Where does “впустую” come from?

впустую (Russian) comes from Russian в-, from Old Church Slavonic въ-, from Proto-Slavic vъ(n)-, from Proto-Indo-European h₁én — in.

впустую (Russian): in vain, for nothing without success

Definitions

  1. in vain, for nothing without success

Ancestry of “впустую”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Russianв-in, into
2Old Church Slavonicвъ-in, into describing an action of moving inside of something
3Proto-Slavicvъ(n)-—
4Proto-Indo-Europeanh₁énin
Every word from Proto-Indo-European h₁én →Every word from Russian в- →Every word from Proto-Slavic vъ(n)- →