Empty, a. [Compar. Emptier; superl. Emptiest.]
Etymology: [AS. emtig, æmtig, æmetig, fr. æmta, æmetta, quiet, leisure, rest; of uncertain origin; cf. G. emsig busy.]
1. Containing nothing; not holding or having anything within; void of contents or appropriate contents; not filled; -- said of an inclosure, as a box, room, house, etc.; as, an empty chest, room, purse, or pitcher; an empty stomach; empty shackles.
2. Free; clear; devoid; -- often with of. "That fair female troop . . . empty of all good." Milton. I shall find you empty of that fault. Shak.
3. Having nothing to carry; unburdened. "An empty messenger." Shak. When ye go ye shall not go empty. Ex. iii. 21.
4. Destitute of effect, sincerity, or sense; -- said of language; as, empty words, or threats. Words are but empty thanks. Cibber.
6 more senses
5. Unable to satisfy; unsatisfactory; hollow; vain; -- said of pleasure, the world, etc. Pleas'd in the silent shade with empty praise. Pope.
6. Producing nothing; unfruitful; -- said of a plant or tree; as, an empty vine. Seven empty ears blasted with the east wind. Gen. xli. 27.
7. Destitute of, or lacking, sense, knowledge, or courtesy; as, empty brains; an empty coxcomb. That in civility thou seem'st so empty. Shak.
8. Destitute of reality, or real existence; unsubstantial; as, empty dreams.
Note: Empty is used as the first element in a compound; as, empty- handed, having nothing in the hands, destitute; empty-headed, having few ideas; empty-hearted, destitute of feeling.
Syn. -- See Vacant.
3 other Webster entries under this spelling
Empty, n.; pl. Empties (.
An empty box, crate, cask, etc.; -- used in commerce, esp. in transportation of freight; as, "special rates for empties."
Empty, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Emptied; p. pr. & vb. n. Emptying.]
To deprive of the contents; to exhaust; to make void or destitute; to make vacant; to pour out; to discharge; as, to empty a vessel; to empty a well or a cistern. The clouds . . . empty themselves upon the earth. Eccl. xi. 3.
Empty, v. i.
1. To discharge itself; as, a river empties into the ocean.
2. To become empty. "The chapel empties." B. Jonson.
Shades of meaning
Fernald has no entry of its own for empty; he lists it under vacant, vain.
Where he writes about it:
That is empty which contains nothing; that is vacant which is without that which has filled or might be expected to fill it; vacant has extensive reference to rights or possibilities of occupancy. — from vacant
A vacant room may not be empty, and an empty house may not be vacant. — from vacant
Vacant, as derived from the Latin, is applied to things of some dignity; empty, from the Saxon, is preferred in speaking of slight, common, or homely matters, tho it may be applied with special force to the highest; we speak of empty space, a vacant lot, an empty dish, an empty sleeve, a vacant mind, an empty heart, an empty boast, a vacant office, a vacant or leisure hour. — from vacant
Vacuous refers to the condition of being empty or vacant, regarded as continuous or characteristic. — from vacant
Vain (L. vanus, empty) keeps the etymological idea through all changes of meaning; a vain endeavor is empty of result, or of adequate power to produce a result, a vain pretension is empty or destitute of support, a vain person has a conceit that is empty or destitute of adequate cause or reason. — from vain