vacuum English · revision 7994

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=1550|origins=la vacuus}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ˈvæ.kjuːm/, /ˈvæ.kjuː.əm/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[bor|la|vacuum|t=an empty space, a void]], the noun use of the neuter of [[m|la|vacuus|t=empty]],^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(MWU 2024)^(Cresswell 2021) related to vacāre, to be empty (see [[vacant]]),^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(MWU 2024) from an extended form of PIE *h₁weh₂-, to leave, abandon.^(Etymonline) It is properly a loan translation of Greek kenón, that which is empty.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Emptiness of space, space void of matter: 1550, in Thomas Cranmer.^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The Century Dictionary noted that Parmenides and Melissus held a vacuum to be impossible, a doctrine Aristotle favoured, and that the scholastics upheld the maxim that ''nature abhors a vacuum''.^(Etymonline) An empty space left unfilled is from 1589, and figurative uses from 1617.^(OED 1989) A space empty of air is first recorded in 1652.^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989) A ''vacuum tube'' was first (1784) an evacuated pipe through which objects were driven by air, and a sealed glass electronic tube by 1859.^(Etymonline) The ''vacuum cleaner'' is from 1903, the short form vacuum American English by 1910,^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1988) and the verb, to clean with one, by 1913 (1922 in MWU).^(Etymonline)^(MWU 2024)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1550 – empty space.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1617 – figurative uses.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1652 – a space empty of air.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1903 – vacuum cleaner.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1913 – the verb.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A space completely empty of matter, or one in which the gas [[pressure]] is very low.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # A state or feeling of emptiness; a [[void]].^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # Isolation from outside influences: ''to work in a vacuum''.^(AHD)

+ # A [[vacuum cleaner]].^(Collins 2023)^(OED 1989)

+

+ ===Verb===

+ # To clean with a vacuum cleaner.^(AHD)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[vacuumize]]

+ * [[nonvacuum]]

+ * [[vacuum-pack]]

+ * [[vacuum-packed]]

+ * [[partial vacuum]]

+ * [[vacuum aspiration]]

+ * [[vacuum bottle]]

+ * [[vacuum distillation]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[vacant]]

+ * [[vacuous]]

+ * [[vacate]]

+ * [[vacation]]

+ * [[evacuate]]

+ * [[void]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ The plural is vacuums or, in technical use, vacua.^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}