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单词 empty
释义

emptyadj.n.

Brit. /ˈɛm(p)ti/, U.S. /ˈɛm(p)ti/
Forms: early Old English æmetteg- (inflected form), early Old English æmteg- (inflected form), Old English æmeteg- (inflected form), Old English æmetig, Old English æmettig, Old English æmettug- (inflected form, rare), Old English æmetug- (inflected form, rare), Old English æmitig- (inflected form, rare), Old English æmptig, Old English æmti, Old English emetig (rare), Old English ęmettug- (inflected form, rare), Old English emptig (rare), Old English–early Middle English æmtig, Old English (rare)–early Middle English emtig, late Old English eamtig, late Old English emettg- (inflected form), early Middle English emtiȝ, Middle English ampti, Middle English ampty, Middle English amti, Middle English amtie, Middle English amty, Middle English emti, Middle English emtye, Middle English–1600s empti, Middle English–1600s emptie, Middle English–1600s emptye, Middle English–1600s emty, Middle English– empty, 1800s– empie (Scottish), 1900s emp'y (Scottish), 1900s– empy (English regional (northern), Scottish, and Irish English (northern)), 1900s– impty (U.S. regional).
Origin: Formed within English, by derivation. Etymons: English ǣmetta , -y suffix1.
Etymology: < Old English ǣmetta (also ǣmta) leisure, freedom (to do something), opportunity ( < the Germanic base of e- prefix1 + the Germanic base of mote v.1 + a Germanic (dental) suffix causing i-mutation (compare -th suffix1)) + -y suffix1.Specific senses. In sense A. 4a ultimately after Hebrew ḇōhū emptiness, empty place (Genesis 2:1, in the fixed collocation tōhū wā-ḇōhū , lit. ‘formlessness and emptiness’). In sense A. 5d ultimately after Hebrew rēqām empty, empty-handed, in vain (e.g. in 2 Samuel 1:22, the passage translated in quot. 1539). In sense A. 7c after post-classical Latin pulsus vacuus (1535 or earlier), itself after Hellenistic Greek σϕυγμὸς κενός (Galen). In sense B. 2 ultimately after Hebrew tōhū formlessness, confusion, emptiness. Form history. The original form of the stem of the noun in Old English is ǣmett-, but simplification of the geminate (to ǣmet-) and syncopation of medial e is frequent both in the noun and the derived adjective, giving ǣmt- as a common form. Already in Old English, the development of an epenthetic glide consonant p in the resulting consonant group -mt- is attested for the adjective and its derivatives (compare A. Campbell Old Eng. Gram. (1959) §478.2, R. Jordan Handb. der mittelenglischen Grammatik (ed. 2, 1934) §210, E. J. Dobson Eng. Pronunc. 1500–1700 (ed. 2, 1968) II. §435). The long initial vowel ǣ of the adjective is subject to shortening in late Old English and early Middle English, both in its trisyllabic form and in its disyllabic form (before the consonant cluster). The resulting short vowel regularly gave forms in ă and ĕ in Middle English; while the former type is not recorded after 1500, the latter is reflected by the modern standard form.
A. adj.
†1. Of a person.
a. At leisure, not occupied or engaged. Obsolete.
ΚΠ
eOE tr. Bede Eccl. Hist. (Tanner) iv. iii. 262 He..his bec rædde, swa oft swa he from þæm gewinne þære þegnunge godcundre lare æmetig wæs [L. vacabat].
OE Ælfric Catholic Homilies: 2nd Ser. (Cambr. Gg.3.28) xxix. 256 Martha swanc, and Maria sæt æmtig.
OE Rule St. Benet (Corpus Cambr.) liii. 85 Eft þænne hy bysega on hyra wicum nabban and emetige synd [a1225 Winteney emtiȝe syndon, L. uacant], hyrsumian on swylcum þingum, swylce him man beode.
b. Unmarried. Obsolete.Only in Old English.
ΚΠ
eOE King Ælfred tr. Gregory Pastoral Care (Hatton) (1871) li. 401 Eac sint to manienne ða Godes ðiowas ðæt hie ne wenen ðæt hie butan ðæm demme stranges domes hi gemengan mægen wið ða æmtegan wifmen [L. feminis vacantibus].
OE Confessionale Pseudo-Egberti (Junius) 194 Gyf hwylc æmtig man [L. quis vacans] gewemme oðres wif, bete ii gear.
2.
a. Of a receptacle, or any other object that normally contains something: devoid of its usual contents; without anything inside. Also figurative.
ΚΠ
OE Wærferð tr. Gregory Dialogues (Hatton) (1900) ii. xxix. 93 (heading) Hu seo æmtige kyf wearð mid ele gefylled.
c1300 Life & Martyrdom Thomas Becket (Harl. 2277) (1845) l. 2065 The sculle al amti was, and no brayn therinne bilevede.
c1405 (c1390) G. Chaucer Reeve's Tale (Hengwrt) (2003) Prol. l. 40 Almost al empty is the tonne.
c1430 (c1386) G. Chaucer Legend Good Women (Cambr. Gg.4.27) (1879) l. 888 Tysbe..saw hire wympil & hise emty schede.
?1518 A. Barclay Fyfte Eglog sig. Aiiij One maye clerely, the emty nestes se.
?1521 A. Barclay Bk. Codrus & Mynalcas sig. Av With empty belly, and symple poore aray.
1563 W. Fulke Goodle Gallerye Causes Meteors iv. f. 48 There be certen cloudes, yt ar empty, & send no raine, they come of ij. sortes.
a1628 J. Preston New Covenant (1634) 62 Nothing is said to be empty, but when you look for a fullnesse in it; you say a Well is emptie of water, because you looke for water there.
1672 O. Walker Of Educ. i. x. 98 They bring forth yellow, and empty eares before the Harvest.
1685 J. Jackson et al. Annot. Holy Bible II. sig. X2/1 Our Saviour must be understood, either of those who are Sinfully full, or at least such as be Spiritually empty.
1732 J. Arbuthnot Pract. Rules of Diet 269 They ought to be taken in an empty Stomach.
1733 A. Pope Of Use of Riches 16 Which of these is worse? Want with a full, or with an empty purse?
1845 G. Budd On Dis. Liver v. 374 The gall-bladder and ducts are found empty.
1860 J. Tyndall Glaciers of Alps i. §11. 80 I now filled our empty wine-bottle with snow.
1931 A. Christie Sittaford Myst. xxviii. 224 Blankets were folded in a neat pile, the drawers were empty, there was not so much as a hanger left in the cupboard.
1960 C. Day Lewis Buried Day ii. 31 I poked at a ladybird with a grass stem or canoed an empty pea-pod over the lawn.
2002 J. Cartwright White Lightning x. 78 Her cupboards..contain a few tins of peach halves,..and an almost empty jar of The Gentleman's Relish.
b. Of a building or room: not occupied by a person; vacant. Also applied to positions, seats, tables, etc. Also figurative.
ΚΠ
OE St. Euphrosyne (Julius) in W. W. Skeat Ælfric's Lives of Saints (1900) II. 344 He þa bebead Agapito þæt he gegearwode æne emptige cytan, and Smaragdum þider inne gelædde.
a1200 MS Trin. Cambr. in R. Morris Old Eng. Homilies (1873) 2nd Ser. 87 (MED) And cumeð þerto and fint hit [sc. the house] emti and mid beseme clene swopen.
?c1225 (?a1200) Ancrene Riwle (Cleo. C.vi) (1972) 123 Nan empti stude iþe heorte to underfon fleschliche lachtren.
c1330 King of Tars (Auch.) l. 201 in Englische Studien (1889) 11 38 Mani helme þer was of-weued..& sadles fel emtye [c1390 Vernon And sadeles mony emptye].
c1390 MS Vernon Homilies in Archiv f. das Studium der Neueren Sprachen (1877) 57 265 (MED) His paleys empti þei fynd.
a1413 (c1385) G. Chaucer Troilus & Criseyde (Pierpont Morgan) (1882) v. l. 542 O. paleys empty and disconsolat.
1565 A. Nowell Reproufe f. 115v Whether shall Peters chayre (though emptie) bee both iudge & head too.
1590 E. Spenser Faerie Queene ii. x. sig. Y6v Whose emptie place the mightie Oberon Doubly supplide, in spousall, and dominion.
1611 Bible (King James) 1 Sam. xx. 25 Dauids place [at the table] was emptie . View more context for this quotation
1633 P. Fletcher Purple Island vii. iii. 85 Where glorious Cities stood,..There shrieching Satyres fill the peoples emptie steads.
1677 A. Yarranton England's Improvem. 16 There needed not one House to stand empty and untenanted.
1711 R. Steele Spectator No. 24. ⁋5 They are qualify'd rather to add to the Furniture of the House (by filling an empty Chair) than to the Conversation they come into when they visit.
1735–6 H. Jones New Poems Several Occasions 32 Not a Day or Night in twenty, You will find his Castle empty.
1856 C. Dickens Little Dorrit (1857) i. xi. 90 Making his way to an empty little table,..he put down his knapsack and his cloak upon the ground.
1858 O. L. Barbour Rep. Supreme Court N.Y. 26 525 Full power was given to the mayor and board of aldermen to appoint this officer,..and we think it could be thus exercised whenever the office was empty, or not filled.
1885 Law Times 78 385/1 The non-rateability of empty houses.
1938 Economist 1 Jan. 15/2 When a dwelling is vacated, the meter is ‘capped’... If the house stays empty, the meter is removed.
1965 W. Trevor Boarding-house v. 52 The alternative would be to stand, for there were no other empty seats.
2009 J. Struthers Red Sky at Night 160 Never leave an open fire burning in an empty room unless it's protected with a fire guard.
c. Of a vehicle or vessel: without a load; having no passengers, goods, etc., on board.Essentially a contextual use of sense A. 2a.
ΚΠ
1548 Hall's Vnion: Henry VIII f. cxlviiiv A Lake of no great depenes, in the middes whereof was laied a greate emptie boate at an anker, and at euery shore was another boate.
1550 T. Nicolls tr. Thucydides Hist. Peloponnesian War ii. xvii. f. lxviiiv Their empty shippes that the selfe Athenyans hadde that same houre fastened on grounde.
a1627 W. Rowley & T. Middleton Wit at Severall Weapons iv. i, in F. Beaumont & J. Fletcher Comedies & Trag. (1647) sig. Llllll3/1 A Footman by the way, in orange tawny ribbands, running before an empty Coach.
1697 J. Dryden tr. Virgil Georgics iii, in tr. Virgil Wks. 104 Perswade 'em first to lead an empty Wheel. View more context for this quotation
1714 tr. French Bk. of Rates 412 Vessels..empty, or loaded with Masts, Planks, and other Timber.
1796 Log in Ld. Nelson Dispatches & Lett. (1846) VII. p. lxv A Ship and a Brig from Finale..proving..empty.
1849 F. B. Head Stokers & Pokers (1851) iii. 41 The loud puffing of an engine announces the approach..of empty carriages.
1871 D. G. Rossetti Stratton Water xxxvii The empty boat thrawed i' the wind, Against the postern tied.
1919 Jrnl. Franklin Inst. 187 634 Tests of the completed car, both empty and loaded, demonstrated its practicability for rough service.
1967 J. C. Holmes Nothing More to Declare i. 20 We read it in an empty subway car racketing along under the deserted streets.
1999 Church Times 7 May 24/4 The East Anglian wool merchants..ballasted their empty ships with bricks and tiles.
2010 Wall St. Jrnl. 20 Dec. a19/1 Lufthansa tried Sunday to send empty planes to Heathrow to begin operations early Monday.
d. Mathematics and Computing. Of a set, string, list, etc.: containing no elements; having no members; = null adj. 4b. Opposed to non-empty adj.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > number > mathematical number or quantity > numerical arrangement > [adjective] > of sets
tantipartite1858
connected1893
measurable1901
ordered1901
well-ordered1901
null1903
empty1905
closed1909
orthonormal1928
matroid1935
recursively enumerable1936
simple1936
disjoint1937
partially ordered1941
1905 Ann. Math. 6 153 A null or empty class corresponds to a condition which is satisfied by no entity in the universe.
1937 Jrnl. Symbolic Logic 2 67 A set or class is said to be empty if there is no element of it.
1946 A. Weil Found. Algebraic Geom. iv. 84 The bunch of varieties defined by an empty set of varieties will be called empty.
