empty

Etymology

From Middle English emty, amty, from Old English ǣmtiġ, ǣmettiġ (“vacant, empty, free, idle, unmarried”, literally “without must or obligation, leisurely”), from Proto-Germanic *uz- (“out”) + Proto-Germanic *mōtijô, *mōtô (“must, obligation, need”), *mōtiþô (“ability, accommodation”), from Proto-Indo-European *med- (“measure; to acquire, possess, be in command”). Related to Old English ġeǣmtigian (“to empty”), ǣmetta (“leisure”), mōtan (“can, to be allowed”). More at mote, meet. The interconsonantal excrescent p is a euphonic insertion dating from Middle English.

adj

1. Devoid of content; containing nothing or nobody; vacant.
   an empty purse
   an empty jug
   an empty stomach
   United's stature is such that one result must not bring the immediate announcement of a shift in the balance of power in Manchester - but the swathes of empty seats around Old Trafford and the wave of attacks pouring towards David de Gea's goal in the second half emphasised that City quite simply have greater firepower and talent in their squad at present. October 23, 2011, Phil McNulty, “Man Utd 1 - 6 Man City”, in BBC Sport
2. (computing, programming, mathematics) Containing no elements (as of a string, array, or set), opposed to being null (having no valid value).
3. (obsolete) Free; clear; devoid; often with of.
4. Having nothing to carry, emptyhanded; unburdened.
5. Destitute of effect, sincerity, or sense; said of language.
   empty words, or threats
   empty offer
   empty promises
   […] words are but empty thanks; my future conduct best will speak my gratitude. 1697, Colley Cibber, Woman's Wit, act V, page 190
6. Unable to satisfy; hollow; vain.
   empty pleasures
7. Destitute of reality, or real existence; unsubstantial.
   empty dreams
8. Destitute of, or lacking, sense, knowledge, or courtesy.
   empty brains
   an empty coxcomb
9. (of some female animals, especially cows and sheep) Not pregnant; not producing offspring when expected to do so during the breeding season.
   Empty cow rates have increased in recent years.
10. (obsolete, of a plant or tree) Producing nothing; unfruitful.
    an empty vine

verb

1. (transitive, ergative) To make empty; to void; to remove the contents of.
   to empty a well or a cistern
   The cinema emptied quickly after the end of the film.
2. (intransitive) Of a river, duct, etc: to drain or flow toward an ultimate destination.
   Salmon River empties on the W shore about 2 miles below Bear River.
   Of these the Rhine empties into the Northern ocean and the Danube into the Euxine. 1899 [2nd century], Horace White, transl., Appian

noun

1. (usually plural) A container, especially a bottle, whose contents have been used up, leaving it empty.
   Put the empties out to be recycled.
   A number of locomotives have been drafted into the area to cover the traction shortfall, including two Class 60s: here No 60039 accelerates away from Eastleigh on the Chandlers Ford branch with the lunchtime Fareham to Whatley quarry empties [empty wagons] on 20 August 2019. 2019 October, Steve Stubbs, photo caption, “'60' on the stone”, in Modern Railways, page 20