English
vacate
Vacate comes from Early Modern English vacat ‘legal annulment’, from Middle English vacat ‘absence or cancellation noted in a register’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₁weh₂- ‘to lack’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₁weh₂-‘to lack’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₁uh₂-kosreconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*wakos‘empty’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEvacō‘to be idle’literally ‘to be empty’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEvacat
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500same form‘absence or cancellation noted in a register’
- Early Modern Englishmodernsame form‘legal annulment’
- Englishearliest quotation 2023vacate
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₁weh₂-‘to lack’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₁uh₂-kosreconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*wakos‘empty’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEvacō‘to be idle’literally ‘to be empty’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEvacat
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500same form‘absence or cancellation noted in a register’
- Early Modern Englishmodernsame form‘legal annulment’
- Englishearliest quotation 2023vacate
Earliest quotation: 2023, Philip Haigh, New Piccadilly Line trains put to the test: “The dynamic tests at Wildenrath use continuous test tracks…”
The story
The primary modern sense "to move out" likely developed under the influence of older borrowing vacant (‘unoccupied’), in combination with the Early Modern use of vacate to refer to the termination of official appointments to office, which would leave those position vacant.
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *h₁weh₂- ‘to lack’
want, various, waste, variety, vast, void, vary, variable, vanity, vain, vanish, vacant, waning, wane, evacuate, vacuous, varicella, evanescent, 27 more
Today it means
verb To move out of a dwelling or other property, either by choice or by eviction.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *h₁weh₂- / vacate