Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “vacuum” come from?

Vacuum comes from Latin vacuum, the neuter form of vacuus meaning empty, derived from the verb vaco meaning to be empty, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European h₁weh₂-.

vacuum (English): A region of space that contains no matter; A...

Definitions

  1. A region of space that contains no matter; A...

Ancestry of “vacuum”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Dutchvacuüm—
2Latinvacuumaccusative neuter singular of vacuus; an empty...
3Latinvacuusempty, vacant, unoccupied; devoid or free of,...
4Latin-uusforms adjectives on verbal stems
5Proto-Italic*-wos—
6Proto-Indo-European-wósCreates adjectives from verb stems

Words derived from “vacuum”

  • vacuumer
  • vacuumlike
  • nonvacuum
  • vacuumless
  • vacuumize
  • ultravacuum
  • quasivacuum
  • electrovacuum
  • vactrain
  • pseudovacuum
  • subvacuum
  • vacuum pump
  • devacuumization
  • autovacuum
  • vacuumable
  • vacuumous
Every word from Proto-Indo-European -wós →