English
vain
Vain comes from Latin vānus ‘empty’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *h₁weh₂-.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₁weh₂-‘empty, leave, abandon, give out’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*wānosreconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEvānus‘empty’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400vain
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500veyn
- Englishearliest quotation c. 1590–1591vain
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₁weh₂-‘empty, leave, abandon, give out’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*wānosreconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEvānus‘empty’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400vain
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500veyn
- Englishearliest quotation c. 1590–1591vain
Earliest quotation: c. 1590–1591, William Shakespeare, The Two Gentlemen of Verona: “I will not hear thy vain excuse”.
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *h₁weh₂- ‘empty, leave, abandon, give out’
want, various, waste, variety, vacation, vast, void, variable, vary, vacant, evacuate, vacate, wane, waning, vacuous, varicella, 26 more
through Latin vānus ‘empty’
Today it means
adj Overly proud of oneself, especially concerning appearance; having a high opinion of one's own accomplishments with slight reason.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *h₁weh₂- / vain