Empty

//ˈɛmp.ti// adj, noun, verb

Definitions

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

    "an empty purse"

  2. 2
    Containing no elements (as of a string, array, or set), opposed to being null (having no valid value).
  3. 3
    Free; clear; devoid; often with of. obsolete

    "And I ſhal finde you emptie of that fault, Right ioyfull of your reformation."

  4. 4
    Having nothing to carry, emptyhanded; unburdened.

    "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, […]"

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

    "empty words, or threats"

Show 7 more definitions
  1. 6
    Unable to satisfy; hollow; vain.

    "empty pleasures"

  2. 7
    Destitute of reality, or real existence; unsubstantial.

    "empty dreams"

  3. 8
    Destitute of, or lacking, sense, knowledge, or courtesy.

    "empty brains"

  4. 9
    Not pregnant; not producing offspring when expected to do so during the breeding season.

    "Empty cow rates have increased in recent years."

  5. 10
    Producing nothing; unfruitful. obsolete

    "an empty vine"

  6. 11
    Hungry.
  7. 12
    Lacking between the onset of tasting and the finish.

    "Grotesquely vegetal, excessively oaked, empty wines were routinely produced in the mid-1980s. Since the late 1980s, however, the quality has soared."

Adjective
  1. 1
    holding or containing nothing wordnet
  2. 2
    emptied of emotion wordnet
  3. 3
    needing nourishment wordnet
  4. 4
    devoid of significance or force wordnet
Noun
  1. 1
    A container, especially a bottle, whose contents have been used up, leaving it empty. in-plural

    "Put the empties out to be recycled."

  2. 2
    a container that has been emptied wordnet
Verb
  1. 1
    To make empty; to remove the contents of. ergative, transitive

    "to empty a well or a cistern"

  2. 2
    excrete or discharge from the body wordnet
  3. 3
    Of a river, duct, etc: to drain or flow toward an ultimate destination. intransitive

    "Salmon River empties on the W shore about 2 miles below Bear River."

  4. 4
    become empty or void of its content wordnet
  5. 5
    make void or empty of contents wordnet
Show 2 more definitions
  1. 6
    remove the contents of a container wordnet
  2. 7
    leave behind empty; move out of wordnet

Etymology

Etymology 1

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 dating from Middle English.

Etymology 2

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 dating from Middle English.

Etymology 3

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 dating from Middle English.

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