vano

Forms

vano (feminine vana, masculine plural vani, feminine plural vane, superlative vanissimo)^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Latin vānus (“empty, hollow; idle”).^[2][3][4][1] The same word is French vain, Occitan va, Catalan va, Spanish vano, Portuguese vão and Friulian van.^[3][5] The noun, meaning empty space or room, is the adjective used as a noun.^[6][1]

The Latin adjective goes back to Proto-Italic *wāno- or *wāsno-; if it is related to vāstus (“empty, desolate”), it may come from ⟨*wās-no-⟩.^[7] De Vaan reconstructs Proto-Indo-European *h₁ueh₂-no- or a form with ⟨-sno-⟩, and Wiktionary glosses the root as “empty; to leave”.^[7][1] Cognates are Sanskrit ऊन (ūná, “lacking, empty”) and Proto-Germanic *wanaz (“lacking”).^[3][7][1] Nocentini adds that the same root, with other extensions, gave vacuus (“empty”), the source of vacuo, and the adjective for “desolate” that gave vasto.^[3]

Several relatives came into Italian by the learned route: vanità from vānitās, and vanagloria from the Latin phrase vāna glōria.^[2][3] Invano continues Late Latin in vanum.^[3] Vaneggiare is formed from the adjective in Italian, not taken from Latin vānitāre.^[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

Nocentini dates the first record to the middle of the 13th century and GRADIT to 1295.^[3][4] Among DELI's dated senses, “futile, useless” and “without bodily substance” are in Dante's Commedia.^[2]

Semantic evolution

Early lyric poets used the word of hope that comes to nothing: Pucciandone has e vana divenir la mia speranza, and Petrarch opens his Canzoniere with fra le vane speranze e 'l van dolore.^[8] Dante's shades are “empty except in appearance” (Ohi ombre vane, fuor che ne l'aspetto!), and for Boccaccio a foolish woman is emptier “than a hollow reed” (più che una canna vana).^[9][4] The sense “foolish, silly” is in Cenne da la Chitarra before 1336, and “shallow, lacking judgement” in Petrarch in 1374.^[2]

As a noun, vano meant empty space in Dante (nel vano tutta sua coda guizzava); from the 16th century in architecture an opening in a wall, such as the space of a window or door;^[2][9] Cosimo Bartoli defines it in 1550.^[2][9] The use for a room of a house was still frowned on in 1848, when Ugolini called it licentious writing;^[2][6][4] DEI records it for the 20th century, and it is now the standard measure in descriptions of flats.^[2][6][4] Modern technical use adds compartments such as the boot and engine compartment of a car.^[4][10]

Vanesio, “vain, conceited”, is not formed directly on vano but taken from the name of a character in a comedy by Giovan Battista Fagiuoli of 1724, which the likeness to vano helped into the language.^[2]

Timeline

• Mid-13th century – Nocentini's date of first record.^[3]
• 1295 – GRADIT's date of first record.^[4]
• 1300–1313 – Dante uses the noun for an empty space.^[2]
• Before 1336 – Cenne da la Chitarra uses it for “foolish”.^[2]
• 1374 – Petrarch uses it for a person lacking judgement.^[2]
• 1550 – Cosimo Bartoli defines vani as the openings of a building.^[2]
• 1724 – Fagiuoli's comedy gives the character name behind vanesio.^[2]
• 1848 – Ugolini rejects vano for “room”.^[2]

Meanings

Adjective

1. (literary) Empty inside, hollow: una noce vana.^[4][11][12]
2. (literary) Without bodily substance, incorporeal: ombre vane.^[4][10][11]
3. Groundless, illusory; also fleeting, ephemeral: Si nutriva di vane promesse.^[4][10][13]
4. Without effect, useless, fruitless: Ogni ricerca dei soccorritori fu vana.^[4][10][11]
5. Of a person, vain, frivolous, shallow; of acts or words, showing such frivolity.^[4][10][12]

Noun

1. An opening or recess made in a wall: il vano del portone.^[4][10][11]
2. A room of a building, as a unit in describing a flat: Affittano una casa di quattro vani.^[4][10][12]
3. A compartment, especially in a vehicle: vano motore, vano portabagagli.^[4][10]
4. (literary) Empty, boundless space; also what is useless or superfluous.^[4][13]

Word family

• vanità
• vanitoso
• vanagloria
• vanaglorioso
• vanagloriarsi
• vaneggiare
• vaneggiamento
• vanificare
• vaniloquio
• vanire
• svanire
• invano
• vanamente

Related words

• vacuo
• vasto
• Latin vānus
• French vain

Usage notes

The phrase in vano (“in vain”) is now usually written as one word, invano.^[14][4] Literary Italian also has the truncated form van before a consonant.^[1][14]

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p Cortelazzo, Manlio; Zolli, Paolo (1999), Dizionario etimologico della lingua italiana, 2nd ed. by Manlio Cortelazzo and Michele A. Cortelazzo, Bologna: Zanichelli
3. ^ a b c d e f g h Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
5. ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
6. ^ a b c Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975), p. 3987
7. ^ a b c de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
8. ^ Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca
9. ^ a b c Tommaseo, Niccolò; Bellini, Bernardo (1861–1879), Dizionario della lingua italiana, 4 vols., Torino: UTET
10. ^ a b c d e f g h Devoto, Giacomo; Oli, Gian Carlo; Serianni, Luca; Trifone, Maurizio (2026), Nuovo Devoto–Oli: il vocabolario dell'italiano contemporaneo, digital ed., Milano: Le Monnier
11. ^ a b c d Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
12. ^ a b c Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana
13. ^ a b Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
14. ^ a b Duro, Aldo (ed.) (1986–1994), Vocabolario della lingua italiana, Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana; online ed. treccani.it/vocabolario (2008 copy)