Latin

Adjective

inānis m, f ‎(neuter ināne); third declension

1. empty, void, hollow
   • 405 CE, Jerome, Vulgate Genesis.1.2

     terra autem erat inanis et vacua et tenebrae super faciem abyssi et spiritus Dei ferebatur super aquas

     And the earth was void and empty, and darkness was upon the face of the deep; and the spirit of God moved over the waters.

2. vain
3. worthless
4. foolish, inane

Inflection

Third declension.

• comparative: inanior, superlative: inanissimus

Derived terms

• ināniae
• ināniō
• inānitās

References

• inanis in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• inanis in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
• Félix Gaffiot (1934), “inanis”, in Dictionnaire Illustré Latin-Français, Paris: Hachette.
• Meissner, Carl; Auden, Henry William (1894) Latin Phrase-Book, London: Macmillan and Co.
  • to lose one's labour: inanem laborem suscipere
    
  • (ambiguous) rich in ideas: sententiis abundans or creber (opp. sententiis inanis)
    
  • (ambiguous) mere words; empty sound: inanis verborum sonitus
    
  • (ambiguous) senseless rant: inanium verborum flumen
    
  • (ambiguous) to be misled by a vain hope: inani, falsa spe duci, induci
    

1. ↑ De Vaan, Michiel (2008) Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 7), Leiden, Boston: Brill