verbfirst conjugation, no passive
vacō
vacō (present infinitive vacāre, perfect active vacāvī or vacuī, supine vacātum)
Classical[ˈwa.koː]Ecclesiastical[ˈvaː.ko]
vacāte 2nd pl. pres. act. imper.№ 724 of the 1,000 commonest wordsMille Verba core vocabulary
Meaning
- to be empty, void
- to be unoccupied, vacant
- to be idle, at leisure
Philosophiae vacat.
He has leisure for philosophy. - to be free to attend, have time, not be under other obligation
Latīnē defined in Latin in our graded readers
vacuus, inānisvacāns -antis — in Evangelium secundum Matthaeum, ch. 10
tempus līberum reī dōvacō -āre (+dat) — in Epistulae, ch. 5
be empty, be free
vacō -āre — in De Bello Gallico II
Choosing the right word Döderlein's Latin Synonyms
Vacare · Otiari · Feriari · Cessare · Nihil agere
Vacare (from ἧκα?) means to have one’s time free, in opp. to occupatio, which compels one to work; otiari (from αὔσιος, αὔτως), to be at leisure, in opp. to negotia, which oblige one to work; feriari, to enjoy a holiday, in opp. to working all day; cessare (from cedere? or from καθίζειν?), to make a half-holiday, and enjoy a short cessation, in opp. to previous activity; nihil agere, to do nothing, in opp. to activity in general. (vi. 388.)
Conjugation conjugation 1
| form | present | imperfect | future | perfect | pluperfect | fut. perfect |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st sg. | vacō | vacābam | vacābō | vacāvī vacuī | vacāveram vacāram, vacueram | vacāverō vacārō, vacuerō |
| 2nd sg. | vacās | vacābās | vacābis | vacāvistī vacāstī, vacuistī | vacāverās vacārās, vacuerās | vacāveris vacāris, vacueris |
| 3rd sg. | vacat | vacābat | vacābit | vacāvit vacāt, vacuit | vacāverat vacārat, vacuerat | vacāverit vacārit, vacuerit |
| 1st pl. | vacāmus | vacābāmus | vacābimus | vacāvimus vacāmus, vacuimus | vacāverāmus vacārāmus, vacuerāmus | vacāverimus vacārimus, vacuerimus |
| 2nd pl. | vacātis | vacābātis | vacābitis | vacāvistis vacāstis, vacuistis | vacāverātis vacārātis, vacuerātis | vacāveritis vacāritis, vacueritis |
| 3rd pl. | vacant | vacābant | vacābunt | vacāvērunt vacārunt, vacāvēre, vacuērunt, vacuēre | vacāverant vacārant, vacuerant | vacāverint vacārint, vacuerint |
active subjunctive
| form | present | imperfect | perfect | pluperfect |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st sg. | vacem | vacārem | vacāverim vacārim, vacuerim | vacāvissem vacāssem, vacuissem |
| 2nd sg. | vacēs | vacārēs | vacāverīs vacārīs, vacuerīs | vacāvissēs vacāssēs, vacuissēs |
| 3rd sg. | vacet | vacāret | vacāverit vacārit, vacuerit | vacāvisset vacāsset, vacuisset |
| 1st pl. | vacēmus | vacārēmus | vacāverīmus vacārīmus, vacuerīmus | vacāvissēmus vacāssēmus, vacuissēmus |
| 2nd pl. | vacētis | vacārētis | vacāverītis vacārītis, vacuerītis | vacāvissētis vacāssētis, vacuissētis |
| 3rd pl. | vacent | vacārent | vacāverint vacārint, vacuerint | vacāvissent vacāssent, vacuissent |
| form | active | passive |
|---|---|---|
| pres. 2nd sg. | vacā | — |
| pres. 2nd pl. | vacāte | — |
| fut. 2nd sg. | vacātō | — |
| fut. 3rd sg. | vacātō | — |
| fut. 2nd pl. | vacātōte | — |
| fut. 3rd pl. | vacantō | — |
infinitives & participles
| form | active | passive |
|---|---|---|
| present infinitive | vacāre | — |
| perfect infinitive | vacāvisse vacāsse, vacuisse | — |
| future infinitive | vacātūrum esse | — |
| present participle | vacāns vacante, vacantem, vacantēs, vacantī, vacantia, vacantibus, vacantis, vacantīs, vacantium | — |
| future participle | vacātūrus vacātūra, vacātūrā, vacātūrae, vacātūram, vacātūrārum, vacātūrās, vacātūre, vacātūrī, vacātūrīs, vacātūrō, vacātūrōrum, vacātūrōs, vacātūrum | — |
gerundvacandī, vacandō, vacandumsupinevacātum, vacātū
Phrases from Meissner's Latin Phrase-Book
- negotiis vacare
- to be free from business.
