George Pope wrote:
> On (14 Apr 06) PATRICK LONG wrote to George Pope...
>  PL> George Pope wrote:
>  PL> >  PL> >  GP> Vanity means "nothingness"
-- I wouldn't say it's
>  PL> nothing --
>  PL>
>  PL> > My statement had to do with the root and original meaning, which
>  PL> sense
>  PL> > permeates all the others. . .
>  PL>
>  PL> Your statement used the present tense verb "means",
and (IMO) thus
>  PL> made
>  PL> no reference to its root [Middle English vanite, from Old French, from
>  PL>
>  PL> Latin vnits, from vnus, empty. See eu- in Indo-European Roots.]".
> 
> Of course, even your posted dictionary definition included that it
> "means" emptiness. . . :) (that was the sense I was referring to,
> including the idea that that is the root meaning for all the
> subdefinitions)

I don't consider "nothingness" and "emptiness" to be semantic 
equivalents.  But if you do... >shrug<  that's life.
--- Platinum Xpress/Win/WINServer v3.0pr5a