LATIN DICTIONARYLexicon Latīnum
noun · femininethird declension

vānitās

vānitās f (genitive vānitātis)
Classical[ˈwaː.nɪ.taːs]Ecclesiastical[ˈvaː.ni.tas]

Meaning

  1. emptiness, nothingness
    vanitas vanitatumvanity of vanities
  2. falsity, falsehood, deception, untruth, untrustworthiness, fickleness
  3. vanity, vainglory

Declension

declension
formsingularplural
nominativevānitāsvānitātēs
genitivevānitātisvānitātum
dativevānitātīvānitātibus
accusativevānitātemvānitātēs
ablativevānitātevānitātibus
vocativevānitāsvānitātēs

vānĭtas, ātis, f. vanus.
I. Lit., emptiness, nothingness, nullity, want of reality: nulla in caelo nec fortuna, nec temeritas, nec erratio, nec vanitas inest; contra omnis ordo, veritas, ratio, constantia, Cic. N. D. 2, 21, 56: ne vanitas itineris ludibrio esset, uselessness, purposelessness, Liv. 40, 22, 5: Romanis Gallici tumultus adsueti, etiam vanitates notae sunt, id. 38, 17, 5 Weissenb. —
B. Esp., falsity, falsehood, deception, untruth, untrustworthiness, fickleness, etc.
1. Absol.: non pudet Vanitatis? Ter. Phorm. 3, 2, 41: imbuimur erroribus, ut vanitati veritas cedat, Cic. Tusc. 3, 1, 2: mercatura ... multa undique apportans, multisque sine vanitate impertiens, etc., id. Off. 1, 42, 151: nec vero quicquam turpius est vanitate, id. ib. 1, 42, 150: quamvis blanda ista vanitas apud eos valeat, etc., id. Lael. 26, 99: cum ad vanitatem accessit auctoritas, id. ib. 25, 94.—Plur.: Magicae vanitates, Plin. 26, 4, 9, § 18; cf. id. 27, 8, 35, § 57.—
2. With gen.: quid de iis existimandum est, qui orationis vanitatem adhibuerunt? Cic. Off. 3, 14, 58: opinionum vanitas, id. Leg. 1, 10, 29: suum imperium minui per vanitatem populi, fickleness, Liv. 44, 22, 10: multa circa hoc non Magorum solum vanitate, sed etiam Pythagoricorum, Plin. 22, 8, 9, § 20 Jan.—
II. Trop., vanity, vainglory: huic homini non minor vanitas inerat quam audacia, Sall. C. 23, 2; id. J. 38, 1: qui se propalam per vanitatem jactassent tamquam amicos Persei, Liv. 45, 31, 7: vanitas atque jactatio, Quint. 11, 2, 22: vanitas atque insolentia, Suet. Vit. 10: Quintius Atticus consul umbrā honoris et suāmet vanilate monstratus, Tac. H. 3, 73: nec Agricola prosperitate rerum in vanitatem usus, etc., id. Agr. 18 fin.: Statius veniam ... vanitate exitūs corrupit, id. A. 15, 71.

Origins

  1. Proto-Indo-European*h₁weh₂-
  2. Proto-Italic*wānos
  3. Latinvānitās

Proto-Indo-European *-teh₂ Proto-Indo-European *-ts Proto-Indo-European *-teh₂ts Proto-Italic *-tāts Latin -tās Latin vānitās From vānus + -tās.

Descendants
  • Catalanvanitat
  • Englishvanitas
  • Englishvanityfrom Old French vanité
  • Frenchvanitéfrom Old French vanité
  • Italianvanità
  • Portuguesevaidadefrom Old Galician-Portuguese vãydade
  • Portuguesevanidade
  • Romanianvântă
  • Romanianvintă
  • Romanianvanitate

Quick answers

What does vānitās mean in Latin?
vānitās, a noun, means “emptiness, nothingness; falsity, falsehood, deception, untruth, untrustworthiness, fickleness; vanity, vainglory”.
What is the genitive of vānitās?
The genitive singular is vānitātis. vānitās is feminine, third declension.
How do you pronounce vānitās?
In classical Latin, [ˈwaː.nɪ.taːs]; in ecclesiastical (church) Latin, [ˈvaː.ni.tas].
Where does vānitās come from?
Proto-Indo-European *h₁weh₂- → Proto-Italic *wānos → Latin vānitās.