- culpa carere, vacare
- to be free from blame.
văco, āvi, ātum, 1 (
I. perf. vacui, Tert. Pall. 4; id. Pud. 8 fin.; id. adv. Val. 9), v. n. etym. dub., to be empty, void, or vacant; to be void of, or without; not to contain (class.; cf.: careo, egeo).
I. In gen.
A. Lit., of space, etc.
1. Absol.:
quācumque vacat spatium, quod inane vocamus, Lucr. 1, 507; so, spatium, id. 2, 1053; 6, 1029: inane, id. 1, 520: villa ita completa militibus est, ut vix triclinium ... vacaret, Cic. Att. 13, 52, 1: tota domus superior vacat, id. ib. 13, 12, 10: aedes, Plaut. Cas. 3, 1, 7: maximam putant esse laudem, quam latissime a suis finibus vacare agros, to be uninhabited, uncultivated, Caes. B. G. 4, 3: locus, id. ib. 1, 28; Quint. 8, 6, 18; 9, 4, 118; 10, 3, 33: ostia septem Pulverulenta vacant, septem sine flumine valles, Ov. M. 2, 256: odi cum late splendida cera vacat, id. Am. 1, 11, 20: haec fiunt dum vacat harena, Sen. Ep. 7, 4.—2. With abl. (so most freq.):
illa natura caelestis et terra vacat et umore, Cic. Tusc. 1, 26, 65; cf. id. N. D. 2, 24, 64: mens vacans corpore, id. ib. 1, 10, 25: hoste vacare domos, Verg. A. 3, 123: (domus) quae Igne vacet, Ov. M. 2, 764: custode vacans, id. ib. 2, 422: ora vacent epulis, i. e. abstain from, id. ib. 15, 478: ea pars oppidi, quae fluminis circuitu vacabat, Auct. B. G. 8, 41. —3. With ab:
haec a custodiis classium loca maxime vacabant, Caes. B. C. 3, 25.— B. Transf., to be vacant. free from, without, unoccupied, etc.
1. With abl.:
ejusmodi (nimiis animi) motibus sermo debet vacare, Cic. Off. 1, 38, 136: nulla vitae pars vacare officio potest, id. ib. 1, 2, 4: omni curatione et administratione rerum (dii), id. N. D. 1, 1, 2: studiis, id. de Or. 3, 11, 43: curā et negotio, id. Leg. 1, 3, 8: vitio, id. ib. 3, 3, 10: culpā, id. Fam. 7, 3, 4: criminibus, Quint. 10, 1, 34: febri, Cels. 2, 14 med.: morbis, Dig. 21, 1, 53: amplitudo animi pulchrior, si vacet populo, keeps free from, remains aloof from, Cic. Tusc. 2, 26, 64: respublica et milite illic et pecuniā vacet, be free from the necessity of furnishing, Liv. 2, 48, 9.—2. With ab and abl.:
nullum tempus illi umquam vacabat aut a forensi dictione aut a scribendo, Cic. Brut. 78, 272: (rex) quicquid a bellis populi Romani vacabat, cum hominibus nostris consuetudines jungebat, id. Deiot. 9, 27: a publico officio et munere, id. Div. 2, 2, 7: ab opere (milites), Caes. B. C. 3, 76: ne quando a metu ac periculis vacarent, Liv. 7, 1: vacant ab imbecillis valetudinaria, Col. 12, 3, 8: a culpā, Sen. Ep. 97, 1: a periculo, id. Q. N. 6, 1, 1: a negotiis, Phaedr. 3 prol.—II. In partic.
