empty - Wiktionary, the free dictionary (original) (raw)
From Middle English emty, amty, from Old English ǣmtiġ, ǣmettiġ (“vacant, empty, free, idle, unmarried”, literally “without must or obligation, leisurely”), from Proto-Germanic *uz- (“out”) + Proto-Germanic *mōtijô, *mōtô (“must, obligation, need”), *mōtiþô (“ability, accommodation”), from Proto-Indo-European *med- (“measure; to acquire, possess, be in command”). Related to Old English ġeǣmtigian (“to empty”), ǣmetta (“leisure”), mōtan (“can, to be allowed”). More at mote, meet.
The interconsonantal excrescent p is a euphonic insertion[1] dating from Middle English.
empty (comparative emptier, superlative emptiest)
A man sitting in an empty room (1)
- Devoid of content; containing nothing or nobody; vacant.
Synonyms: unoccupied, clear, (obsolete) leer, (rare dialect) toom, clean
Antonym: full
an empty purse
an empty jug
an empty stomach- 2011 October 23, Phil McNulty, “Man Utd 1 - 6 Man City”, in BBC Sport[1]:
United's stature is such that one result must not bring the immediate announcement of a shift in the balance of power in Manchester - but the swathes of empty seats around Old Trafford and the wave of attacks pouring towards David de Gea's goal in the second half emphasised that City quite simply have greater firepower and talent in their squad at present.
- 2011 October 23, Phil McNulty, “Man Utd 1 - 6 Man City”, in BBC Sport[1]:
- (computing, programming, mathematics) Containing no elements (as of a string, array, or set), opposed to being null (having no valid value).
Antonym: non-empty - (obsolete) Free; clear; devoid; often with of.
- c. 1595–1596 (date written), William Shakespeare, “Loues Labour’s Lost”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act V, scene ii], page 144:
And I ſhal finde you emptie of that fault,
Right ioyfull of your reformation. - 1667, John Milton, “Book XI”, in Paradise Lost. […], London: […] [Samuel Simmons], and are to be sold by Peter Parker […]; [a]nd by Robert Boulter […]; [a]nd Matthias Walker, […], →OCLC; republished as Paradise Lost in Ten Books: […], London: Basil Montagu Pickering […], 1873, →OCLC, lines 614-617:
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;
- c. 1595–1596 (date written), William Shakespeare, “Loues Labour’s Lost”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act V, scene ii], page 144:
- Having nothing to carry, emptyhanded; unburdened.
- c. 1587–1588, [Christopher Marlowe], Tamburlaine the Great. […] The First Part […], 2nd edition, part 1, London: […] [R. Robinson for] Richard Iones, […], published 1592, →OCLC; reprinted as Tamburlaine the Great (A Scolar Press Facsimile), Menston, Yorkshire, London: Scolar Press, 1973, →ISBN, Act I, scene ii:
I hope our Ladies treaſure and our owne,
May ſerue for ranſome to our liberties:
Returne our Mules and emptie Camels backe,
That we may trauell into Siria, […] - c. 1605–1608, William Shakespeare, “The Life of Tymon of Athens”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act III, scene vi], page 89:
I hope it remaines not vnkindly with your Lordſhip, that I return'd you an empty Meſſenger.
- c. 1587–1588, [Christopher Marlowe], Tamburlaine the Great. […] The First Part […], 2nd edition, part 1, London: […] [R. Robinson for] Richard Iones, […], published 1592, →OCLC; reprinted as Tamburlaine the Great (A Scolar Press Facsimile), Menston, Yorkshire, London: Scolar Press, 1973, →ISBN, Act I, scene ii:
- Destitute of effect, sincerity, or sense; said of language.
empty words, or threats
empty offer
empty promises- 1697, Colley Cibber, Woman's Wit[2], act V, page 190:
[…] words are but empty thanks; my future conduct best will speak my gratitude.
- 1697, Colley Cibber, Woman's Wit[2], act V, page 190:
- Unable to satisfy; hollow; vain.
empty pleasures - Destitute of reality, or real existence; unsubstantial.
empty dreams - Destitute of, or lacking, sense, knowledge, or courtesy.
empty brains
an empty coxcomb- c. 1598–1600 (date written), William Shakespeare, “As You Like It”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act II, scene vii], page 203, column 2:
Art thou thus bolden'd man by thy diſtres?
