Van"i*ty (?), n.; pl. Vanities (#). [OE. vanite, vanité, L. vanitas,
fr. vanus empty, vain. See Vain.]
1. The quality or state of being vain; want of substance to satisfy
desire; emptiness; unsubstantialness; unrealness; falsity.
Vanity of vanities, saith the Preacher, vanity of vanities; all is
vanity.
Eccl. i. 2.
Here I may well show the vanity of that which is reported in the story
of Walsingham.
Sir J. Davies.
2. An inflation of mind upon slight grounds; empty pride inspired by an
overweening conceit of one's personal attainments or decorations; an
excessive desire for notice or approval; pride; ostentation; conceit.
The exquisitely sensitive vanity of Garrick was galled.
Macaulay.
3. That which is vain; anything empty, visionary, unreal, or
unsubstantial; fruitless desire or effort; trifling labor productive of
no good; empty pleasure; vain pursuit; idle show; unsubstantial
enjoyment.
Vanity of vanities, saith the Preacher.
Eccl. i. 2.
Vanity possesseth many who are desirous to know the certainty of things
to come.
Sir P. Sidney.
[Sin] with vanity had filled the works of men.
Milton.
Think not, when woman's transient breath is fled, That all her vanities
at once are dead; Succeeding vanities she still regards.
Pope.
4. One of the established characters in the old moralities and puppet
shows. See Morality, n., 5.
You . . . take vanity the puppet's part.
Shak.
Syn. — Egotism; pride; emptiness; worthlessness; self- sufficiency. See
Egotism, and Pride.
Van"jas (?), n. (Zoöl.) The Australian pied crow shrike (Strepera
graculina). It is glossy bluish black, with the under tail coverts and
the tips and bases of the tail feathers white.
Van"ner (?), n. (Mining) A machine for concentrating ore. See Frue
vanner.