English
vanish
Vanish comes from Vulgar Latin *exvanire ‘to vanish, disappear, to fade out’, from Latin vānus ‘empty’, and ultimately from 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’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEēvānēscō
- Vulgar Latinc. 100–700 CE*exvanire‘to vanish, disappear, to fade out’reconstructed
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400esvanir
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500evanisshen
- Englishearliest quotation 1827vanish
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’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEēvānēscō
- Vulgar Latinc. 100–700 CE*exvanire‘to vanish, disappear, to fade out’reconstructed
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400esvanir
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500evanisshen
- Englishearliest quotation 1827vanish
Earliest quotation: 1827, James Rush: “The median stres may also on a protracted quantity…”
Equivalent to vānus + -ish ‘verb suffix’
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *h₁weh₂- ‘empty, leave, abandon, give out’
want, various, waste, variety, vacation, vast, void, vary, variable, evacuate, vacant, vacate, waning, wane, vacuous, varicella, 26 more
through Latin vānus ‘empty’
through Latin ēvānēscō
Today it means
verb To become invisible or to move out of view unnoticed.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *h₁weh₂- / vanish