1966 Sze-Tsen Hu Introd. Gen. Topol. i. 8 A function f: X → Y is said to be one-to-one or injective iff, for every point y ∈ Y, the inverse image f−1(y) is either empty or a singleton.
1971 Canad. Jrnl. Math. 23 247 By a string we shall mean a finite, possibly empty, sequence of zeroes and ones.
2005 G. Chaitin Meta Math! ii. 52 The function ‘map’ has two arguments, a function f and a list x. If the list x is empty, then the result is an empty list.
2006 M. F. Barnsley Superfractals i. 17 The set Ω΄A includes the empty string ∅.
3. With of (also in, †from), typically in predicative use.In Old English also with genitive.
a. Without any of the specified thing or things inside.
ΚΠ
OE Wærferð tr. Gregory Dialogues (Corpus Cambr.) (1900) ii. xxix. 160 In þære stowe..wæs sum oferwrigen byden & ælces eles æmtig [L. uacuus erat ab oleo].
a1200 MS Trin. Cambr. in R. Morris Old Eng. Homilies (1873) 2nd Ser. 87 Þe fule gost..fint it [sc. the child] emti of iuele gostes and clensed of fule sinnes and diht mid loðlesnesse.
1584 G. Whetstone Mirour for Magestrates f. 26 These expert Shifters..wyll make their Purses as emptie of Money, as the Catte the Mouses headde of Braynes.
1604 G. Downame Christians Sanctuarie i. 44 What auaileth it to keepe the body emptie from meats, and to fill the soule with sinne?
1682 E. Hickeringill Black Non-Conformist Introd. sig. A2 What they paid for being Sculler'd back again, is not in the Book of Rates..for Charon's-boat is always empty of Passengers back again.
1683 Dutch Rogue 35 His Cellars were as empty of Wine, as his Coffers were of Money.
1718 I. Newton Opticks (ed. 2) iii. i. 341 The Heavens are much emptier of Air than any Vacuum we can make below.
1799 Naval Chron. 2 333 It will be proper to keep the filtering chest empty of water.
1805 C. H. Parry in Lett. & Papers Agric., Planting (1807) 192 When the sheaves are stirred, vast numbers of butterflies come out of them, and the grains from which they issue are empty of flour, and absolutely spoiled.
1885 R. C. Praed Austral. Life 33 The drays were delayed by flooded creeks, and the store was empty of flour, tea, sugar, and all other groceries.
1904 Critic (N.Y.) Jan. 86/2 Is it not a distinct refreshment to take up a book full of fiction and empty of pictures?
2006 J. Connolly Bk. of Lost Things xxviii. 266 David saw, once again, that hourglass in the room beyond, its top half nearly empty of grains.
b. figurative. Lacking a specified quality or feature; devoid of something.
ΚΠ
OE Ælfric Catholic Homilies: 2nd Ser. (Cambr. Gg.3.28) xxvi. 239 Hwæt fremað þe þæt ðin cyst stande ful mid godum, and ðin ingehyd beo æmtig ælces godes?
OE Ælfric Catholic Homilies: 2nd Ser. (Cambr. Gg.3.28) xxxviii. 323 Se [ðeowa]..wæs wiðutan geglenged mid ðam fif andgitum..and wæs ða gyt æmtig fram ðam incundan andgite.
a1200 (?OE) MS Trin. Cambr. in R. Morris Old Eng. Homilies (1873) 2nd Ser. 191 Þenne he auint mannes heorte emti of rihte bi-leue.
a1425 (?a1400) Cloud of Unknowing (Harl. 674) (1944) 105 Þei haue in þis tyme ful emty soules of any trewe deuocion.
?1483 W. Caxton tr. Caton iii. sig. giiv Empty of alle goodes & fylled of alle euyll.
1598 W. Shakespeare Love's Labour's Lost v. ii. 854 And I shall finde you emptie of that fault. View more context for this quotation
1600 W. Shakespeare Merchant of Venice iv. i. 4 Empty from any dram of mercie. View more context for this quotation
a1616 W. Shakespeare As you like It (1623) ii. vii. 93 In ciuility thou seem'st so emptie . View more context for this quotation
1633 Bp. J. Hall Plaine Explic. Hard Texts ii. 97 We..are of our selves emptie of all good.
1711 Vindic. Last Parl. ii. 54 We have not one so Impudent, so Insolent, so Vain, so Rude, so empty of Reason, and so full of Himself.
1835 W. Wordsworth Yarrow Revisited 171 Month falls on month with heavier weight; Day sickens round her, and the night Is empty of repose.
1856 R. C. Trench Notes Miracles (ed. 5) xxxi. 443 The Gentiles were empty of all fruits of righteousness.
1865 J. S. Mill Exam. Hamilton's Philos. 87 Metaphysical doctrines which..are empty of the smallest substance.
1923 D. H. Lawrence Stud. Classic Amer. Lit. i. 2 The modern American books, which are pretty empty of any feeling, and proud of it.
1968 J. Miller in W. French & W. Kidd Amer. Winners Nobel Literary Prize Introd. 67 Confronted with the outside world as decadent as his world of the stokehole is filthy, as empty in meaning as his is lacking in human comforts.
2011 Roanoke (Va.) Times (Nexis) 16 Nov. a12 Smiles. An occasional grimace. A face empty of expression.
4.
a. Of an unbounded area or expanse: containing little of note, or nothing at all; vacant, void. Of a place: having very few inhabitants; deserted, desolate. Also of a surface, esp. a table or wall: bare, unadorned. Frequently with prepositional phrase (usually including of), specifying what is absent. Also figurative.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > [adjective] > absolutely empty (of space)
emptyOE
void?1523
vacuous1656
vacuitous1766
chasmy1855
society > inhabiting and dwelling > inhabited place > [adjective] > not > empty or unoccupied
emptyOE
unoccupied1425
void1479
vacant1518
waste1574
distenanted1594
tenantlessa1616
empse1642
untenanted1677
dead1879
the world > space > place > absence > fact of being unoccupied > [adjective] > empty
idlec825
toomOE
lankc1000
emptyOE
leera1250
i-lerc1275
vain1382
void1390
bare1399
vacanta1400
i-voidec1415
hollow1600
vake1600
clear1607
inane1662
blank1748
viduous1855
unchargeda1861
OE Ælfric Old Eng. Hexateuch: Gen. (Claud.) i. 2 Se [prob. read seo] eorðe soðlice wæs idel & æmti [OE Laud æmtig; L. inanis et vacua].
OE Ælfric's Colloquy (1991) 36 Sine arte mea omnis mensa uacua uidetur esse : butan cræfte minon ælc beod æmtig byþ gesewen.
c1325 (c1300) Chron. Robert of Gloucester (Calig.) 404 Amty place he made aboute, þat folc fley him vaste.
c1325 (c1300) Chron. Robert of Gloucester (Calig.) l. 947 (MED) Yrelond, Þat al ampty was of men.
a1425 (a1400) Titus & Vespasian l. 794 in Archiv f. das Studium der Neueren Sprachen (1903) 111 296 (MED) He [sc. God] wold þoruȝ his grace Fulfylle al þat empty place, Fro whenys þat þe aungel felle.
1552 in A. Feuillerat Documents Office of Revels Edward VI (1914) 89 A place caulled vastum vacuum .i. the great waste asmoche to saie as a place voyde or emptie withoute the worlde where is neither fier ayre water nor earth.
1590 L. Lloyd Consent of Time 599 After the Apostles there was no part of Asia emptie from godly men.
a1591 H. Smith Serm. (1593) 97 Nature cannot abide that any place should be empty.
1594 W. Shakespeare Henry VI, Pt. 2 v. iii. 4 And dead mens cries do fill the emptie aire.
1627 T. May tr. Lucan Pharsalia (new ed.) xi. 503 The foes pursuing get His men; that now alone the Captaine flies With empty Standards reft of Companies.
1675 R. Burthogge Cavsa Dei 158 Should none arrive at Heaven but who had first arrived to a State of Perfection.., Heaven would be empty.
1697 J. Dryden tr. Virgil Georgics iv, in tr. Virgil Wks. 138 Two rising Heaps of liquid Crystal stand, And leave a Space betwixt, of empty Sand. View more context for this quotation
1757 R. Nugent Oppressed Captive 178 A set of wretches..surround an empty table which stretches its ample length from end to end.
1786 T. Baldwin Airopaidia vii. 50 He..seemed to himself a mere Atom floating invariably in the Center of the empty Space.
1819 Times 20 Aug. The Riot Act was read in the nearly empty streets.
1857 Househ. Words 26 Sept. 290/1 The soft groans echoed round my empty walls.
1871 C. Kingsley At Last II. x. 83 The forests seem as empty of birds as the neighbourhood of the city.
1917 Science 25 May 526/1 In a region where the stars are especially plentiful are two small areas all but empty of visible stars.
1958 W. S. Churchill Hist. Eng.-speaking Peoples IV. x. vii. 92 English-speaking emigrants began to trickle into the empty sub-continent [sc. Australia].
1984 Artist Sept. 12/2 An empty landscape in a picture can be more human..because it allows a freer range for the spectator.
1999 J. Elliot Unexpected Light (2000) vi. 208 There were green metal bunkers dug into the ground,..their watch-slit prisms refracting nothing but the empty sky.
b. Of a page, book, email, etc.: free of printed or written matter; unfilled; blank.
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > writing > writing materials > material to write on > paper > [adjective] > blank paper, not written upon
white1466
void1551
blanka1555
empty1579
fair1606
uninked1637
clean1704
1579 E. Hake Newes out of Powles Churchyarde newly Renued sig. H.iii Gentle Reader, for the fillinge vp of emptie pages, this letter written by the Author to his friende lying at the point of death is inserted.
1662 Z. Mayne St Paul's Travailing-pangs 357 There being here some empty Pages, I thought good to translate one place more out of Luthers Commentary upon the Galatians.
1791 I. Disraeli Curiosities of Lit. 310 Don Carlos, son to Philip the Second, made a book, with empty pages, to contain the voyages of his father... Jests of this kind, at length, cost him his life.
1853 Fraser's Mag. Jan. 86/1 Half the book is empty, the pages being ruled, but untouched.
1965 Life 2 July 59/4 He went through my belongings and took away my..empty notebooks, ballpoint pens, all my documents.
1996 Bull. Symbolic Logic 2 241 Send an empty email to: JUCS@iicm.tu-graz.ac.at with the following subject: info,format.
2011 L. Ellsworth Unforgettable 27 I have an empty piece of paper in front of me, a sharpened..pencil, [etc.].
5. Without anything to carry.
a. Of a person: having nothing to carry, or on one's person; empty-handed. Frequently as predicative complement, esp. in to send away empty; in later use often with allusion to biblical use (see quot. 1611).The more usual term in modern use is empty-handed adj.; cf. sense A. 5b.
ΚΠ
OE Ælfric Catholic Homilies: 1st Ser. (Royal) (1997) xviii. 323 Se rica & se þearfa sind wæigfærende on þisre worulde: nu berð se rica swære byrðene, his gestreona, & se þearfa gæð æmtig.
OE Wærferð tr. Gregory Dialogues (Corpus Cambr.) (1900) i. ix. 64 Þa ongan he hatian on his geþance & smeagan, þæt þa þearfan ne eodon æmtige [OE Hatton idelhende, L. vacui] onweg fram him.
1534 Bible (Tyndale rev. Joye) Mark xii. sig. k.vii They caught hym and bete him and sent hym agayne emptye.
1535 Bible (Coverdale) Ruth iii. 17 Thou shalt not come emptye vnto thy mother in lawe.
1611 Bible (King James) Luke i. 53 Hee hath filled the hungry with good things, and the rich hee hath sent emptie away. View more context for this quotation
a1616 W. Shakespeare Timon of Athens (1623) iii. vii. 37 I return'd you an empty Messenger. View more context for this quotation
1684 G. Pudsey Speech 2 The empty Traveller laughs at the Thief.
1799 Lavinia 90 The poor that frequented the house, whom she never dismissed empty.
1837 Family Mag. 4 100 He has a kind heart, and will not send you away empty.
1855 R. F. Burton Personal Narr. Pilgrimage to El-Medinah II. xiv. 10 The young Meccan,..having sent on his box by sea from Yambu to Jeddah, felt merry, like the empty traveller.