Or elſe a rude deſpiſer of good manners,
That in ciuility thou ſeem'ſt ſo emptie?
- c. 1598–1600 (date written), William Shakespeare, “As You Like It”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act II, scene vii], page 203, column 2:
- (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. - (obsolete, of a plant or tree) Producing nothing; unfruitful.
an empty vine - Hungry.
- come away empty
- emptily
- emptiness
- empty as a pauper's purse
- empty barrels make the most noise
- empty base
- empty calorie
- empty cans make the most noise
- empty chair
- empty coaching stock
- empty constructor
- empty function
- empty graph
- empty-handed
- empty-headed
- empty-hoofed
- empty letter
- empty morph
- empty morpheme
- empty nest
- empty-nester
- empty nester
- empty-nest syndrome
- empty nest syndrome
- empty-net goal
- empty net goal
- empty-netter
- empty netter
- empty nose syndrome
- empty out
- empty page
- empty product
- empty set
- empty signifier
- empty space
- empty stock working
- empty string
- empty suit
- empty sum
- empty the bench
- empty threat
- empty vessels make the most noise
- empty vessels make the most sound
- empty word
- empty words
- glass-half-empty
- half empty
- on an empty stomach
- see the glass half-empty
- you can't pour from an empty cup
devoid of content
- Adyghe: нэкӏы (nɛkʼə)
- Afrikaans: leeg (af)
- Albanian: bosh (sq)
- Arabic: فَارِغ (fāriḡ)
Egyptian Arabic: فاضي (fāḍī)
Hijazi Arabic: فاضي (fāḍī)
Iraqi Arabic: بوش (bōš)
North Levantine Arabic: خالي (xāli) - Aragonese: vuedo
- Armenian: պարապ (hy) (parap), դատարկ (hy) (datark), սին (hy) (sin), ունայն (hy) (unayn)
- Assamese: খালী (khali)
- Asturian: vacíu (ast), baleru (ast) m
- Azerbaijani: boş (az), puç, xali
- Bashkir: буш (buş)
- Belarusian: пусты́ (pustý)
- Bengali: খালি (bn) (khali), ফাঁকা (bn) (phãka)
- Bhojpuri: खाली (khālī)
- Breton: goullo (br)
- Bulgarian: пра́зен (bg) (prázen)
- Burmese: လွတ် (my) (lwat)
- Catalan: buit (ca)
- Chechen: деса (desa)
- Cherokee: please add this translation if you can
- Chinese:
Cantonese: 空 (yue) (hung1)
Mandarin: 空的 (zh) (kōng de) - Czech: prázdný (cs) m
- Danish: tom (da)
- Dutch: leeg (nl)
- Esperanto: malplena (eo), senenhava
- Estonian: tühi
- Faroese: tómur
- Finnish: tyhjä (fi)
- French: vide (fr)
- Galician: van (gl), baleiro (gl), oco (gl), vacío (gl)
- Georgian: ცარიელი (carieli)
- German: leer (de), inhaltslos (de)
- Gothic: 𐌻𐌰𐌿𐍃 (laus)
- Greek: άδειος (el) m (ádeios), κενός (el) m (kenós)
Ancient: κενός (kenós) - Haitian Creole: vid
- Hebrew: ריק (he)
- Hindi: रिक्त (hi) (rikt), छूछा (hi) (chūchā), ख़ाली (xālī)
- Hungarian: üres (hu)
- Hunsrik: läer
- Icelandic: tómur (is)
- Ido: vakua (io)
- Indonesian: kosong (id)
- Ingrian: tyhjä
- Ingush: даьсса (dässa)
- Irish: folamh
- Italian: vuoto (it)
- Japanese: 空の (ja) (からの, kara no), 空っぽな (ja) (からっぽな, karappo na)
- Kabardian: нэщӏ (kbd) (nɛśʼ)
- Kabuverdianu: inban
