin, sen kun

Derived terms

• kuka vain
• mikä vain

Anagrams

• inva-, ivan, niva, vian

French

Etymology

From Old French vain, from Latin v?nus, from Proto-Indo-European *h?weh?- (“empty”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /v??/
• Homophones: vainc, vaincs, vains, vin, vingt, vingts, vins, vint, vînt

Adjective

vain (feminine singular vaine, masculine plural vains, feminine plural vaines)

1. useless, ineffective, fruitless
2. vain, shallow

Synonyms

• inutile

Derived terms

• en vain

Related terms

• vanité
• vaniteux

Further reading

• “vain” in Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).

Norman

Etymology

From Old French vain, from Latin v?nus (“empty”).

Adjective

vain m

1. (Jersey) vain

Derived terms

• vainement (“vainly”)