1875 H. Ellison Stones from Quarry 60 And yet He spreads for all, both most and least; None away empty sent!
1990 M. Green Who is this Jesus? (1992) vi. 73 But when he sent his messengers to get some of the fruit each year they were beaten and sent away empty by the wicked tenants.
b. Of the hand: not carrying or holding anything. Also with of. Also figurative. Cf. empty-handed adj. [In quot. c1450 honden may show a form of handed adj. with suffix substitution (compare -en suffix6). Compare later empty-handed adj.]
ΘΚΠ
the mind > possession > giving > [adjective] > not bearing gift(s)
giftless1390
toom-handedc1400
emptyc1405
empty-handed1549
c1405 (c1395) G. Chaucer Wife of Bath's Tale (Hengwrt) (2003) Prol. l. 415 With empty hond men may none haukes lure.
c1450 (c1400) Bk. Vices & Virtues (Huntington) (1942) 242 (MED) Þus seiþ oure lord..Þou schalt not brynge tofore me empty honden.
c1500 New Notborune Mayd in E. Rimbault Anc. Poet. Tracts (1842) 45 The poure may stande, With empty hande.
?1545 H. Rhodes Bk. Nurture sig. C.iv Empty fystes can not hawkes reclayme.
1682 E. Hickeringill Scandalum Magnatum 98 Though he was close-fisted, he spread his empty Palms, and laid them gently upon each of their heads.
1727 A. Hamilton New Acct. E. Indies I. xi. 119 The Custom, not to appear before great Men with an empty Hand.
1850 Ld. Tennyson In Memoriam iii. 3 A hollow form with empty hands. View more context for this quotation
1877 L. Dande Blue Blood xvii. 337 What a tide of joy and childish trust poured through her tender clasp into their little brown hands empty of aught else.
1929 Boys' Life Dec. 11/1 The man's hand flashed to his breast pocket, and came away empty.
1989 M. Beattie Beyond Codependency v. xxi. 243 When we stand unencumbered by the past or the future, with empty hands and open arms.
2001 M. Clarke in L. Ross & Y. Brissett Whispers in Walls 22 Me tired cook fi all dese people that only come with dem empty hand and empty belly.
c. Of a beast of burden: without a load; (sometimes) spec. without a rider. Also with of.
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > transport > transport or conveyance by carrying > [adjective] > carried by a pack animal > without a load
leera1387
emptyc1503
c1503 R. Arnold Chron. f. lxxv Item an emty hors only i d'.
1565 T. Cooper Thesaurus at Inanis Inanis equus, a voyde or emptie horse: a leere horse.
1590 C. Marlowe Tamburlaine: 1st Pt. sig. A7v Returne our Mules and emptie Camels backe.
1607 E. Topsell Hist. Foure-footed Beastes 311 When you haue vsed him [sc. the horse] to leape empty, likewise accustome him loaded.
1762 Brit. Mag. May 272/2 Now both alight, and go on foot; and lead the empty beast.
1813 J. Forbes Oriental Mem. III. xxxiii. 254 Leaving the family and merchandize under the care of a guard, they drive back the empty oxen for a second load.
1884 Pall Mall Gaz. 18 June 2/1 FitzGerald..started with the empty camels in a bee-line across the desert.
1933 J. H. Preston Short Hist. Amer. Revol. xxv. 430 All around him his own men were failing and dozens of horses, empty of their riders, were stampeding through the broken lines of foot troops.
1983 J. Cantor Death of Che Guevara (2005) ii. 537 In the morning there were..soldiers leading empty donkeys. The donkeys returned loaded with packs.
†d. Of a weapon, esp. a sword: not bloodied. Frequently in to return not empty. Chiefly with allusion to biblical use (see quot. 1539). Obsolete.
ΚΠ
1539 Bible (Great) 2 Sam. i. f. xxvii/2 The bowe of Ionathas & the swerde of Saul turned neuer backe agayne emptie [1611 returned not emptie; 1989 never returned empty], from the bloud of the slayne, & from the fatte of the myghtye warryoures.
1677 W. Hubbard Narr. Troubles with Indians New-Eng. 98 Whom [sixty of the enemy] they slew and took, so as their Sword returned not empty.
1710 L. Milbourne Moderate Cabal 28 Yet his Sword and Bow Empty return'd with Small Success at last.
1800 E. Gillet Oration 15 The sword of Washington returned not empty.
1840 A. Moore Mem. of Late Rev. Savillion W. Fuller vi. 59 Fearless and intrepid, confident and sincere, he shrunk from no encounter with the hosts of the adversary; and his bow never turned back, nor his sword returned empty.
1892 C. H. Spurgeon Metrop. Tabernacle Pulpit XXXVII. 231 The divine Spirit, whose sword returneth not empty from the conflict.
e. Having failed to obtain or achieve what was wanted; without getting a result or reward. Cf. empty-handed adj. 2. Frequently as predicative complement.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > failure or lack of success > [adjective] > specifically of persons
unsped1390
empty-handed1573
empty1583
speedless1586
unsuccessful1659
unattaining1834
fruitless1843
raté1949
1583 R. Harrison Little Treat. Firste Verse 122. Psalm sig. D We haue wished & desired, & therwith made sute to the higher powers, & laboured in the behalfe of true Ecclesiasticall gouernement, and yet haue returned emptie, & confounded.
1651 True & Hist. Relation Poysoning Sir Thomas Overbury 110 None of these Interrogatories, which the King desired there should be examination upon, came away empty.
1770 J. Langhorne & W. Langhorne tr. Plutarch Lives III. 376 He had many retainers, who asked favours, and were not sent away empty.
1802 S. Burder Oriental Customs (1804) 281 The rabbins had laid down these maxims:—Every one that multiplies prayer shall be heard.—The prayer which is long shall not return empty.
1987 F. Kellerman Sacred & Profane vii. 84 They took turns looking at the snapshot, but the results were the same: dull stares and wordless shakes of the head. He moved on to the next group and came away empty again.
2009 Vanity Fair Jan. 59/1 Doreen came up empty when searching for public records.
6.
a. Of actions, words, titles, etc.: without worth or value; without meaning or substance; without sincerity.In early use also with wider reference, to the world, a person's soul, etc.; cf. sense A. 6d.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > intelligibility > absence of meaning > [adjective]
emptya1225
sleevelessc1450
dumb1531
insensible1538
senseless1579
weetless1579
unsignificant1603
surd1605
matterless1612
unmeaning1632
non-significative1633
brute1642
shelly1648
insignificant1651
insignificative1660
unsignificative1664
unsignifying1665
unsensed1667
meaningless1728
bilka1734
meanless1734
inexpressive1744
unideal1751
unexpressive1755
idealess1793
unsuggestive1797
tenorless1821
themeless1840
nonsensible1851
inarticulate1855
purportless1865
expressionless1871
vacuous1872
contentless1886
unmeaningful1897
a1225 (c1200) Vices & Virtues (1888) 23 (MED) Wuten we fare te ðessere idele saule and amti, seððen hie hafð forlaten scadwisnesse fram hire, and folȝeð hire flesches wille.
c1225 (?c1200) St. Katherine (Bodl.) (1981) l. 311 Þe glistinde [MS gllistinde] wordes..þe beoð wiðuten godlec ant empti wiðinnen.
1340 Ayenbite (1866) 143 Zuo emti to [= in comparison with] þe ziȝþe of þo greate blisse.
?c1400 (c1380) G. Chaucer tr. Boethius De Consol. Philos. (BL Add. 10340) (1868) iii. pr. x. l. 2476 Þe nature of þinges..procediþ of þingus þat ben al hool, and absolut, and descendeþ so doune in to outerest þinges and in to þingus empty and wiþ oute fruyt.
a1522 G. Douglas tr. Virgil Æneid (1960) xiii. Direct. 53 Na meyn endyte, nor empty wordis vayn.
1563 G. Hay Confut. Abbote of Crosraguels Masse f. 7v The Fathers were mocked, their Sacrifices being but naked, emptie and vaine cerimonies.
a1616 W. Shakespeare Measure for Measure (1623) ii. iv. 2 Heauen hath my empty words. View more context for this quotation
1667 J. Milton Paradise Lost iii. 454 Find Fit retribution, emptie as thir deeds. View more context for this quotation
1711 R. Steele Spectator No. 79. ⁋9 All these Acts are but empty Shows.
1718 Free-thinker No. 50. 2 It is not an empty Title..but a Right.
a1764 R. Lloyd Whim in Poet. Wks. (1774) II. 166 Wrangling wits..quarrel for an empty name.
1837 C. Thirlwall Hist. Greece IV. xxxii. 229 Nor were these mere empty professions accompanied by no attempt to carry them into effect.
1884 Sat. Rev. 14 June 766/1 Frightened by the emptiest of bugbears.
1942 H. K. Smith Last Train from Berlin vii. 160 The Nazis were not fooling or making empty threats.
1957 Times Lit. Suppl. 25 Oct. 635/2 What is this but empty rhetoric of the ‘hands-across-the-sea’ brand?
1997 J. Bowker World Relig. 84/2 Guru Nanak recognised how easily temple worship and pilgrimage can become empty rituals.
b. Of a person: having or showing little intelligence; lacking knowledge or sense; foolish, empty-headed. Of the mind, brain, etc.: free from thoughts. Of a plan, project, etc.: †poorly conceived, not fully developed; slight, trivial (obsolete).
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > lack of understanding > foolishness, folly > giddiness, empty-headedness > [adjective]
idlec825
giddyc1000
volage?a1366
apec1370
foolisha1382
vain1390
idleful1483
volageous1487
glaikit1488
cock-brained1530
apish1532
empty1550
sillyc1555
frivolous?1563
tickle-headed1583
light-braineda1593
frothy1593
owlish1596
bird-witted1605
empty-headed1614
idle-headed1614
empty-pateda1628
marmosetical1630
grollish1637
feather-headed1647
nonsense1647
whirl-crowned1648
feather-brained1649
swimmering1650
soft-pated1651
weather-headeda1652
shuttlecock1660
drum-headed1664
chicken-brained1678
halokit1724
desipient1727
shatter-pated1727
scattered-brained1747
light-thoughted1777
scatter-brained1804
shandy-pated1806
hellicat1815
feather-pated1819
inane1819
weather-brained1826
bubble-headed1827
tomfoolish1838
bird-brained1892
tottle1894
fluffy1898
scatty1911
wandery1912
scattery1924
twitterpated1943
1550 R. Sherry Treat. Schemes & Tropes sig. D.v Uerelye the philosopher requyred a rude and emptye mynde.
1611 M. Smith in Bible (King James) Transl. Pref. 8 This was iudged to be but a very poore and emptie shift.
1664 H. Power Exper. Philos. Pref. sig. C3v Our best Philosophers will but prove empty Conjecturalists.
1689 R. Gould Poems 280 For oft we see a Coxcomb, dull and vain, Brim full of Cash and empty in his Brain.
1696 N. Tate & N. Brady New Version Psalms of David cxliv. 4 His Thoughts but empty are and vain.
1704 Clarendon's Hist. Rebellion III. xiii. 307 A very empty and unprepared design.
1711 R. Steele Spectator No. 75. ⁋6 The empty Coxcomb has no Regard to any thing..Sacred.
1727 D. Defoe Syst. Magick i. iv. 99 The meanest, emptyest, and most inconsistent Project.
1803 B. Greatheed Jrnl. 1 Mar. (1953) ix. 95 He seems pert, empty, and prejudiced.
1879 F. E. M. Notley Cordelia III. xvii. 286 An empty man, not without heart, yet wanting the brains to steady it.
1929 R. Bridges Test. Beauty iii. 55 The empty mind may float lightly in the full moonshine of o'erblown affluence.
1962 C. M. Turnbull Forest People v. 102 He replied rather ungallantly, ‘That makes no difference, they are a bunch of empty lazy-heads’.
2008 Coventry Evening Tel. (Nexis) 28 Nov. 61 It also tries its best to prove models aren't just empty airheads by making you answer questions about the fashion industry.
c. Of a thing: lacking solidity or physical existence; indistinct. Now rare.
ΚΠ
1561 T. Norton tr. J. Calvin Inst. Christian Relig. iv. xvii. §14 Only an empty imaginatiue forme of bred.
1674 D. Brevint Saul & Samuel 230 It is but an emty Phantome, which hath neither flesh nor bones, that you can hold.
1697 J. Dryden tr. Virgil Georgics iv, in tr. Virgil Wks. 144 All his Hopes exhal'd in empty Smoke. View more context for this quotation
1727 W. Pattison tr. Virgil in Poet. Wks. I. 141 With all those Multitudes of empty Ghosts, Where Stygian Streams surround the squallid Coasts.
