different between empty vs abortive

English

Etymology

From Middle English emty, amty, from Old English ?mti?, ?metti? (“vacant, empty, free, idle, unmarried”, literally “without must or obligation, leisurely”), from Proto-Germanic *uz- (“out”) + Proto-Germanic *m?tijô, *m?tô (“must, obligation, need”), *m?tiþô (“ability, accommodation”), from Proto-Indo-European *med- (“measure; to acquire, possess, be in command”). Related to Old English ?e?mti?ian (“to empty”), Old English ?metta (“leisure”), Old English m?tan (“must, might, have to”). More at mote, meet.

The interconsonantal excrescent p is a euphonic insertion dating from Middle English.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /??mpti/, /??mti/
• Hyphenation: emp?ty

Adjective

empty (comparative emptier, superlative emptiest)

1. Devoid of content; containing nothing or nobody; vacant.

   an empty purse; an empty jug; an empty stomach

   • 1949, George Orwell, Nineteen Eighty-Four, Part Two, Chapter 1, [1]

     […] something in the little man's appearance suggested that he would be sufficiently attentive to his own comfort to choose the emptiest table.
2. (computing, programming, mathematics) Containing no elements (as of a string, array, or set), opposed to being null (having no valid value).
3. (obsolete) Free; clear; devoid; often with of.
   • c. 1594, William Shakespeare, Love's Labour's Lost, Act V, Scene 2, [3]

     I shall find you empty of that fault,

   • 1674, John Milton, Paradise Lost, Book XI, lines 614-7, [4]

     For that fair femal Troop thou sawst, that seemd / Of Goddesses, so blithe, so smooth, so gay, / Yet empty of all good wherein consists / Womans domestic honour and chief praise;

4. Having nothing to carry, emptyhanded; unburdened.
   • c. 1607, William Shakespeare, Timon of Athens, Act III, Scene 6, [5]

     I hope it remains not unkindly with your lordship that I returned you an empty messenger.

   • 1611, King James Version of the Bible, Exodus 3:21, [6]

     And I will give this people favour in the sight of the Egyptians: and it shall come to pass, that, when ye go, ye shall not go empty:

5. Destitute of effect, sincerity, or sense; said of language.

   empty words, or threats

   empty offer

   empty promises

   • 1697, Colley Cibber, Woman's Wit, Act V, page 190, [7]

     […] words are but empty thanks; my future conduct best will speak my gratitude.

6. Unable to satisfy; hollow; vain.

   empty pleasures

   • 1713, Alexander Pope, Windsor-Forest, lines 429-430, [8]

     Ev'n I more sweetly pass my careless days, / Pleas'd in the silent shade with empty praise;

7. Destitute of reality, or real existence; unsubstantial.

   empty dreams

8. Destitute of, or lacking, sense, knowledge, or courtesy.

   empty brains; an empty coxcomb

   • 1599, William Shakespeare, As You Like It, Act II, Scene 7, [9]

     Art thou thus bolden'd, man, by thy distress? Or else a rude despiser of good manners, / That in civility thou seem'st so empty?

9. (of some female animals, especially cows and sheep) Not pregnant; not producing offspring when expected to do so during the breeding season.

   Empty cow rates have increased in recent years.

10. (obsolete) Producing nothing; unfruitful; said of a plant or tree.

    an empty vine

    • 1611, King James Version of the Bible, Genesis 42:27, [10]

      […] seven empty ears blasted with the east wind […]

Synonyms

• (devoid of content): unoccupied, clear, leer, toom, clean

Antonyms

• full
• (computing, mathematics): non-empty

Derived terms

Translations

Verb

empty (third-person singular simple present empties, present participle emptying, simple past and past participle emptied)

1. (transitive, ergative) To make empty; to void; to remove the contents of.

   to empty a well or a cistern

   The cinema emptied quickly after the end of the film.

   • The clouds […] empty themselves upon the earth.

2. (intransitive) Of a river, duct, etc: to drain or flow toward an ultimate destination.

Antonyms

• fill

Derived terms

• empty the clip
• empty the tank

Translations

Noun

empty (plural empties)

1. (usually plural) A container, especially a bottle, whose contents have been used up, leaving it empty.

Derived terms

• run on empty

Translations

References

Further reading

• empty in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
• empty in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.

English

Etymology

First attested in 1382, with the meaning "causing stillbirth or miscarriage". From Middle English, from Old French abortif, from Latin abort?vus (“causing abortion”), from aborior (“miscarry, disappear”), from ab (“amiss”) + orior (“appear, be born, arise”).

Pronunciation

• (US) IPA^(key): /??b??.t?v/
• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /??b??.t?v/

Adjective

abortive (comparative more abortive, superlative most abortive)

1. (obsolete) Produced by abortion; born prematurely and therefore unnatural. [Attested from around (1350 to 1470) until the mid 18^th century.]
   • 1592, William Shakespeare, Richard III, Act I, sc. 3:

     Thou elvish-marked, abortive, rooting hog!

2. Coming to nothing; failing in its effect[First attested in the late 16^th century.].

   Synonyms: miscarrying, fruitless, unsuccessful

   • 1851, Nathaniel Hawthorne, The House of Seven Gables, Chapter 7:

     He made a salutation, or, to speak nearer the truth, an ill-defined, abortive attempt at curtsy.
3. (biology) Imperfectly formed or developed; rudimentary; sterile. [First attested in the mid 18^th century.]

4. (pharmacology, medicine, rare, attributive) Causing abortion; abortifacient
   • (Can we find and add a quotation of Parr to this entry?)
5. (medicine) Cutting short; acting to halt or slow the progress (of a disease).

6. Made from the skin of a still-born animal.

Derived terms

• abortiveness

Translations

Noun

abortive (plural abortives)

1. (obsolete) Someone or something born or brought forth prematurely; an abortion. [Attested from around (1150 to 1350) until the mid 18^th century.]
2. (obsolete) A fruitless effort. [Attested from the early 17^th century until the early 18^th century.]
3. (obsolete) A medicine to which is attributed the property of causing abortion, abortifacient.

Translations

Verb

abortive (third-person singular simple present abortives, present participle abortiving, simple past and past participle abortived)

1. (transitive, obsolete) To cause an abortion; to render without fruit. [Attested only in the 17^th century.]

References

• abortive in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.

French

Adjective

abortive

1. feminine singular of abortif

German

Adjective

abortive

1. inflection of abortiv:
   1. strong/mixed nominative/accusative feminine singular
   2. strong nominative/accusative plural
   3. weak nominative all-gender singular
   4. weak accusative feminine/neuter singular

Italian

Adjective

abortive

1. feminine plural of abortivo

Anagrams

• breviato

Latin

Adjective

abort?ve

1. vocative masculine singular of abort?vus

Norwegian Bokmål

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ab???i???/, /ab???ti???/
• Rhymes: -i???
• Hyphenation: ab?or?ti?ve
• Homophone: abortivet

Adjective

abortive

1. definite singular of abortiv
2. plural of abortiv