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vanitas Definition

vani·tas (vani täs′)

noun

  1. vanity; futility
  2. a work of art containing symbols of mortality or the impermanence of material things; esp., a 17th-cent. Dutch painting of this kind

Etymology: L

adjective

of or relating to this genre the vanitas tradition

vanitas Usage Examples

Modifies a noun

  • theme: Another of these minor poems is The Prais of Age, on the vanitas vanitatum theme.

Noun used with modifier

  • omnia: Another, more straightforward explanation is that the letters stand for: ' Orator ut omnia sunt vanitas ait vanitas vanitatem ' .
  • sunt: Another, more straightforward explanation is that the letters stand for: ' Orator ut omnia sunt vanitas ait vanitas vanitatem ' .
vanitas Quotes

Vanitas vanitatum, dixit Ecclesiastes; vanitas vanitatum, et omnia vanitas. Vanity of vanities, said the preacher; vanity of vanities, and everything is vanity. See Bible (Old Testament) 100:65.

—Bible (Vulgate)

Browse dictionary entries near vanitas

  1. vanishingly
  2. vanishing point
  3. vanishing
  4. vanished
  5. vanish
  6. Vanir
  7. vanillin
  8. vanillic
  9. vanilla
  10. vanguard
  1. vanity
  2. vanity case
  3. Vanity Fair
  4. vanity plate
  5. vanquish
  6. vanquisher
  7. vantage
  8. vantage point
  9. Vanua Levu
  10. Vanuatu