1958 A. Young Out of World & Back 19 Odysseus drove with his sword From the red pool. But I was an empty ghost And no blood came.
d. Of a person's life: futile or pointless; lacking purpose or fulfilment; without spiritual value. Also of a person: unhappy or discontented owing to a perceived lack of purpose, fulfilment, or reason for being.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > harm or detriment > disadvantage > uselessness > uselessness, vanity, or futility > [adjective]
idlec825
unnuteOE
bricklec1225
tooma1250
unnaita1250
vaina1300
waste1303
overvoida1382
voida1382
superfluec1384
daylessa1387
unbehovely1390
unprofitablea1398
unbehoveful1429
wastefulc1450
idleful1483
fruster1488
vainful1509
frustrate?a1513
superfluousa1533
addle1534
lost1535
fittle1552
futilea1575
nugatory1605
futilous1607
shiftless1613
tympanous1625
emptya1628
frustraneousa1643
pointless1673
futilitous1765
otiose1795
stultificatory1931
a1628 J. Preston Of Love v. 114 in Breast-plate of Faith (1630) All the comfort that you shall ever finde in this life, it will be from working, from being serviceable to God, and profitable to men; empty lives cause but empty joy.
1665 G. Swinnock Christian-mans Calling iii. viii. 691 O teach me so to live above this vain empty life, so to be crucified to this world.
1790 Moral & Philos. Suggestions III. 156 A friend..should remind him of the ends of his being, represent to him the danger of such a thoughtless and empty life.
1864 J. F. Clarke Hour which Cometh 338 What if the dark hours returned? What if we found ourselves again lonely and empty, without God and hope in the world?
1872 Scribner's Monthly Mar. 624/1 They talk about one's life being blasted by an uncongenial union; of failing thus to accomplish the purposes of one's life; of an empty existence.
1938 Crisis Oct. 324/1 He feels that..in the fight against wage slavery, he has found a purpose to fill what was otherwise an empty life.
1989 F. Peretti Piercing the Darkness xxxiv. 319 I tried atheism, and then humanism with a strong dose of evolution thrown in, and that left me empty and made my life meaningless.
2003 Bitch Fall 65/2 Depressing heteronormative myths, such as the belief that a potential parent should feel empty and lonely without a child.
7.
†a. Of the body: particularly thin; shrunken, emaciated. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
the world > life > the body > bodily shape or physique > slim shape or physique > [adjective] > thin
leanc1000
thinc1000
swonga1300
meagrea1398
empty?c1400
(as) thin (also lean, rank) as a rakec1405
macilent?a1425
rawc1425
gauntc1440
to be skin and bone (also bones)c1450
leany?a1475
swampc1480
scarrya1500
pinched1514
extenuate1528
lean-fleshed1535
carrion-lean1542
spare1548
lank1553
carrion1565
brawn-fallen1578
raw-bone1590
scraggeda1591
thin-bellied1591
rake-lean1593
bare-boned1594
forlorn1594
Lented1594
lean-looked1597
shotten herring1598
spiny1598
starved1598
thin-belly1598
raw-boned1600
larbar1603
meagry?1603
fleshless1605
scraggy1611
ballow1612
lank-leana1616
skinnya1616
hagged1616
scraggling1616
carrion-like1620
extenuated1620
thin-gutted1620
haggard1630
scrannel1638
leanisha1645
skeletontal1651
overlean1657
emaciated1665
slank1668
lathy1672
emaciate1676
nithered1691
emacerated1704
lean-looking1713
scranky1735
squinny-gut(s)1742
mauger1756
squinny1784
angular1789
etiolated1791
as thin (also lean) as a rail1795
wiry1808
slink1817
scranny1820
famine-hollowed1822
sharp featured1824
reedy1830
scrawny1833
stringy1833
lean-ribbeda1845
skeletony1852
famine-pinched1856
shelly1866
flesh-fallen1876
thinnish1884
all horn and hide1890
unfurnished1893
bone-thin1899
underweight1899
asthenic1925
skin-and-bony1935
skinny-malinky1940
skeletal1952
pencil-neck1960
the world > life > the body > bodily shape or physique > slim shape or physique > [adjective] > shrunken
empty?c1400
withereda1500
wizened1728
weazen1765
wizen1786
weazened1842
weazeny1864
?c1400 (c1380) G. Chaucer tr. Boethius De Consol. Philos. (BL Add. 10340) (1868) i. met. i. l. 14 Þe slak[e] skyn trembleþ vpon myn emty body.
1486 Bk. St. Albans sig. cj Sum put hawkys in mew..when they be Empty and lene.
1541 T. Elyot Castel of Helthe (new ed.) ii. 45 b Where the body is long empty by longe syknesse or abstinence, slepe comforteth nature.
b. Of a person or animal: having an empty stomach; (hence) hungry. Now usually colloquial.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > food > consumption of food or drink > appetite > hunger > [adjective] > hungry
hungryc950
hungering971
hollow1362
eagera1475
empty?1490
ahungrya1500
sharp-set1540
greedlya1546
anhungry1578
starveling1578
belly-pinched1608
mad-hungry1608
jejunea1620
sharp-bent1675
sharp1678
nithered1691
peckish1714
stomach-tight1718
yap1768
yaupish1789
picksome1847
?1490 tr. Gouernayle of Helthe sig. Avv ij. thynges ben nedefull to euery well exercysed..that he be not to full ne to empty.
a1522 G. Douglas tr. Virgil Æneid (1957) ix. vi. l. 79 Lyke as the empty lyoun, lang onfed.
a1616 W. Shakespeare Henry VI, Pt. 2 (1623) iii. i. 248 Wer't not all one, an emptie Eagle were set, To guard the Chicken from a hungry Kyte. View more context for this quotation
1620 T. Shelton tr. M. de Cervantes Don Quixote III. xxx. 209 And where there is plenty the Guests are not empty.
1719 D. Defoe Farther Adventures Robinson Crusoe 199 I found my self empty.
1854 G. J. Whyte-Melville Tilbury Nogo I. xiii. 233 The blackguard dined at one o'clock, and beyond half a pint of beer and a couple of whiffs from his pipe, he has had nothing since. The consequence is, he is empty and in good wind.
1923 Werner's Readings & Recitations (rev. ed.) 26 180 I can't wait ma, I'm so empty, I'm most starved. [Rubs stomach.]
1954 R. Jarrell Pictures from Inst. ii. 42 The platter was empty now; and we too were empty.
2011 J. Reiner Man who couldn't Eat 15 I'm so empty in my gut, but the thought of food is nauseating.
c. Of the pulse: weak; suggestive of a diminution of blood volume or blood flow; feeling as if full of air rather than blood. Now rare.
ΘΚΠ
the world > health and disease > ill health > a disease > disorders of internal organs > disordered pulse or circulation > [adjective] > small or weak pulse
small1564
empty1654
formicating1684
weak1700
formicant1707
thready1753
weakish1809
formicative1822
thread-like1825
shabby1843
wiry1897
1654 N. Culpeper tr. S. Partlitz New Method of Physick iii. 445 Of simple [pulses] are six kinds... In perfusion of the Artery, as full, mean, empty.
1674 J. T. tr. G. Harvey Theoret. & Pract. Treat. Fevors 8 From the strength a pulse is called strong or weak, hereunto are accounted a great pulse..and small, namely empty and weak.
1706 J. Harvey Præsagium Medicum v. 58 A weak and empty Pulse is always dangerous.
1832 Western Jrnl. Med. & Physical Sci. 5 544 The pulse becomes feeble, empty and frequent.
1898 Northwestern Lancet 18 16/2 At this time there was mental dullness, increasing to stupor, rapid, empty pulse, contracted pupils,..suppression of urine and free perspiration.
1930 Brit. Med. Jrnl. 12 Apr. 692/2 The condition is recognized clinically by a feeble, empty pulse, shrunken tissues, low eye tension, and oliguria or anuria.
1988 Acupuncture in Med. 5 30/1 Slight headache: mainly in Deficiency state. The tongue is usually pale with a thin and white coating; thin and empty pulse.
d. Of a farm animal: not pregnant, esp. after a planned or witnessed mating. Cf. full adj. 1c.
ΘΚΠ
the world > life > biology > biological processes > procreation or reproduction > infertility > [adjective] > not pregnant or fertilized
barrenc1400
impregnanta1659
unimpregnated1744
unimpregnated1800
unimpregnate1834
empty1858
unfecundated1858
infecundated1864
unfertilized1893
1858 Jrnl. Royal Agric. Soc. 19 128 (table) Sold Mr. Johnsey... 1 Empty Sow.
1897 S. Spencer Pigs: Breeds & Managem. iv. 58 It will pass the wit of man to get up a sow sufficiently to stand any chance of success against empty or rested sows if she has during the spring suckled and brought up a good litter of pigs.
1915 W. J. Malden Brit. Sheep & Shepherding xxi. 161 In one year with me he had 587 lambs weaned from 302 ewes, with the loss of one ewe..and one empty or guest ewe.
1950 N.Z. Jrnl. Agric. Feb. 100/1 Many cows thought to be empty have proved to be in calf when slaughtered at the works.
1960 Farmer & Stockbreeder 23 Feb. 80/3 Empty gilts shared in the general enthusiasm, averaging £41 15s 2d.
1978 I. Gordon Introd. Animal Husbandry Central Afr. III. ii. iv. 48/2 Where lambs are weaned for the butcher from January to March, the empty ewes are then run on veld grazing until they are ready for mating in May.
2009 J. Moran Business Managem. for Trop. Dairy Farmers xiv. 166 High 100-day-in-calf rates indicates fewer cows with long intervals between calving and fewer cows culled as empty.
8. Of a person or group.
a. With of. Without a specified possession; esp. having little or no money available.
ΚΠ
1550 T. Nicolls tr. Thucydides Hist. Peloponnesian War iii. i. f. xcviii There were aboute Peloponese many promontoryes, that were desarte, whyche yf he wolde fortyfie, shulde be to make the cytie of Athenes emptye of monny.
1581 J. Bell tr. W. Haddon & J. Foxe Against Jerome Osorius 15 The Apostles..should wander through the whole world emptie of all worldly furniture.
1720 D. Defoe Mem. Cavalier 160 The King..[was] quite empty of Money.
1833 R. Southey Lives Brit. Admirals I. v. 257 Returning thereupon into Flanders, empty of money and full of debts.
1884 S. C. Venn Dailys of Sodden Fen I. vi. 213 Stripped of all trappings, empty of possessions, exhausted of hopes, destitute of duties.
1900 M. H. Hewlett Life & Death Richard Yea-and-Nay (1901) ii. xvii. 194 England was empty of money.
1941 R. B. Blakney tr. E. von Hochheim Meister Eckhart 85 To be full of things is to be empty of God, while to be empty of things is to be full of God.
2003 R. P. Stevens Down-to-Earth Spirituality v. 73 Empty of money but full of longing, a journey completed with the woman of his dreams, Jacob had left home to find home.
b. In financial difficulties; impoverished. Also: without possessions. Now usually colloquial.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > possession > poverty > [adjective] > poor > lacking money
to the boneOE
silverlessc1325
pennilessc1330
moneylessc1400
impecunious1596
crossless1600
penceless1605
unmoneyed1606
coinless1614
emptya1643
out of pocket1679
money-bound1710
broke1716
embarrassed1744
stiver cramped1785
plackless1786
taper1789
poundlessa1794
shillingless1797
unpennied1804
fundless1809
impecuniary1814
hard up1821
soldier-thighed1825
cashless1833
stiverless1839
fly-blown1853
strapped1857
stick1859
tight1859
stone-broke1886
stony1886
oofless1888
stony-broke1890
motherless1906
penny-pinched1918
skinned1924
skint1925
on the beach1935
potless1936
boracic1959
uptight1967
brassic1982
a1643 W. Cartwright Ordinary (1651) ii. i. 23 A Usurer is somewhat exorable When he is full: He ne'r lends money empty.
1722 D. Defoe Jrnl. Plague Year 173 Those that had Mony..were able to subsist themselves; but those who were empty suffer'd..great Hardships.
