Where does “vanite” come from?
vanite (Middle English) comes from Old French vanité, from Latin vānitas, from Latin vānus, from Italian vano, from Italian vanare, from Romanian -re, from Latin -āre, from Proto-Italic -āō — he, she.
Ancestry of “vanite”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Old French | vanité | — |
| 2 | Latin | vānitas | emptiness, nothingness |
| 3 | Latin | vānus | vain, empty, vacant, void |
| 4 | Italian | vano | vain, useless, idle; quaint; space, opening,... |
| 5 | Italian | vanare | Alternative form of vaneggiare |
| 6 | Romanian | -re | -ing, -ation |
| 7 | Latin | -āre | first conjugation |
| 8 | Proto-Italic | -āō | Forms primarily denominative verbs |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | -eh₂yéti | Creates iterative/ frequentative/ intensive... |
| 10 | Proto-Indo-European | -yéti | Creates intransitive, often deponent,... |
| 11 | Proto-Indo-European | yé- | — |
| 12 | Chichewa | iye | he, she |