vain

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English vein, also vain and veine,^[2][3] borrowed from Old French vain, also vein,^[4][5][6][7] inherited from Latin vānus (“empty, void; idle, fruitless”).^[4][5][8][9] The Anglo-Norman form is recorded from the early 12th century, already with the senses "empty", "worthless", "futile" and "of no effect".^[10] The Latin adjective is the source of vano, vano and vão,^[4][7] and is related to vacuus (“empty”), the source of vacuum.^[11][9] Etymonline derives it from a suffixed form of Proto-Indo-European *eue- (“to leave, abandon, give out”),^[5][8] and Klein compares Ancient Greek εὖνις (eûnis, “bereaved of”).^[7] The phrase in vain follows en vain and in vānum.^[9][5][2]

Earliest recorded meaning

Without real value or effect; worthless, idle, fruitless: before 1300, in the Cursor Mundi,^[4] about 1300 in Etymonline.^[5] Barnhart finds the word implied in veine gloire, vainglory, probably before 1200, and then in the phrase in veyn, uselessly, about 1300.^[12][6]

Semantic evolution

The older sense "worthless, futile" survives in the phrase in vain, recorded from before 1300.^[4][5] In Middle English the word could also keep the literal Latin sense "empty, void": the Wycliffite Bible of 1382 says that the earth was veyn withinne and voyde.^[5][4] From 1390, in Gower, it was used of people for "foolish, silly, thoughtless", a sense now rare.^[4][5] The modern sense, "too proud of one's looks or achievements", appears only in 1692, in Dryden's Eleonora,^[4][6] although Barnhart sees it implied much earlier in vainglory.^[6] Ayto likewise dates the main modern meaning to the 17th century.^[11] The phrase take someone's name in vain, to utter the name of God lightly or profanely, comes from the Wycliffite Bible's version of the Third Commandment (1382),^[4] and later came to mean simply mentioning someone casually.^[4][13] Johnson (1755) listed "fruitless, ineffectual" first, and "empty, unreal" second.^[14] The noun vain, vanity or a vain thing, was used from about 1330 to the 18th century.^[4]

Timeline

• before 1200 – implied in veine gloire, vainglory.^[6]
• before 1300 – worthless, useless, fruitless, also in the phrase in vain.^[4]
• c. 1330 – noun, a vain thing, vanity (now obsolete).^[4]
• 1382 – empty, void (now obsolete); take the name of God in vain.^[4]
• 1390 – of people, foolish, silly.^[4]
• 1692 – conceited, proud of one's appearance or abilities.^[4][6]
• 1731 – trivial, unimportant.^[4]

Modern meaning

Adjective

1. Too proud of one's looks, abilities or possessions; conceited: He was too vain to wear his glasses in public.
2. Having no result; futile or unsuccessful: Their vain attempts to start the engine drained the battery.
3. Having no real value or substance; empty or worthless: vain promises.
4. in vain: without success; to no purpose: She searched in vain for her keys.
5. take someone's name in vain: to speak the name of God without respect; humorously, to mention a person's name.

Word family

• vainly
• vainness
• unvain

Related words

• vanity
• vainglory
• vanish
• vaunt
• evanescent
• vacuum
• wane
• want

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b Kurath, Hans; Kuhn, Sherman M.; Lewis, Robert E., eds. (1952–2001), Middle English Dictionary, Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press; online edition ed. Frances McSparran et al. (2000–2018)
3. ^ Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
5. ^ a b c d e f g h Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
6. ^ a b c d e f Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
7. ^ a b c Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
8. ^ a b The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (online 2024), 5th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
9. ^ a b c Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
10. ^ Anglo-Norman Dictionary (AND2), Aberystwyth University, anglo-norman.net (2nd ed., 2005–)
11. ^ a b Ayto, John (2005), Word Origins: The Secret Histories of English Words from A to Z, 2nd ed., London: A & C Black
12. ^ Barnhart, Robert K., ed. (1995), The Barnhart Concise Dictionary of Etymology, New York: HarperCollins
13. ^ Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
14. ^ Johnson, Samuel (1755), A Dictionary of the English Language, London; 4th ed. 1773; Johnson's Dictionary Online, ed. Beth Rapp Young et al.