1865 G. Meredith Rhoda Fleming III. xi. 174 I don't know about money. Try my pockets. Yes, mum, if you was forty policemen, I'm empty; you'd find it.
1906 T. Sinton tr. Poetry of Badenoch viii. 543 I like an empty beggar without stock, without cattle, without wealth, without store.
1946 H. A. Smith Rhubarb i. 8 ‘How you fixed now?’ Eric asked him. ‘Empty,’ said Doom glumly.
1975 L. Durocher & E. Linn Nice Guys finish Last ii. 315 ‘Man... I'm empty.’ He'd pull out his pockets. ‘I'm empty.’
9. Of a period of time: free from or unoccupied with affairs, business, or customary work; (also) devoid of a meaningful pursuit, lacking purpose.
ΚΠ
1615 W. L. in R. Tofte tr. B. Varchi Blazon of Iealousie (front matter) sig. B4 So many write: some for the fame of Prayse, And some their empty houres to entertaine.
1728 I. Watts Ess. towards Encouragement Charity Schools 21 They are tempted to fill up their empty Hours of Life with Trifles or Follies.
1870 Galaxy Aug. 204 To fill up her empty days, she began to teach school.
1989 St. Louis (Missouri) Post-Dispatch (Nexis) 12 Jan. 3 b He had discovered an empty hour in his schedule and was in a mood to kick things around.
1995 B. Bryson Notes from Small Island (1996) xxiii. 279 I was looking forward to that very much, but rather less to the prospect of another long, purposeless day in Bowness, pottering about trying to fill the empty hours till tea.
2006 J. Love Gems from Ends of Earth iv. 32 I now had an empty week ahead, free of all ministry commitments.
B. n.
†1. A person who is not occupied or engaged. Also: an unmarried person. Cf. sense A. 1. Obsolete.Only in Old English.
ΚΠ
eOE King Ælfred tr. Gregory Pastoral Care (Hatton) (1871) xxviii. 191 Se æmetiga & se anlipa is to manianne ðæt he sua micle sorgfulra sie ymb hine selfne..sua hine læs oðerra monna giemen bisegað.
OE tr. Defensor Liber Scintillarum (1969) xxi. 175 Uacantem luxuria cito preoccupat : æmtigne galnys raþe ofþrycð.
OE Laws of Cnut (Nero) ii. l. §1. 346 [Y]fel æwbryce byð, þæt eawfæst man mid æmtige [lOE Corpus Cambr. 383 wið emtige] forlicge.
†2. An empty place; a void. Obsolete. rare.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > [noun] > absolute emptiness of space
vaina1382
emptiness1533
empty1535
vacuity1546
vacuum1550
vacancy1603
voida1618
inanea1676
1535 Bible (Coverdale) Job xxvi. 7 He stretcheth out ye north ouer the emptie [King James emptie place].
3. colloquial. Something which is empty; esp. (a) an empty carriage, vehicle, taxi, etc.; (b) a bottle or glass which has been emptied of liquid (esp. alcohol); (c) an unoccupied house or premises.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > place > absence > fact of being unoccupied > [noun] > emptiness > an empty container
empty1844
1844 Parker v. Great Western Railway Company in Cases Relating to Railways & Canals 579 To be filled up with the total weight of the goods in each class,..with that of the empties in another line, and the grand total of weights and sums added up at the bottom.
1879 F. H. Grundy Pictures of Past vi. 166 ‘Well,’ says Leigh Hunt, ‘I found him [sc. a cabman] returning from Hammersmith, and he said as an empty he would take me for half-fare.’
1881 Daily News 22 Aug. 3/2 George Whitehead, a dealer in empties at Mile-end New-town.
1905 Westm. Gaz. 23 Aug. 8/2 Property owners throughout the various suburbs of London are making loud complaint of the steady increase in the proportion of ‘empties’.
1914 Evening Post (Wellington, N.Z.) 24 Feb. 4 Get as many ‘empties’ [= bottles] as possible.
1938 G. Greene Brighton Rock vii. i. 277 A cupboard stood open full of empties.
1961 L. van der Post Heart of Hunter i. v. 82 Some fuel-drums lay in a neat line..all empties.
2005 J. Weiner Goodnight Nobody xi. 99 I used to like parties... I'd go around picking up the empties, and if they weren't quite empty, I'd drink 'em.

Phrases

P1. Proverbs.
a. empty vessels make the most sound and variants: foolish people are the most talkative or noisy.
ΚΠ
a1475 (?a1430) J. Lydgate tr. G. Deguileville Pilgrimage Life Man (Vitell.) l. 15933 A voyde vessel, pype, or tonne,..maketh outward a gret soun, Mor than to-forn, whan yt was ful.]
1547 W. Baldwin Treat. Morall Phylos. sig. Q.iiii As emptye vesselles make the lowdest sounde: so they that haue leaste wyt, are the greatest babblers.
1589 R. Greene Menaphon sig. K Emptie vessells haue the highest sounds..and pratling gloriosers, the smallest performaunce of courage.
a1616 W. Shakespeare Henry V (1623) iv. iv. 64 The empty vessel makes the greatest sound . View more context for this quotation
1711 J. Swift Misc. Prose & Verse 254 I have always observed that your empty Vessels sound loudest.
1761 Gentleman's & London Mag. July 322/2 In so much noise but little sense is found, As empty barrels make the greatest sound.
1850 Macphail's Edinb. Eccl. Jrnl. May 282 We all know the simile that the deepest river runs the smoothest, and that an empty barrel makes the most noise.
1922 M. E. Hanshew & T. W. Hanshew Riddle of Spinning Wheel 169 And you believe in the adage that ‘empty vessels make the most sound,’ I take it?
1947 S. Bellow Victim iv. 46 He had said something about empty wagons being noisy.
2012 Lincs. Echo (Nexis) 25 Oct. 86 It is often said empty vessels make the most noise which is why Tyson Fury's abuse of David Price should be treated with the contempt it deserves.
b. an empty sack (also bag) cannot stand (upright) and variants [after Italian sacco vuoto non puo star in piedi (1612 in the passage translated in quot. 1612)] : great hunger or need renders a person weak, weary, or desperate.
ΚΠ
1612 Mr. King tr. Benvenuto Passenger iv. i. 261 F. I haue great hunger... B. I doe see, that an emptie sacke, cannot stand vpright.
1758 B. Franklin Poor Richard Improved sig. E2 Poverty often deprives a Man of all Spirit and Virtue. 'Tis hard for an empty Bag to stand upright.
1859 S. Smiles Self-help ix. 221 The proverb says that ‘an empty bag cannot stand upright’; neither can a man who is in debt.
1860 ‘G. Eliot’ Mill on Floss I. i. viii. 150 There's folks as things 'ull allays go awk'ard with: empty sacks 'ull never stand upright.
1904 in J. Lawson How to solve Race Probl.: Proc. Washington Conf. Race Probl. in U.S. 1903 xi. 222 An empty sack cannot stand up; a hungry man cannot be honest.
1958 B. Behan Borstal Boy iii. 310 We've a long night before us and an empty sack won't stand.
2006 A. Fine Road of Bones (2007) 18 ‘When will they realize empty sacks can't stand upright?’ ‘My belly already thinks my throat's been cut.’
P2. he (also she, etc.) could start a fight in an empty room and variants: used to indicate that a person is particularly argumentative or aggressive.
ΚΠ
1972 G. Friel Mr Alfred M. A. i. 8 Mrs Provan stared at Senga, frightening her. ‘You'd start a fight in an empty house you would,’ she said. ‘You bad little besom’.
1975 Greeley (Colorado) Tribune 27 Jan. 9 He fouls a lot. His critics say he could start a fight in an empty gym.
1990 Independent (Nexis) 31 Dec. 5 [The] militant pensioner..[was] once said to be capable of starting an argument in an empty room.
1998 J. Holms Bad Vibes xx. 233 She was perfectly able to cause trouble in an empty house, and the devastation she could wreak..beggared the imagination.
2011 D. Raley Pitchers of Beer ii. 28 Vanni was so feisty as a baseball player that his wife..joked he could start a fight in an empty room.

Compounds

C1. Forming parasynthetic adjectives.
empty-basketed adj.
ΚΠ
1883 Harper's Mag. Apr. 702/2 Fisher people..coming back empty-basketed.
1991 Orange County (Calif.) Reg. (Nexis) 8 Apr. e1 A 7-year-old girl named Amanda..saw Karla's 2-year-old daughter coming away from a Yorba Linda Easter-egg hunt empty basketed.
empty-bellied adj.
ΚΠ
1650 A. Ross Marrow of Hist. v. iii. 485 The Romans were well fed betimes, before day; the Carthiginians were empty-bellied.
1837 B. D. Walsh tr. Aristophanes Knights i. iii, in Comedies 159 You've cut Empty-bellied [Gk. κενῇ τῇ κοιλίᾳ] to the Town-hall.
2011 L. A. Kreiser Defeating Lee vi. 182 Meade promised bread, but instead the empty-bellied Pennsylvanians received ‘orders to move immediately’.
empty-fisted adj.
ΚΠ
1601 W. Cornwallis Ess. II. xlvii. sig. Ll3v Not suffering his valour, or wisedome to goe away empty fisted.
1865 J. B. Harwood Odd Neighbours I. 183 How the squaws will jeer and mock 'em when they go back empty-fisted.
2011 M. Moustakis Bear Down, Bear North 130 There's struggling and a shout. Dad dives in and emerges empty-fisted.
† empty-panelled adj. [compare panel n.2] Falconry. Obsolete
ΚΠ
1575 G. Turberville Bk. Faulconrie 313 Let hir stande emptiepanneld vpon the same vntill night.
1688 R. Holme Acad. Armory ii. xi. 237 It [sc. the Pannel] is taken for the Belly or Guts, as empty pannelled, or large pannelled, when they are empty or full bellied.
empty-stomached adj.
ΚΠ
1527 L. Andrewe tr. H. Brunschwig Vertuose Boke Distyllacyon sig. Aij Them that be empty-stomaked thrughe overmoche hete of the stomake.
1861 P. B. Du Chaillu Explor. Equatorial Afr. vi. 58 The only empty-stomached individual of the company.
2001 P. Davis & S. Craig Compl. Idiot's Guide to running Bed & Breakfast iv. 40 If you serve only a continental breakfast.., your empty-stomached guests might be grumpy for the rest of the day.
C2.
empty bastion n. Fortification a bastion, the interior surface of which is lower than the rampart; = hollow-bastion n. at hollow adj. and adv. Compounds 3b; cf. full bastion n. at full adj., n.2, and adv. Compounds 1b.
ΚΠ
1711 J. T. Desaguliers tr. J. Ozanam Treat. Fortification i. 51 When the Enemy makes it in an empty Bastion.
1830 United Service Jrnl. July 63 When the mass of rampart and parapet follows the winding of the faces and flanks of a bastion, (leaving the space in the interior of the bastion on the level of the natural ground,) such a construction is called an empty bastion.
1998 J. J. Gomila Minorca ii. 42 Shortly afterwards that point was reinforced by the round tower or empty bastion over which the present-day Teatre Principal..was built in 1829.
empty calories n. calories derived from refined carbohydrates, saturated and partly hydrogenated fats, or alcohol, which are often found in foods that are also low in other nutrients, including accompanying vitamins, minerals, and phytochemicals; also occasionally in singular (esp. in attributive use).
ΚΠ
1952 Washington Post 24 Jan. b5/4 There are empty calories and there are full calories.
1981 Vegetarian Times Mar. 13/1 It was found that higher scholastic achievement was related to..a balanced diet and fewer empty-calorie foods.
1987 Green Cuisine Feb. 64/2 Yoghurt is a first-rate food for children, provided the food value hasn't been diluted by the extra empty calories of sugar.
2011 A. Gentry Vegan Family Meals 228 I grew up on standard white table sugar and loved every empty calorie.
empty cell adj. (attributive) designating any method of treating timber with a preservative in which the walls of the cells of the wood are coated with the preservative but the cavities of the cells remain empty.
ΚΠ
1904 Railway Rev. Dec. 75/2 This is the so-called ‘empty cell impregnation’ method of applying creosote or tar oil.
1946 K. T. Cartwright & W. P. K. Findlay Decay of Timber xiii. 260 It is usual to treat poles and timber for building use by the empty cell process, by means of which the walls of cells of the wood are left coated with a layer of preservative, but the cavities are empty.