A. To be free from labor, not busied, idle, at leisure; to have leisure or time:
quamvis occupatus sis, otii tamen plus habes: aut, si ne tu quidem vacas, noli, etc., Cic. Fam. 12, 30, 1; cf. Cael. ap. Cic. Fam. 8, 13, 1; Quint. 10, 3, 27: festus in pratis vacat otioso Cum bove pagus, Hor. C. 3, 18, 11: si vacabis, Cic. Att. 12, 38, 2: si forte vacas, Hor. Ep. 2, 2, 95.—2. After the Aug. per. esp. freq.
a. Vacare alicui rei, to be free to attend, apply, or devote one's self to something; to have leisure or time for a thing (cf. studeo):
philosophiae, Quinte, semper vaco, Cic. Div. 1, 6, 10: in itinere, quasi solutus ceteris curis, huic uni vacaret, Plin. Ep. 3, 5, 15: huic uni negotio vacare, Vell. 2, 114, 1: ille non vacasse sermoni suo regem causatus discessit, Curt. 6, 7, 21: paulum etiam palaestricis, Quint. 1, 11, 15: studio operis pulcherrimi, id. 12, 1, 4: foro, id. 10, 1, 114: clientium negotiis, Tac. A. 16, 22: non discendo tantum juri, sed etiam docendo, Quint. 12, 1, 10: libellis legendis ac rescribendis, Suet. Aug. 45: queruntur de superiorum fastidio, quod ipsis adire volentibus non vacaverint, have no leisure for them, can not attend to them, Sen. Brev. Vit. 2, 5.—Rarely absol.: dum perago tecum pauca sed apta, vaca, Ov. Am. 2, 2, 2.—b. Vacare ad aliquid:
non vaco ad istas ineptias, Sen. Ep. 49, 9; cf. (poet.): in grande opus, Ov. P. 3, 3, 36; also, with inf.: sternere acies, Stat. Th. 8, 185.—c. Vacat (alicui), impers., there is time, room, or leisure for a thing (poet. and in post-Aug. prose).
(a). With inf. (so most freq.): si primā repetens ab origine pergam Et vacet annales nostrorum audire laborum, Verg. A. 1, 373:
tunc et elegiam vacabit in manus sumere, Quint. 10, 1, 58: non vacabit incohare haec studia, id. 1, 12, 12: hactenus indulsisse vacat, it is permitted, i. q. licet, Verg. A. 10, 625 Heyne; imitated by Sil. 17, 374.—(b). With dat., I (thou, he, etc.) have leisure or time for a thing:
nobis venari nec vacat nec libet, Plin. Ep. 9, 16, 1: non vacat exiguis rebus adesse Jovi, Ov. Tr. 2, 216: nec nostris praebere vacet tibi cantibus aures, id. M. 5, 334: obstat enim diligentiae scribendi etiam fatigatio et abunde, si vacet, lucis spatia sufficiunt, Quint. 10, 3, 27: cui esse diserto vacet, id. 11, 1, 50: quo magis te, cui vacat, hortor, etc., Plin. Ep. 1, 10, 11; 8, 15, 1; Curt. 10, 10, 12; Vell. 1, 15, 1; 2, 124, 1.— Absol.: teneri properentur amores, Dum vacat, Ov. Am. 3, 1, 70: si vacat, Juv. 1, 21. —B. Of possessions, lands, etc., to be unoccupied, vacant, ownerless:
cum agri Ligustini ... aliquantum vacaret, senatūs consultum est factum, ut is ager viritim divideretur, Liv. 42, 4, 3: fundi possessionem nancisci, quae ex neglegentiā domini vacat, Dig. 41, 3, 37: si nemo sit, bona vacabunt, ib. 38, 7, 2 fin.—2. Esp., of offices, relations, positions, employments, etc., to be vacant, without incumbent, etc.:
si Piso adesset, nullius philosophiae vacaret locus, Cic. N. D. 1, 7, 16: quid enim nostrā victum esse Antonium, si victus est, ut alii vacaret, quod ille obtinuit? may stand open, Brut. ap. Cic. Ep. ad Brut. 1, 17, 6: rogo ut Suram praeturā exornare digneris, cuia locus vacet, Plin. Ep. 10, 12 (7), 1: rogo dignitati... vel auguratum vel septemviratum, quia vacant, adicere digneris, id. ib. 10, 13 (8).— Hence, văcans, antis, P. a. A. Empty, unoccupied, without an owner, vacant:
