empty

Meanings

1. 1
   adj

   Containing nothing or no one

   She poured the last drink and put down the empty glass.

2. 2
   adj

   Having no real meaning, value, or sincerity

   His apology felt like empty words.

3. 3
   adj

   Feeling sad and without purpose or emotion

   After the argument, she felt completely empty.

Common collocations

• empty cup Adjective + noun
• empty seat Adjective + noun

From Middle English emty, amty, from Old English ǣmtiġ, ǣmettiġ (“vacant, empty, free, idle, unmarried”, literally “without must or obligation, leisurely”), from Proto-Germanic *uz- (“out”) + Proto-Germanic *mōtijô, *mōtô (“must, obligation, need”), *mōtiþô (“ability, accommodation”), from Proto-Indo-European *med- (“measure; to acquire, possess, be in command”). Related to Old English ġeǣmtigian (“to empty”), ǣmetta (“leisure”), mōtan (“can, to be allowed”). More at mote, meet. The interconsonantal excrescent p is a euphonic insertion dating from Middle English.

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