- Kashubian: pùsti
- Kazakh: бос (bos), құр (qūr)
- Khmer: ទទេ (km) (tɔtei), ទំនេរ (km) (tumnei)
- Korean: 비다 (ko) (bida)
- Kurdish:
Central Kurdish: بەتاڵ (ckb) (betall)
Northern Kurdish: vala (ku) - Kyrgyz: бош (ky) (boş), куру (kuru)
- Lao: ຫວ່າງ (wāng), ເວົ່າ (wao)
- Latgalian: tukšs, dīks, pūsts
- Latin: vacuus, inanis
- Latvian: tukšs (lv)
- Lithuanian: tuščias m
- Luxembourgish: eidel
- Macedonian: празен (prazen)
- Malay: kosong (ms)
- Malayalam: ഒഴിഞ്ഞ (ml) (oḻiñña), തരിശ് (ml) (tariśŭ)
- Mongolian: хоосон (mn) (xooson)
- Neapolitan: vacante
- Nepali: खाली (ne) (khālī), रित्तो (ritto), रिक्त (rikta)
- Ngazidja Comorian: -ruvu
- Norman: viède (Guernsey, Jersey)
- Norwegian: tom (no)
- Occitan: void (oc), vuòg, vuèg (oc)
- Old English: tōm; īdel
- Old French: vuit
- Old Norse: tómr
- Oromo: duwwaa
- Ossetian: афтид (aftid)
- Ottoman Turkish: بوش (boş), خالی (hali)
- Persian: خالی (fa) (xâli), تهی (fa) (tohi), پوچ (fa) (puč)
- Polish: pusty (pl) m, próżny (pl) m
- Portuguese: vazio (pt)
- Romanian: vid (ro), gol (ro), deșert (ro), golit (ro) m or n
- Romansch: vid
- Russian: пусто́й (ru) (pustój), поро́жний (ru) (poróžnij)
- Scottish Gaelic: falamh, fàs
- Serbo-Croatian:
Cyrillic: празан m
Roman: prazan (sh) m - Sicilian: vacanti (scn)
- Slovak: prázdny
- Slovene: prazen (sl), pust
- Sorbian:
Lower Sorbian: prozny
Upper Sorbian: prózdny - Southern Altai: бош (boš)
- Spanish: vacío (es)
- Swahili: -tupu (sw)
- Swedish: tom (sv)
- Sylheti: ꠈꠣꠟꠤ (xáli)
- Tagalog: basyo
- Tajik: холӣ (tg) (xoli), тиҳӣ (tihi)
- Talysh: خالی (xâli) (Asalemi)
- Telugu: ఖాళీ (te) (khāḷī), ఒట్టి (oṭṭi)
- Thai: ว้าง (wáang), หว่า (wàa)
- Tocharian B: aikare
- Turkish: boş (tr)
- Turkmen: boş (tk)
- Ukrainian: поро́жній (poróžnij), пусти́й (pustýj)
- Urdu: چھوچھا (chūchā), خالی (xālī)
- Uzbek: boʻsh (uz)
- Venetan: vódo
- Vietnamese: trống (vi), rỗng (vi)
- Welsh: coeg (cy), gwag (cy)
- Yiddish: ליידיק (leydik), פּוסט (pust)
empty (third-person singular simple present empties, present participle emptying, simple past and past participle emptied)
- (transitive, ergative) To make empty; to remove the contents of.
Synonym: void
to empty a well or a cistern
The cinema emptied quickly after the end of the film.
The suspected thief was requested to empty her pockets.- 1850, [Alfred, Lord Tennyson], In Memoriam, London: Edward Moxon, […], →OCLC, Canto VIII:
He saddens, all the magic light
Dies off at once from bower and hall,
And all the place is dark, and all
The chambers emptied of delight: […]
- 1850, [Alfred, Lord Tennyson], In Memoriam, London: Edward Moxon, […], →OCLC, Canto VIII:
- (intransitive) Of a river, duct, etc: to drain or flow toward an ultimate destination.
Salmon River empties on the W shore about 2 miles below Bear River.- 1899 [2nd century], Horace White, transl., Appian:
Of these the Rhine empties into the Northern ocean and the Danube into the Euxine.
