Emily Dickinson Lexicon
Lexicon: vacant – vail
a | b | c | d | e | f | g | h | i | j | k | l | m | n | o | p | q | r | s | t | u | v | w | x | y | z |
vacant, adj. [OFr < L. vacans, to be empty.]
Empty; idle; useless; not employed; unoccupied with work.
vacant, adv. [see vacant, adj.] (webplay: business, care, face, houses, leave).
Blindly; unknowingly; without recognition; showing no emotion.
vacation, n. [OFr < L. vacare, empty, free.] (webplay: spiritual, spiritualities, term).
- Void; vacancy; emptiness; absence.
- Intermission; recess; rest period.
vacillating (vascillating), verbal adj. [L. vacillāt-, stem of vacillāre, sway, stagger, totter.] (webplay: other, way).
- Unsteady; stumbling; unstable; hesitating.
- Wavering; fluctuating; changeable; inconsistent; shifty; [fig.] unreliable; capricious.
vacuum, n. [L. 'empty'.] (webplay: being, nature, only, unfilled).
Void; emptiness; vacancy; space devoid of anything; [fig.] loss; loneliness; desolation; emotional bleakness.
vagabond, n. [OFr < L. vagārī, to wander.]
Vagrant; wanderer; stranger; alien; outsider; fugitive (see Genesis 4:12).
vagrant, n. [ME vagaraunt.]
Hobo; tramp; drifter; transient; homeless person; person who loiters.
vague, adj. [Fr. < L. vag-us, wandering, inconstant, uncertain.]
- Fuzzy; not clear; out of focus; [fig.] almost forgotten.
- Indefinite; evasive; nebulous.
vail (veil), n. [AFr < L. vēlum, sail, curtain.] (webplay: eastern, faces, hide, never, show, sight, something).
- Ground cover; [fig.] yardage of snow; white layer of snow coverage.
- Net; gauze; scarf; gossamer headdress; sheer silken cloth; lacy material used to protect the face; filmy piece of fabric to hide the face.
- Curtain; partition; screen; [fig.] boundary between mortality and immortality.
- Mantle; drapery; cloak; pall.
- Phrase. “walk within the Vail”: enter the most holy place; go into the presence God; priesthood garments; (see Exodus 26:33-34).
vail (-ing), v. [OFr veler.] (webplay: among, faces, hide, kind, never, sight).
- Cover; conceal; hide.
- Drape; cause to flow; make a trail with.
- Protect; shield; screen to avoid being overwhelmed by intense light (see Exodus 34:35).
- Shroud; encircle; surround; wrap in winding clothes.