Vanity Means Emptiness
Vanity is excessive pride in oneself. The Latin root means empty, and the older sense survives in phrases like vanity project and in vain.
Vanity is excessive pride in one's appearance or abilities. The root is Latin *vanus*, empty, and the original English sense was futility rather than conceit — *vanity of vanities, all is vanity* means emptiness, not narcissism. The same root gives *vain*, *in vain*, *vanish* and *evanescent*, all of them about nothingness.
- Excessive self-pride. *Wounded vanity.*
- Futility (older). *The vanity of human wishes.*
- A dressing table. *A bathroom vanity unit.*
- Vanity project — one serving someone's ego. *An expensive vanity project.*
- In vain — without success. *All in vain.*
Word forms
| Form | Word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Noun | vanity | Simple vanity. |
| Adjective | vain | A vain man. |
| Adverb | vainly | He tried vainly. |
| Related | vanish | It vanished. |
| Latin | vanus | Empty. |
- It was pure vanity to refuse help.Pride.
- Vanity of vanities, all is vanity.Ecclesiastes: emptiness.
- The scheme is a vanity project.Modern criticism.
Two senses of vain
- Vain — conceited about appearance
- In vain — without result, the older sense of empty
- Vain hope — one with nothing behind it
- Take in vain — use a name emptily or disrespectfully
- Vane and vein — homophones, and unrelated to either
Old French *vanite*, from Latin *vanitas*, emptiness, from *vanus*, empty. English has had it since the 1200s; the sense of conceit grew in the 1400s.
Why does in vain not mean conceitedly?
Because it keeps the older meaning of the root: empty, and so without result.
Why is a dressing table called a vanity?
Because it is where you attend to your appearance. The sense is American and nineteenth-century.