- 1899 [2nd century], Horace White, transl., Appian:
to make empty
- Arabic: فَرَغَ (faraḡa)
Moroccan Arabic: خوى (ḵwa) - Armenian: դատարկել (hy) (datarkel), թափել (hy) (tʻapʻel)
- Assamese: আজৰা (azora), শুদা কৰা (xuda kora), উদং কৰা (udoṅ kora), খালী কৰা (khali kora)
- Asturian: vaciar
- Azerbaijani: boşaltmaq (az)
- Bashkir: бушатыу (buşatıw)
- Bengali: খালি করা (khali kora)
- Breton: goullonderiñ (br)
- Bulgarian: изпразвам (bg) (izprazvam)
- Catalan: buidar (ca)
- Czech: vyprázdnit
- Danish: tømme (da)
- Dutch: leegmaken (nl), legen (nl)
- Esperanto: malplenigi
- Faroese: tøma
- Finnish: tyhjentää (fi)
- French: vider (fr)
Old French: vuidier - Galician: baleirar (gl), vazar, librar (gl)
- Georgian: ცლის (clis), იცლება (icleba), აცარიელებს (acarielebs), ცარიელდება (carieldeba)
- German: leeren (de), entleeren (de), ausleeren (de), leer machen
- Greek: αδειάζω (el) (adeiázo)
- Hindi: ख़ाली करना (xālī karnā)
- Hungarian: ürít (hu)
- Icelandic: tæma (is)
- Ido: vakuigar (io), varsar (io)
- Ingrian: päästää
- Irish: bánaigh, folmhaigh
- Italian: vuotare (it), svuotare (it)
- Japanese: 空にする (kara ni suru)
- Korean: 비우다 (ko) (biuda)
- Kurdish:
Central Kurdish: بەتاڵ کردن (betall kirdin)
Northern Kurdish: vala kirin (ku) - Latin: vacuō
- Lombard: vodì
- Malay: mengosongkan (ms)
- Maori: kautahanga, whakapiako, whakangita
- Norman: vièdjer (Guernsey), viédgi (Jersey)
- Norwegian: tømme (no)
- Occitan: voidar (oc)
- Persian: خالی کردن (fa) (xâli kardan)
- Polish: opróżnić (pl)
- Portuguese: esvaziar (pt)
- Romanian: goli (ro), descărca (ro), deșerta (ro), liber (ro) m or n
- Russian: опустоша́ть (ru) impf (opustošátʹ), опустоши́ть (ru) pf (opustošítʹ), опорожня́ть (ru) impf (oporožnjátʹ), опорожни́ть (ru) pf (oporožnítʹ), вынимать (ru) impf (vynimatʹ), вынуть (ru) pf (vynutʹ)
- Serbo-Croatian:
Cyrillic: испразнити
Roman: isprázniti (sh) - Slovene: prazniti, izprazniti
- Spanish: vaciar (es)
- Swedish: tömma (sv)
- Tagalog: basyuhin
- Turkish: boşaltmak (tr)
- Ukrainian: спорожня́ти impf (sporožnjáty), споро́жнювати impf (sporóžnjuvaty), спорожни́ти pf (sporožnýty)
- Urdu: خالی کرنا (xālī karnā)
- Venetan: svodàre
- Vietnamese: tẩy trống, tẩy sạch
- Walloon: vudî (wa)
empty (plural empties)
- (chiefly in the plural) A container, especially a bottle, whose contents have been used up, leaving it empty.
Put the empties out to be recycled.- 2010, Don Thompson, The $12 Million Stuffed Shark, Aurum Press Limited, →ISBN:
In 1960 Willem de Kooning said of [Leo] Castelli, ‘That son of a bitch, you could give him two beer cans and he could sell them.’ [Jasper] Johns laughed and created a sculpture of two Ballantine Ale empties. Castelli immediately sold the work to collectors Robert and Ethel Scull. - 2019 October, Steve Stubbs, photo caption, “'60' on the stone”, in Modern Railways, page 20:
A number of locomotives have been drafted into the area to cover the traction shortfall, including two Class 60s: here No 60039 accelerates away from Eastleigh on the Chandlers Ford branch with the lunchtime Fareham to Whatley quarry empties [empty wagons] on 20 August 2019.
- 2010, Don Thompson, The $12 Million Stuffed Shark, Aurum Press Limited, →ISBN:
empty bottle
Tagalog: basyo
- ^ Douglas Harper (2001–2024) “empty”, in Online Etymology Dictionary.
- “empty”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
- “empty”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911, →OCLC.