1968 W. E. Willis Timber iv. 86 The two empty cell methods are known as the Rueping and Lawry processes.
2003 J. L. Bowyer et al. Forest Products & Wood Sci. (ed. 4) xi. 282 Figure 11.12 illustrates the pressure-time sequence used in the pressure-treating tank for one type of empty cell process, that is, the Rueping process.
empty chair n. Politics attributive designating a policy of withdrawal from participation in meetings, votes, etc., in response to a disagreement or dispute; of or relating to such a policy.
ΚΠ
1954 N.Y. Times 1 Sept. 5/3 The plan..was described as an ‘empty chair policy’ because it called for the abstention of the French Government from the vote.
1964 Financial Times 13 Nov. 12/4 There has never been any serious possibility that the French would resort to more than ‘an empty chair’ policy if the cereals price is not fixed this year.
1993 M. J. Bull in T. M. Wilson & M. E. Smith Cultural Change & New Europe ii. 33 The French government objected to these proposals and refused to attend meetings of the Council of Ministers for seven months (the so-called ‘empty chair’ strategy).
2011 Herald (Glasgow) (Nexis) 13 Dec. (Features section) 12 Mr Cameron's empty chair policy in the EU cannot but strengthen the Nationalist case for Scotland having its own representation at the top table of Europe.
empty character n. Grammar (with reference to Chinese) a character which has no lexical meaning but serves a grammatical or phonetic function; cf. full character n. at full adj., n.2, and adv. Compounds 1b. [After Chinese xūzì ( < xū empty + zì character, single-character word); see also empty word n.]
ΚΠ
1838 S. Kidd Lect. Nature & Struct. Chinese Lang. ii. 12 There is a more general division into solid and empty characters; that is, symbols of ideas, and particles merely euphonic.
1947 Monumenta Serica 12 248 Every serious reader of ancient Chinese texts grasps the importance of comprehending exactly the meaning of the hsü-tzu..or ‘empty characters’.
2005 East & West 55 470 The choice of these so-called empty characters may be questioned but they are essential for anyone wishing to read the texts in the written language.
empty-eyed adj. having eyes that convey no emotion, character, or interest; characterized by this; expressionless.
ΚΠ
1868 Hours at Home Dec. 152/1 Scores of men..are now gazing empty-eyed at the walls of their cell in a lunatic asylum.
1986 D. Koontz Strangers i. ii. 233 She was like a little zombie, slack-faced and empty-eyed.
2007 A. Theroux Laura Warholic ix. 106 There was a melancholy spirit about her.., something missing in the depthless vagary and empty-eyed quality of every move she made.
empty-headed adj. and n. (a) adj. having or showing little intelligence; lacking sense; foolish, frivolous; (b) n. (with the and plural agreement) empty-headed people as a class.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > lack of understanding > foolishness, folly > giddiness, empty-headedness > [adjective]
idlec825
giddyc1000
volage?a1366
apec1370
foolisha1382
vain1390
idleful1483
volageous1487
glaikit1488
cock-brained1530
apish1532
empty1550
sillyc1555
frivolous?1563
tickle-headed1583
light-braineda1593
frothy1593
owlish1596
bird-witted1605
empty-headed1614
idle-headed1614
empty-pateda1628
marmosetical1630
grollish1637
feather-headed1647
nonsense1647
whirl-crowned1648
feather-brained1649
swimmering1650
soft-pated1651
weather-headeda1652
shuttlecock1660
drum-headed1664
chicken-brained1678
halokit1724
desipient1727
shatter-pated1727
scattered-brained1747
light-thoughted1777
scatter-brained1804
shandy-pated1806
hellicat1815
feather-pated1819
inane1819
weather-brained1826
bubble-headed1827
tomfoolish1838
bird-brained1892
tottle1894
fluffy1898
scatty1911
wandery1912
scattery1924
twitterpated1943
1614 W. Raleigh Hist. World i. i. i. §15. 21 Wise men depend vpon so many vnworthy and emptie-headed fooles.
1752 W. Goodall Adventures Capt. Greenland I. iii. iv. 142 [He] would, perhaps, have cut as good a Figure in his polite Amours, as half the empty-headed Blockheads in Town.
1854 Lancet 11 Feb. 176/1 The empty-headed notion that he is identified with ‘The Third-Year's Student’ is an absurdity.
1899 Westm. Gaz. 21 Aug. 2/3 The empty-headed and idle-minded exist in both sexes.
1951 G. Heyer Quiet Gentleman xx. 295 He was not such an empty-headed jackanapes as he looked.
2007 Independent 22 June 20/4 It is not hard to see why Beckham, however misguidedly, is going along with his wife's empty headed game-plan.
empty-hearted adj. lacking in feeling or sentiment.
ΚΠ
1603 A. Willet Ecclesia Triumphans xiii. 74 No man should come thither, as in the lawe emptie handed, so nowe vnder the Gospel emptie hearted.
1608 W. Shakespeare King Lear i. 145 Nor are those empty harted whose low, sound Reuerbs no hollownes. View more context for this quotation
1687 J. Phillips tr. M. de Cervantes Don Quixote 500 Then seek some Empty-hearted Man, For I protest, my Heart is full.
1842 H. E. Manning Serm. viii. 109 Empty-hearted followers of this vain-glorious world.
1988 J. Hamilton Idle Hill of Summer (1989) xiii. 160 Perhaps it was her death that had soured Edmund and made him empty-hearted.
empty-headedness n. the state or quality of being empty-headed.
ΚΠ
1816 F. Wrangham tr. J. Milton Second Def. People of Eng. in Scraps 128 In empty-headedness you rate yourself below ‘the great Saumaise’.
1930 Washington Post 27 July s8/3 The female of the species chatters faster and more often than the male because of physiological differences.., not because of inherent empty-headedness.
2006 C. Crewe Eating Myself (2007) 140 He relished vitality, exuberance, a certain decadence and anarchy, but he was irritated by empty-headedness.
empty net n. Sport (originally Association Football) (a) an undefended goal; cf. open goal n.; (b) attributive (North American) designating a goal scored into an empty net.
ΚΠ
1895 Liverpool Mercury 15 Apr. 7/7 Hallam, with an empty net in front of him, missed an easy chance.
1968 Globe & Mail (Toronto) 5 Feb. 18/7 Marlboros pulled goalie Gerry McNamara and Obie O'Brien fired the puck into an empty net.
1992 Watertown (N.Y.) Daily Times 26 Apr. g7/1 Gartner added an empty-net goal.
2004 E. E. Esckilsen Offsides v. 42 Tom is tempted to step onto the Warriors' pitch, to drop-kick his ball into the empty net.
empty-netter n. Sport (originally and chiefly Ice Hockey) a goal scored into an empty net.
ΚΠ
1963 Bridgeport (Connecticut) Sunday Post 17 Feb. d4/8 Until Pronovost's empty-netter, only Gordie Howe and Bruce MacGregor were able to beat Johnston.
1997 C. Sheppard Heaven on Ice xx. 271 New Jersey scores an empty netter and takes a two game to nothing lead.
2011 Nottingham Post (Nexis) 28 Feb. (Sport section) 34 With Kowalski off for the extra skater, Devils made sure of the points with an empty-netter from Scott Matzka.
empty-pated adj. now archaic and humorous = empty-headed adj. and n. (a).
ΚΠ
a1628 R. Daborne Poor-mans Comfort (1655) iii. sig. E3 You empty pated Judges, painted Idols.
1820 W. Scott Abbot III. vi. 202 There are empty-pated coxcombs at each corner.
1914 Jrnl. Electr. Workers & Operators Jan. 6/2 The verdant boob, The empty pated, Rattlebrained galoot And more To boot.
2012 L. L. Sullivan Ladies in Waiting 150 Zabby thought she didn't care for money. The truth was, she simply had no wish to spend it as these empty-pated fops and wantons might.
empty promise n. a promise that its maker does not intend or expect to fulfil; a false assurance; frequently in plural.
ΚΠ
1593 T. Bilson Perpetual Govt. Christes Church xii. 211 God doeth not send his messengers to make emptie promises; but ratifieth the trueth of his speach with the seales of his word.
1675 R. Head Proteus Redivivus 108 Buoy up his Hope still with empty promises.
1779 Duchess of Devonshire Sylph I. 241 How long will they remain satisfied with being repeatedly put by with empty promises?
1859 Bookseller 24 Feb. 726/1 [He]..speaks of the distinctness and beauty which characterize the maps. A single glance at one of the maps will show that this is no empty promise.
1935 H. A. Curtiss & F. H. Curtiss Inner Radiance 125 How can I trust to empty promises which I have heard repeated over and over?
2005 N.Y. Times Mag. 23 Jan. 11/3 The expression ‘gesture politics’ generally describes the substitution of symbols and empty promises for policy.
Empty Quarter n. (also with lower-case initials) the great deserts of the Arabian peninsula; esp. the Rub' al-Khali desert, extending from central Saudi Arabia southwards to Yemen and eastwards to the United Arab Emirates and Oman; also figurative. [Apparently after Arabic Rubʿa al-Ḵālī (apparently early 19th cent. or earlier; also Rubʿ al-Ḵālī; given in J. L. Burckhardt Trav. in Arabia (1829) II. 390 in the transliterated form Roba el Khaly as a name in use among the local Bedouins), apparently < rubʿ quarter (see arroba n.) + al- the + ḵālī empty, deserted, although it is possible that the original Arabic name may have been an (apparently unattested) form *rabʿ al-ḵālī, lit. ‘empty area’, with its first element being rabʿ (plural rubūʿ) area ( < rabaʿa to be seated, to dwell). Compare German Leeres Viertel (1841 or earlier; apparently after Arabic).]
ΚΠ
1875 Encycl. Brit. II. 240/1 This greater desert, the ‘Roba El Khaliyeh’ or ‘Empty Space’ of geographers—the ‘Dahna’ or ‘Crimson’ of modern Arabs.]
1886 R. F. Burton tr. Arabian Nights' Entertainm. VII. dclxxiv. 80 Arab. ‘Ruba' al-Kharáb’ or ‘Ruba' al-Kháli’ (empty quarter), the great central wilderness of Arabia covering some 50,000 square miles and still left white on our latest maps.
1910 Encycl. Brit. II. 260/1 The great desert known as the Dahna or the Rub‘a el Khali (‘the empty quarter’).
1929 T. E. Lawrence Let. 12 July (1938) 663 They can pass over the Ruba el Khali, the so-called ‘Empty Quarter’ of Arabia.
1963 Guardian 5 July 8/3 While querying his map of the heart, one hails him as the Hakluyt of that empty quarter where the parched intellect croaks for a swig of feeling.
1997 T. Mackintosh-Smith Yemen (1999) ii. 29 North of the Wilderness of Abyan and across the dunes of Ramlat al-Sab'atayn, a finger of sand thrusting south-west from the Empty Quarter, is the most famous of them all.
empty-skulled adj. usu. derogatory (a) adj. unintelligent, foolish; (b) n. (with the and plural agreement) unintelligent or foolish people as a class.
ΚΠ
1663 W. Clark Marciano 56 Now get you gone both of you.., you arrogant, empty-skull'd wittals.
1759 tr. A. R. Le Sage Devil upon Crutches (ed. 2) II. v. 146 He is a country squire, said Asmodeus, a man of estate in Arragon; but an empty-skulled coxcomb.
1863 C. C. Clarke Shakespeare-characters vi. 159 Quackery may, and does succeed for a season..with the empty-skulled.
1997 H. Howell Wild Roses i. 6 I do not have a husband, you empty-skulled piece of refuse.
empty suit n. originally and chiefly U.S. a person, esp. a wealthy, professional, or powerful man, perceived as lacking substance, personality, intelligence, ability, etc.
ΚΠ
1950 N.Y. Times 31 Dec. 11/3 The opposite of the joiner is a species known as the big spender... He is a character completely devoid of personality... Two of the most colorless representatives of this group at present are known as ‘The Empty Suit’ and ‘Harvey with Money’.
1981 H. Gould Fort Apache 82 He's an empty suit, don't even think about him.
1999 Washington Post 3 Dec. a9/1 Bush is a nice guy but an empty suit with no philosophical underpinning.
2008 Independent 15 Apr. 23/3 Steve Gehris, an independent voter, has no time for Mr Obama, whom he described as an empty suit.
empty-vaulted adj. poetic (now rare) (of the sky, heaven, etc.) consisting of a broad empty expanse; cf. vault n.1 1c.
