late 14c., "hollow space," from Latin vacuitas "empty space, emptiness, absence, vacancy, freedom," from vacuus "empty," from PIE *wak-, extended form of root *eue- "to leave, abandon, give out." Originally in anatomy. Meaning "vacancy of mind or thought" is attested from 1590s.
vaccinate
vaccination
vaccine
vacillate
vacillation
vacuity
vacuole
vacuous
vacuum
vade
vade-mecum