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void (void)
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adj.
1. Containing no matter; empty.
2. Not occupied; unfilled.
3. Completely lacking; devoid: void of understanding. See Synonyms at empty.
4. Ineffective; useless.
5. Having no legal force or validity; null: a contract rendered void.
6. Games Lacking cards of a particular suit in a dealt hand.
n.
1.
a. An empty space.
b. A vacuum.
2. An open space or a break in continuity; a gap.
3. A feeling or state of emptiness, loneliness, or loss.
4. Games Absence of cards of a particular suit in a dealt hand: a void in hearts.
v. void·ed, void·ing, voids
v.tr.
1. To take out (the contents of something); empty.
2. To excrete (body wastes).
3. To leave; vacate.
4. To make void or of no validity; invalidate: issued a new passport and voided the old one.
v.intr.
To excrete body wastes.
[Middle English, from Old French voide, feminine of voit, from Vulgar Latin *vocitus, alteration of Latin vacīvus, vocīvus, variant of vacuus, from vacāre, to be empty; see euə- in the Appendix of Indo-European roots.]
voider n.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2022 by HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved.
 

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

    Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

    Indo-European Roots

    Semitic Roots

    The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.

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