ΚΠ
1637 J. Milton Comus 9 They float..Through the emptie-vaulted night.
1806 P. Yorke tr. Lycophron Cassandra 104 Athwart the empty-vaulted heaven Six times of years have rolled.
1891 Cosmopolitan Dec. 142 White-robed pilgrims who each night, Serenely through the empty-vaulted sky Upon the wings of silence onward fly.
1919 A. R. Wylie All Sorts 2 In the flat, tireless immensity, and under the empty vaulted sky, these were just little things.
empty word n. Grammar a word which has no lexical meaning but serves a grammatical function; a function word; opposed to full word n. and adj. at full adj., n.2, and adv. Compounds 1b.Chiefly used with reference to Chinese grammar. [Originally after Chinese xūzì (see empty character n.); in later use after xūcí ( < xū + cí word, term), which is now the preferred term.]
ΘΚΠ
the mind > language > linguistics > study of grammar > a part of speech > [noun] > function word
particle1533
parcel1571
syncategorem1655
agency1778
empty word1854
symbolic1871
form-word1875
structural word1884
particule1889
pheme1906
structure word1925
function word1927
operator1938
logical word1940
keneme1950
rheme1953
functor1958
1854 F. M. Müller Let. to Chevalier Bunsen on Classif. Turanian Langs. ii. §6 131 The Chinese themselves distinguish between full words (shi tsé) and empty words (hiu tse). These empty words..have no independent meaning of their own, but determine and modify the meaning of other words.
1892 H. Sweet New Eng. Gram. I. 22. §58 When a form-word is entirely devoid of meaning, we may call it an empty word, as opposed to full words such as earth and round.
1968 P. Kratochvíl Chinese Lang. Today iv. 117 Traditional Chinese linguists considered practically all minimal forms beside what would be called nouns as ‘empty words’.
1998 T'oung Pao 84 245 It functions as no more than a connector or a ‘pro-verb’ and is not much different from an ‘empty’ word.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2014; most recently modified version published online June 2022).

emptyv.

Brit. /ˈɛm(p)ti/, U.S. /ˈɛm(p)ti/
Forms: early Old English aemetgian (Mercian), early Old English æmettian, early Old English æmettigian, Old English æmetegod (past participle), Old English æmetgian, Old English æmptigan (rare), Old English æmtegian, Old English æmtian, Old English æmtigan, Old English æmtigean (rare), Old English æmtiggað (imperative plural, probably transmission error), Old English æmtigian, Old English æmtogode (past tense), Old English ametgode (past tense, probably transmission error), Old English emtian (rare), Old English emtigian, Old English eomptige (1st singular present indicative, perhaps transmission error), Old English geæmtogod (past participle), late Old English æmgað (imperative plural, transmission error), late Old English emetgade (past tense), early Middle English emtige, Middle English empti, 1500s emptye, 1500s emty, 1500s entye, 1500s–1600s emptie, 1500s– empty, 1700s– empy (Scottish).
Origin: Formed within English, by conversion. Etymon: empty adj.
Etymology: < empty adj. Compare empt v.For discussion of phonological simplification in Old English and consequent potential reanalysis of such forms as æmtian see empt v. For discussion of epenthetic p see empty adj. and n. In Old English the prefixed form geǣmtigian (compare y- prefix) is also attested in sense ‘to be unoccupied or at leisure, to be or make oneself free for an activity, to devote oneself to’ (compare sense 1); compare also aǣmtigian to be or make idle (compare a- prefix1), unǣmtigian to deprive of leisure (compare un- prefix2). This word is rare in Middle English, in which empt v. is the more usual verb corresponding to empty adj.
†1. intransitive and transitive (reflexive). To be unoccupied or at leisure; to be or make oneself free for an activity; to devote oneself to a person or thing (with to or dative). Also (in quot. eOE): to pause. Obsolete.Only in Old English.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > inaction > idleness, lack of occupation or activity > be idle or unoccupied [verb (intransitive)]
emptyeOE
to tell the clock1527
idle1668
to kick one's heels1703
twirl1777
gammer1788
to twiddle one's thumbs, or fingers1846
to make (also do) kef1852
goof1932
doss1937
to sit on one's hands1939
to bugger about ——1946
to spin one's wheels1960
eOE (Mercian) Vespasian Psalter (1965) xlv. 9 Vacate et uidete quoniam ego sum dominus : aemetgiað & gesiað forðon ic eam dryhten.
OE Ælfric Gram. (St. John's Oxf.) 206 Uacate lectioni æmtiggað [prob. read æmtigað] eow to rædinge.
OE Wærferð tr. Gregory Dialogues (Otho) (1900) iv. xv. 282 Mid ymenum & herenessum dagum & neahtum he hine ametgode to Gode.
OE tr. Defensor Liber Scintillarum (1969) vii. 61 Neque enim die uaces neque nocte : ne soðlice on dæge þu æmtiga na on nihte.
lOE St. Chad (Hatton) (1953) 176 He..com to cirican & þer ymbhygdelicor gebeodum & salmsongum feste mode emetgade.
2.
a. transitive. To cause to be without contents, to make empty; to pour out, take away, or otherwise remove the contents of. Also: to clear (a place) of its occupants or inhabitants. Also with out.Apparently rare between the Old English period and the 16th cent.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > place > absence > fact of being unoccupied > leave unoccupied [verb (transitive)] > empty
emptyOE
emptOE
avoida1382
to shake out1382
devoida1400
evacuec1400
void1506
toom?a1513
unburden1538
disgarboil1567
inanitea1598
unbowel1597
unfill1607
to turn out?1609
unteemc1635
evacuatea1652
vacuate1651
unempt1798
disglut1800
eviscerate1834
OE Ælfric Catholic Homilies: 1st Ser. (Royal) (1997) xx. 343 He..wæs swa geæmtogod on his innoðe swa swa he wæs ær on his geleafan.
OE Ælfric Gram. (St. John's Oxf.) 137 Uacuo ic æmtigie [OE All Souls emtigie, Julius eomptige].
a1425 Medulla Gram. (Stonyhurst) f. 19v Deferro, to empti ofte.
a1450 (c1412) T. Hoccleve De Regimine Principum (Harl. 4866) (1897) l. 4435 Whan þat þe peple..Hir purs y-emptid haue.
1555 R. Eden tr. Peter Martyr of Angleria Decades of Newe Worlde ii. i. f. 56 They had emptied theyr quyuers.
1602 R. Carew Surv. Cornwall i. f. 20v An ill..saued Haruest, soone emptieth their old store.
1623 E. Conway Let. 17 July in H. Ellis Orig. Lett. Eng. Hist. (1824) 1st Ser. III. 157 Bleeding, [I will] emptie my vaynes.
1667 J. Milton Paradise Lost i. 633 These puissant Legions, whose exile Hath emptied Heav'n. View more context for this quotation
1697 J. Dryden tr. Virgil Georgics iv, in tr. Virgil Wks. 137 Empty the wooly Rock, and fill the Reel. View more context for this quotation
1763 J. Brown Diss. Poetry & Music iii. 31 The Kettle is in Part empty'd in the Morning.
1829 Times 6 Jan. 2/5 Having emptied the quaich, he exclaimed—‘That's capital whisky, Donald.’
1845 M. Williams Jrnl. in A. Drummond Married & gone to N.Z. (1960) 44 A kohue full of water..had to be emptied out to mix flour for the natives.
1895 E. H. Capen in Dinner Commemorative of C. Sumner 55 A man who,..when he was a member of the national House of Representatives from Rhode Island, and rose in his place to speak, emptied the Senate chamber.
1910 A. Bennett Clayhanger ii. viii. 201 Mr Orgreave filled his own glass, emptying the bottle, and began to sip.
1943 L. Lenski Bayou Suzette ii. 29 We sell out everyt'ing, we empty the skiff.
1965 Life 3 Dec. 130/3 I seem to remember best to empty the dishwasher when the cabinets become streaked with sunlight.
2000 A. Bourdain Kitchen Confid. (2001) 231 Somebody has to clean the restaurant after service, take out the garbage,..empty the grease traps, hose down the kitchen.
b. transitive. With of (also †from, †with). To cause to be without certain specified contents; (also) to cause (a place) to be vacated by the specified occupants or inhabitants. Frequently in passive. Also figurative.In quot. OE1 with genitive.
ΚΠ
OE Homily (Paris Lat. 943) in R. Brotanek Texte u. Untersuchungen zur altenglischen Lit. u. Kirchengeschichte (1913) 18 Hio [sc. the soul] byð leohtes geæmtigud, & hio byð þystra gefylled.
OE Homily (Corpus Cambr. 162) in H. L. C. Tristram Vier Altenglische Predigten aus der Heterodoxen Trad. (Ph.D. diss., Freiburg) (1970) 168 Uton beon geæmtigode fram leahtrum, and uton beon gefyllede of mægenum.
?1541 R. Copland Guy de Chauliac's Questyonary Cyrurgyens iv. sig. O.iv That all the body be fyrste emptyed of supfluytees, or that any dare admynyster any bytter or hote medycament to the partye.
1555 R. Eden in tr. Peter Martyr of Angleria Decades of Newe Worlde Pref. sig. biiijv Whether the sandes of the ryuers..bee so emptied with golde that no more can be founde there.
1579 J. Jones Arte preseruing Bodie & Soule i. xxiii. 44 Fricasing the bodie first emptied of the common excrements.
1653 H. More Antidote against Atheisme ii. ii. §9 The Sucker of the Air-pump, the Cylinder being well emptied of the Air, should draw up above an hundred pound weight.
1667 J. Milton Paradise Lost iii. 731 The neighbouring Moon..With borrowd light her countenance triform Hence fills and empties . View more context for this quotation
1700 J. Tyrrell Gen. Hist. Eng. II. viii. 975 England was emptied of Men, Arms, Counsel, and Money.
1791 W. Cowper tr. Homer Iliad in Iliad & Odyssey I. xviii. 356 All our houses..Stand emptied of their hidden treasures.
1819 J. H. Vaux New Vocab. Flash Lang. in Memoirs II. 175 Frisk, to search; to frisk a cly is to empty a pocket of its contents.
1877 J. Tyndall in Philos. Trans. (Royal Soc.) 167 171 The pipette-shank in this case was found entirely emptied of its liquid and filled with air.
1902 Amer. Naturalist 36 95 The pods are emptied of their seeds.
1984 G. Jones Hist. Vikings (rev. ed.) iii. iv. 249 In the vast central area of Russia, now emptied of the Avars, dwelt several loosely organized Slavonic tribes.
2005 A. Burdick Out of Eden (2006) xx. 269 A tank is first emptied of its ballast and then completely refilled.
c. transitive. With of. To cause to be without an attribute, characteristic, etc.; to free from, to remove something abstract from.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > place > absence > fact of being unoccupied > leave unoccupied [verb (transitive)] > empty > empty of (something)
void13..
empty1526
dischargec1530
exhaust1614
1526 W. Bonde Pylgrimage of Perfection iii. sig. HHvv Pride..fylleth a man or woman full of..vayne glorie..but mekenesse emptyeth theym.
1593 R. Hooker Of Lawes Eccl. Politie iv. x. 188 Emptying the Church of euerie such rite and Ceremonie.
a1628 J. Preston New Covenant (1634) 397 The spirit of bondage..empties a man of all righteousness.
a1635 R. Sibbes Bowels Opened (1639) 495 Empty the soule of all sinne and prepossessing thoughts.
1726 W. Law Pract. Treat. Christian Perfection v. 141 If we are to fill our Soul with a new Love, we must empty it of all other Affections.
1850 Ld. Tennyson In Memoriam viii. 10 And all The chambers emptied of delight. View more context for this quotation
1874 J. Morley On Compromise 109 Formularies, which he has first to empty of all definite..significance.
1942 K. A. Porter Let. 19 Nov. (1990) iv. 252 Joyce's people live in a stagnant society, emptied of nearly all meaning.
1962 Negro Digest Oct. 42/2 I lashed out at them again and again, trying to empty myself of all the frustration I'd ever been made to feel.
2004 Amer. Hist. Rev. 109 1323/1 Hecht empties of significance the Paris anthropologists' own racist work and teachings.
d. transitive (reflexive). With of: (of Christ) to abandon a divine or holy attribute. Without construction: (esp. of Christ) to become lower in rank, condition, or character; to abase oneself. [In use with reference to Christ, after Hellenistic Greek ἐκένωσε ἑαυτόν, lit. ‘he emptied himself’ (Philippians 2:7; compare quot. 1887).]
