void
/vɔɪd/
adjective
Origin
Latin
vacuus — empty
Overview
Meaning Now
- Completely empty; containing nothing.
- Having no legal force or binding effect.
- An empty space or feeling of loss.
Literal older meaning
Empty, vacant
Language path
Latin → Old French → Middle English → English
Earliest form
voide
Earliest period
14th century
Journey
The term entered Middle English during the period of heavy French influence after the Norman Conquest. It initially served as a versatile word for describing both physical emptiness and the state of legal invalidity, a usage that persists in modern legal terminology.
Evolution
- Latin
vacuus
“empty”
- Vulgar Latin
*vocitus
“empty”
diminutive derivative
- Old French
void
“empty, desolate”
- Middle English
void
“empty, vacant”
borrowed from Old French
Connections
Related across languages
French
vide
empty
Spanish
vacío
empty
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External references use DefinedTerm semantics.