vanish

B2 Topic:Actions & Processes

US /ˈvænɪʃ/ See IPA manual

Minimal pairs

Sounds like banish /v/ vs /b/

Freq #7918

Meanings

1

verb
To disappear suddenly and completely.

The magician made the coin vanish before our eyes.
2

verb
To stop existing.

Many ancient languages have vanished over the centuries.

Verb forms

Verb forms are not available for this word yet.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 verb · to disappear suddenly and... disappeargo away

2 verb · to stop existing. disappear

Word family

Forms vanishedvanishesvanishing

Related forms glide vain

Simplified etymology

Vanish entered English in the Middle Ages and ultimately derives from Latin vanus, meaning “empty” or “without substance.” It belongs to the same word family as vain and vanity.

Etymology

Aphetic for obsolete evanish, from Middle English vanyshen, evaneschen, from Old French esvanir, esvaniss- (modern French évanouir), from Vulgar Latin *exvanire (“to vanish, disappear, to fade out”), from Latin evanescere, from vanus (“empty”). Doublet of evanesce. Displaced native Old English cwincan, whose causative persists as quench (“put out (fire)”).

vanyshen Middle English esvanir, esvaniss- Old French *exvanire la-vul evanesco Latin *h₁weh₂- Proto-Indo-European

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Actions & Processes

External links

# vanish

**Type:** Word
**Level:** B2
**Part of speech:** verb
**IPA (US):** /ˈvænɪʃ/
**Frequency rank:** 7918

## Meanings
1. To disappear suddenly and completely.
2. To stop existing.

## Examples
- The magician made the coin vanish before our eyes.
- Many ancient languages have vanished over the centuries.

## Synonyms
- disappear

## Related Forms
- glide
- vain

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: vanyshen
- Root: esvanir, esvaniss-
- Root: *exvanire
- Root: evanesco
- Root: *h₁weh₂-

## Etymology
Aphetic for obsolete evanish, from Middle English vanyshen, evaneschen, from Old French esvanir, esvaniss- (modern French évanouir), from Vulgar Latin *exvanire (“to vanish, disappear, to fade out”), from Latin evanescere, from vanus (“empty”). Doublet of evanesce. Displaced native Old English cwincan, whose causative persists as quench (“put out (fire)”).

## AI Etymology
Vanish is aphetic for obsolete evanish, from Middle English vanyshen, evaneschen, from Old French esvanir, esvaniss- (modern French évanouir), from Vulgar Latin *exvanire (“to vanish, disappear, to fade out”), from Latin evanescere, from vanus (“empty”). Doublet of evanesce. Displaced native Old English cwincan, whose causative persists as quench (“put out (fire)”). In present-day use, it can mean to disappear suddenly and completely, or to stop existing.

## Topics
- Actions & Processes

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