locus, Sen. Cons. ad Marc. 16, 8: metaphora ... vacantem locum occupare debet, Quint. 8, 6, 18: regnum, Just. 42, 4, 2; 25, 2, 4; 27, 3, 1: saltus, Verg. G. 3, 477: balneae, Tac. H. 3, 11: bona, Dig. 30, 1, 93; 30, 1, 111.— Subst.: văcantia, ĭum, n., vacant estates, property without an owner: ut, si a privilegiis parentum cessaretur, velut parens omnium populus vacantia teneret, Tac. A. 3, 28.—B. Of women, single, unmarried, without a husband:
qui vacantem mulierem rapuit vel nuptam, Dig. 48, 6, 5; Quint. Decl. 262 (cf. vacua, Ov. H. 20, 149).—C. Of persons, at leisure, unoccupied, idle:
nec petiit animum vacantem, Ov. M. 9, 612.— Subst.: văcantĭa, ĭum, n., that which is superfluous, useless (post-class.): vacantia ex quāque re ac non necessariā auferre et excidere, Gell. 6, 5, 6.—Hence, adv.: vă-canter, superfluously, Gell. 17, 10, 16.Charlton Lewis's shorter dictionary for students: the same scholarship in plain, modern definitions.
vacō āvī, ātus, āre,
to be empty, be void, be vacant, be without, not to contain: villa ita completa militibus est, ut vix triclinium . . . vacaret: maximam putant esse laudem, quam latissime vacare agros, to be uninhabited, Cs.: ostia septem Pulverulenta vacant, septem sine flumine valles, O.: Ora vacent epulis, i. e. abstain from, O.: haec a custodiis classium loca maxime vacabant, Cs.— To be unoccupied, be vacant, be ownerless: cum agri Ligustini . . . aliquantum vacaret, L.: Piso si adesset, nullius philosophiae vacaret locus, i. e. no system would be without a representative.—Fig., to be vacant, be free, be without, be unoccupied: nulla vitae pars vacare officio potest: amplitudo animi pulchrior, si vacet populo, remains aloof from: res p. et milite illic et pecuniā vacet, be relieved from furnishing, L.: nullum tempus illi umquam vacabat a scribendo: a publico officio et munere: ab opere (milites), Cs.—To be free from labor, be idle, be at leisure, have leisure, have time: quamvis occupatus sis . . . aut, si ne tu quidem vacas, etc.: Dum perago tecum pauca vaca, i. e. attend, O.: philosophiae, Quinte, semper vaco, have time for: In grande opus, O.: teneri properentur amores, Dum vacat, i. e. in idle hours, O.: si vacat, Iu.: si vacet annalīs nostrorum audire laborum, if there is time, V.: Hactenus indulsisse vacat, i. e. it is permitted, V.: Non vacat exiguis rebus adesse Iovi, Jupiter has no leisure for trifles, O.
Origins
Proto-Indo-European *h₁weh₂-der. Proto-Indo-European *h₁uh₂-kos Proto-Italic *wakos Proto-Indo-European *-h₂ Proto-Indo-European *-éh₂ Proto-Indo-European *-yéti Proto-Indo-European *-eh₂yéti Proto-Indo-European *-h₂tiinflu. Proto-Italic *-ājō Proto-Italic *-āō Latin -ō Latin vaco Formed from Proto-Italic *wakos + -ō, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₁weh₂- (“to lack; be empty”). It is possible that Umbrian anderuacose parallels this Latin term, perhaps indicating a derivation from Proto-Italic *wakāō, itself also a denominative from *wakos. The form in vo- possibly from vocīvus, shifted in pretonic syllable.
Descendants
- Catalanvagar
- Occitanbagà
- Occitandesboucà
- Portuguesevagarfrom Old Galician-Portuguese vagar
- Romaniandehoca
- Romaniandevoca
- Romaniandesfăca
- Sardinianbogare
- Sardiniandebogada
- Spanishvagar