ΚΠ
1549 H. Latimer 2nd Serm. before Kynges Maiestie vii. sig. Bb.ivv Where as he was in ye forme of God, he emptyed hym selfe of it, he dyd hyde it.
1579 W. Fulke Heskins Parl. Repealed in D. Heskins Ouerthrowne 114 He [sc. Christ] emptied himselfe..taking the shape of a seruant.
1658 R. Allestree Pract. Christian Graces; or, Whole Duty of Man xvii. §11. 369 Christ emptyed himself of all..glory and greatness.
a1748 I. Watts Remnants of Time in Improvem. Mind: 2nd Pt. (1782) ii. 274 Jesus the Mediator emptied himself for our Sakes.
1801 J. West Lett. to Young Man II. viii. 115 Then comes his humiliation, when he emptied himself of those glories, and appeared on earth in a human form.
1882 F. W. Farrar Early Days Christianity I. 380 He..emptied Himself of His glory..as the..co-equal Son.
1887 Bible (R.V.) Phil. ii. 7 Christ Jesus: who..emptied himself [1611 made himselfe of no reputation], taking the form of a servant, being made in the likeness of men.
2007 Church Times 31 Aug. 15/1 God ‘emptied himself’ both by assuming our sinful nature, and by suffering on the cross our nature's awful entail.
†e. transitive (reflexive). To exhaust all one's resources. Obsolete. rare.
ΚΠ
1647 N. Bacon Hist. Disc. Govt. 170 But emptied themselves to the utmost for his [sc. Richard I's] delivery.
3. transitive. To cause (the entire contents of anything) to pour out, drain away, or otherwise leave; to remove from a container of any type. Frequently with out. Also figurative.to empty the baby out with the bathwater and variants: see baby n. and adj. Phrases 2.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > place > absence > fact of being unoccupied > leave unoccupied [verb (transitive)] > empty > empty (contents)
avoida1398
teemc1440
voida1475
empty1532
toom1535
empt1555
unload1603
to turn out?1609
dismaw1620
unvessel1633
to pack out1969
1532 T. More Confut. Tyndales Answere Pref. p. iii They make them wydows, & so waste and emptye oute the substancyall vertues of theyr soules.
1578 T. Nicholas tr. F. Lopez de Gómara Pleasant Hist. Conquest W. India 31 That with two pumpes they might not emptie the water.
1648 Bp. J. Wilkins Math. Magick ii. v. 181 It is easie to conceive how..the water, which will perhaps by degrees leak into several parts, may be emptyed out again.
1702 R. Stanfield Summons to Dye iii. 80 They in a manner empty all the Lees and Sedement out of the Vessels.
1787 Edward & Sophia xiv. 146 ‘There,’ cried the old man, emptying the contents of the bag on a table.
1828 C. Lamb Confessions of Drunkard (rev. ed.) in Elia 2nd Ser. 204 To perceive all goodness emptied out of him.
1855 C. Haslett Mechanic's, Machinist's, & Engineer's Pract. Bk. 267 Empty it out into a pan, and cover it over till cold, to prevent a skin forming on the top.
1909 Cent. Mag. Sept. 674/1 In her nervousness Lydia had emptied the entire contents of her piece-bag, and the multicolored scraps lay scattered over her apron and the hearth-rug.
1971 L. Beckwith About my Father's Business (1973) xiii. 166 She picked up the mugs and going out emptied the slops over the side.
2006 Metro (Toronto) 15 Mar. 35/3 She recommends that all wardrobe-purging sessions begin by emptying the entire contents and sorting them into categories.
4. With into (also in).
a. transitive (reflexive). Of a body of water, esp. a river: to discharge into another river, the sea, etc. Hence of a blood vessel, a pipe, etc.: to discharge into an organ, a place, another pipe, etc.
ΘΚΠ
the world > the earth > water > rivers and streams > action of river > [verb (reflexive)] > disembogue
empty1553
shed1555
unburden1578
disburden1600
discharge1600
void1600
dischannel1607
disgorge1607
disengorge1610
enwave1628
expose1632
engulf1634
degorge1635
exhaust1833
1553 R. Eden tr. S. Münster Treat. Newe India sig. Fvv A certayne greate ryuer called Pulisachnites, which emptieth it selfe in the great Ocean sea.
1651 T. Hobbes Leviathan ii. xxix. 173 The Veins..empty themselves into the Heart.
1725 D. Defoe New Voy. round World ii. 144 A large River which empties itself into this Bay.
1754 New & Compl. Dict. Arts & Sci. III. 2148/1 Mucous glands, in anatomy, three glands, which empty themselves into the urethra.
1805 R. W. Dickson Pract. Agric. I. 51 The main drain, into which all the stall-drains should empty themselves.
1860 J. Tyndall Glaciers of Alps i. 34 The river..empties itself into the lake.
1891 Blackwood's Edinb. Mag. Nov. 657/1 This inland sea [sc. the Nyassa] empties itself into one large river—the Shiré.
1967 New Scientist 31 Aug. 435/1 The cushion of air on which a hovercraft rides is created continuously by a flow of air delivered through ducts, which empty themselves into the plenum chamber by nozzles equally spaced around its edge.
1972 Life 24 Nov. 9 (caption) Just below New Orleans, the mighty Mississippi River meanders through the delta it has built up and then empties itself into the Gulf of Mexico.
2008 P. Johnston Little Lost River 218 The reservoir would still empty itself into the river, and the river would still make its way to the ocean.
b. intransitive in the same sense.In quot. 1692 in extended use.
ΘΚΠ
the world > the earth > water > rivers and streams > action of river > flow (of river) [verb (intransitive)] > disembogue
fallOE
disbogue1589
empty1591
to have one's forth1597
disembogue1598
mouth1598
dimit16..
dischannel1607
ingurgitate1632
discharge1816
debouch1834
erupt1864
gurgitate1907
1591 G. Fletcher Of Russe Common Wealth ii. f. 5v The fifth [river is] Duna, that emptieth into the Baltick sea.
a1682 Sir T. Browne Certain Misc. Tracts (1683) x. 165 The Rivers Arnon, Cedron, Zaeth, which empty into this Valley.
1692 tr. Sallust Wks. 50 All these [sc. the rabble] together empty'd into Rome as into the common sewer of all disorder.
1796 J. Morse Amer. Universal Geogr. (new ed.) I. 385 Sheepscot river..empties into the ocean.
1809 W. Irving Hist. N.Y. I. ii. i. 73 Our voyagers weighed anchor, and adventurously ascended a mighty river which emptied into the bay.
1837 A. S. Doane tr. A. L. J. Bayle Elem. Treat. Anat. 418 The left hepatic veins empty into the vena cava before, and on a level with the opening of the diaphragm.
1898 Mil. Notes on Cuba (U.S. Adjutant-General's Office: Mil. Information Div.) 389 Río de San Juan ó de Najaza—rises in the mountains of Najaza, flows south, and empties in the sea near Santa Cruz del Sur.
1910 Electr. World 10 Nov. 1124/1 At the power house the wooden pipe empties into a double-riveted steel pipe.
1972 M. J. Ursin Life in & around Salt Marshes 30 (caption) Freshwater cordgrass... Spartina pectinata prefers brackish water and is likely to be found where freshwater streams empty into the salt marsh.
2004 Times Lit. Suppl. 16 July 21/1 The Sundarban is the largest delta in the world, formed by three great rivers emptying into the Bay of Bengal: the Ganges, the Brahmaputra and the Meghna.
5. transitive. To transfer the entire contents of (a receptacle, vessel, etc.) to another place. Usually with into (also in, upon, etc.), indicating the destination.Also occasionally with out preceding the prepositional phrase.
ΘΚΠ
the world > movement > transference > [verb (transitive)] > from one vessel to another
empty1583
teem1673
1583 J. Stockwood tr. J. von Ewich Duetie Magistrate in Time of Plague viii. f. 36v Houses of offices by vautes vnder the grounde doe emptie their sincks into them [sc. ponds].
1604 N. F. Fruiterers Secrets 18 Whelme [= turn] downe the maunds, emptying them gently, into small baskets.
a1616 W. Shakespeare Merry Wives of Windsor (1623) iii. iii. 13 Empty it [sc. a basket] in the muddie ditch. View more context for this quotation
1733 P. Miller Gardeners Dict. (ed. 2) at Lupulus Two or three times in a Day the Binn must be emptied into a Hop-bag made of coarse Linen Cloth.
1789 J. Brand Hist. & Antiq. Newcastle II. 256 When the waggons are emptied into a keel or vessel by a spout, it is called a trunk staith.
1798 G. Canning in Anti-Jacobin 9 July 283/1 Empty all thy quiver on the Foe.
1833 H. Martineau Cinnamon & Pearls v. 90 Markets into which we can empty our warehouses.
1864 C. Dickens Our Mutual Friend (1865) I. i. xiii. 122 Bob carried..one of those iron models of sugar-loaf hats..into which he emptied the jug.
1894 Daily News 23 Jan. 6/5 The drain cocks blew out and the boilers emptied themselves into the vessel's bilges.
1925 E. Hemingway Short Stories (2002) 201 He liked to open cans. He emptied the can of apricots out into a tin cup.
1975 Countryman Autumn 145/1 I regularly emptied the vacuum cleaner dust bag on to the pile.
2005 I. McEwan Saturday iii. 179 He takes two bags of mâche from the bottom of the fridge and empties them into a salad tosser.
6. intransitive. To become empty; spec. (of a receptacle, vessel, etc.) to release its contents; (of a place) to be vacated by its occupants or inhabitants. Now also with out.In quot. 1587: (of a body of water) to become reduced in volume; cf. sense 4.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > place > absence > fact of being unoccupied > be or become unoccupied or empty [verb (intransitive)]
emptc1275
empty1587
clear1886
blank1955
1587 A. Golding tr. Solinus Worthie Work xxiv. sig. N.ii The entring of the Caspian Sea, which entrance (after a maruellous manner) dooth emptye by rayne, and encrease by drowght.
a1637 B. Jonson Under-woods lxxv. 137 in Wks. (1640) III The Chappell empties, and thou may'st be gone Now, Sun.
1654 E. Gayton Pleasant Notes Don Quixot iii. v. 100 As his purse failed, or pockets emptied.
1738 S. Johnson Let. (1992) I. i. 18 I will..bring the Poem with me for the press, which, as the town empties, we cannot be too quick with.
1775 F. Forbes Misc. Diss. Rural Subj. 229 The pressure gradually lessens as the barrel empties.
1850 J. W. Carlyle Lett. II. 109 Now that the town is emptying.
1868 M. C. Lea Man. Photogr. xiii. 225 Meantime the first side [of the tank] is emptying out, and when empty, rises again and again fills.
1885 Manch. Examiner 5 May 5/5 The benches had almost emptied for the dinner hour.
1940 ‘M. Innes’ Secret Vanguard ii. 21 The little restaurant had emptied and in place of a babel of talk..there was only the rumble of traffic outside.
1968 G. Daws Shoal of Time (1974) iii. 93 Commoners all over Oahu went back to the hula and other old pastimes, and schools and churches emptied out with amazing speed.
2004 Scouting Mag. Mar. 68/2 When the mud-fighters finally came in for showers, they found the water tank had emptied and there was no water left for them!
7. transitive. To discharge all the ammunition from (a gun, magazine, etc.). Also: to fire (ammunition) until a gun is empty.
ΚΠ
1837 Amer. Monthly Mag. June 612 Melancourt had again emptied his rifle, and was about joining in the indiscriminate retreat.
1867 Hampshire Advertiser 31 Aug. 7/5 Dr. Livingstone had emptied his gun, and was endeavouring to reload.
1939 Jrnl. Southern Hist. 5 35 A Negro was crowded against a white man, and because of this he had a full round of pistol bullets emptied into him.
1951 Boys' Life Mar. 40/2 Quest..emptied his magazine as rapidly as he could aim and pull the trigger.
1978 Jet 30 Mar. 24/2 Mrs. Clay entered the room, pulled a .38 caliber revolver, and without a word emptied its bullets into his body.
2006 D. Lewis Bloody Heroes (2007) ix. 263 He emptied his AK47 at the prisoners, but the courtyard was now a seething mass of enemy fighters.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2014; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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