"empty" in seven languages
Meaningempty
Spanish
vacío
/baˈθio/
other source · Latin VACĪVUM 'empty'
French
vide
/vid/
inherited
Italian
vuoto
/ˈvwɔto/
inherited
Portuguese
vazio
/vaˈziu/
other source · Latin VACĪVUM 'empty', as Spanish vacío
Romanian
gol
/gol/
other source · Slavic golŭ 'naked, bare'
fem.: goală
Catalan
buit
/bujt/
inherited
English
empty
/ˈɛmpti/
native English · Old English ǣmettig
English → ItalianemptyvuotoNot relatedDifferent sources — learn this one fresh. But English has relatives: void (via Old French voide); vacuum, vacant (VACUUS).What English and Italian share
The Latin ancestor
*VOCITUM‘empty (spoken Latin, beside VACUUS / VOCĪVUS)’
All six sisters descend from it, unless marked otherwise below.
The story
French vide and Italian vuoto come from a spoken *VOCITUS — the source of English void. Spanish vacío kept the a of VACĪVUS, cognate with vacuum and vacant.
English relatives: void (via Old French voide); vacuum, vacant (VACUUS)
Sound laws at work
Learn it
In a sentence
- esLa nevera está vacía.
- frLe frigo est vide.
- itIl frigo è vuoto.
- ptA geladeira está vazia.
- roFrigiderul e gol.
- caLa nevera està buida.
- enThe fridge is empty.