Emily Dickinson Lexicon

EM-PLOY'ING, ppr.

Occupying; using; keeping busy.

EM-PLOY'MENT, n.

1. The act of employing or using.
2. Occupation; business; that which engages the head or hands; as, agricultural employments; mechanical employments. Men, whose employment is to make sport and amusement for others, are always despised.
3. Office; public business or trust; agency or service for another or for the public. The secretary of the treasury has a laborious and responsible employment. He is in the employment of Government.

EM-PLUNGE', v. [See PLUNGE.]

EM-POIS'ON, v.t. [s as z. Fr. empoisonner. See Poison.]

1. To poison; to administer poison to; to destroy or endanger life by giving or causing to be taken into the stomach any noxious drug or preparation. Sidney. Bacon. [In this sense, poison is generally used; but empoison may be used, especially in poetry.]
2. To taint with poison or venom; to render noxious or deleterious by an admixture of poisonous substance. [This may be used, especially in poetry.]
3. To imbitter; to deprive of sweetness; as, to empoison the joys and pleasures of life.

EM-POIS'ON-ED, pp.

Poisoned; tainted with venom; imbittered.

EM-POIS'ON-ER, n.

One who poisons; one who administers a deleterious drug; he or that which imbitters.

EM-POIS'ON-ING, ppr.

Poisoning; imbittering.

EM-POIS'ON-MENT, n.

The act of administering poison, or causing it to be taken; the act of destroying life by deleterious drug.

EM-PO-RET'IC, a.

Used in market.

EM-PO'RI-UM, n. [L. from the Gr. εμποριον, from εμπορευομαι, to buy; εν and πορευομαι, to pass or go, Sax. faran.]

1. A place of merchandise; a town or city of trade; particularly, a city or town of extensive commerce, or in which the commerce of an extensive country centers, or to which sellers and buyers resort from different countries. Such are London, Amsterdam and Hamburg. New York will be an emporium.
2. In medicine, the common sensory in the brain. Coxe.

EM-POV'ER-ISH, v. [See IMPOVERISH.]

EM-POW'ER, v.t. [from en or in and power.]

1. To give legal or moral power or authority to; to authorize, either by law, commission, letter of attorney, natural right, or by verbal license. The supreme court is empowered to try and decide all cases, civil or criminal. The attorney is empowered to sign an acquittance and discharge the debtor.
2. To give physical power or force; to enable. [In this sense not frequently used, and perhaps not used at all.]

EM-POW'ER-ED, pp.

Authorized; having legal or moral right.

EM-POW'ER-ING, ppr.

Authorizing; giving power.

EM'PRESS, n. [contracted from emperess. See Emperor.]

1. The consort or spouse of an emperor.
2. A female who governs an empire; a female invested with imperial power or sovereignty.

EM-PRISE, n. [s as z. Norm.; em, en, and prise, from prendre, to take.]

An undertaking; an enterprise. Spenser. Pope. [This word as now rarely or never used, except in poetry.]

EMP'TI-ED, pp.

Poured out; exhausted of its contents.

EMP'TI-ER, n.

One that empties or exhausts.

EMP'TI-NESS, n. [from empty.]

1. A state of being empty; a state of containing nothing except air; destitution; absence of matter; as, the emptiness of a vessel.
2. Void space; vacuity; vacuum. Dryden.
3. Want of solidity or substance; as, the emptiness of light and shade. Dryden.
4. Unsatisfactoriness; inability to satisfy desire; as, the emptiness of earthly things.
5. Vacuity of head; want of intellect or knowledge. Pope.

EMP'TION, n. [L. emptio, from emo, to buy.]

The act of buying; a purchasing. [Not much used.] Arbuthnot.

EMP'TY, a. [Sax. æmtig or æmti, from æmtian, to be idle, to be vacant, to evacuate, æmta, ease, leisure, quiet.]

1. Containing nothing, or nothing but air; as, an empty chest; empty space; an empty purse is a serious evil.
2. Evacuated; not filled; as, empty shackles. Spenser.
3. Unfurnished; as, an empty room.
4. Void; devoid. In civility, thou seemest so empty. Shak.
5. Void; destitute of solid matter; as, empty air.
6. Destitute of force or effect; as, empty words.
7. Unsubstantial; unsatisfactory; not able to fill the mind or the desires. The pleasures of life are empty and unsatisfying. Pleased with empty praise. Pope.
8. Not supplied; having nothing to carry. They beat him, and sent him away empty. Mark xii.
9. Hungry. My falcon now is sharp and passing empty. Shak.
10. Unfurnished with intellect or knowledge; vacant of head; ignorant; as, an empty coxcomb.
11. Unfruitful; producing nothing. Israel is an empty vine. Hosea x. Seven empty ears blasted with the east wind. Gen. xii.
12. Wanting substance; wanting solidity; as, empty dreams.
13. Destitute; waste; desolate. Nineveh is empty. Nah. ii.
14. Without effect. The sword of Saul returned not empty. 2 Sam. i.
15. Without a cargo; in ballast; as, the ship returned empty.

EMP'TY, v.i.

1. To pour out or discharge its contents. The Connecticut empties into the sound.
2. To become empty.

EMP'TY, v.t.

1. To exhaust; to make void or destitute; to deprive of the contents; as, to empty a vessel; to empty a well or a cistern.
2. To pour out the contents; as, rivers empty themselves into the ocean. The clouds empty themselves on the earth. Eccles. xi.
3. To waste; to make desolate. Jer. li.

EMP'TY-ING, ppr.

Pouring out the contents; making void.

EMP'TY-INGS, n.

The lees of beer, cider, &c.