Etymograph

English

vacation

Vacation comes from Middle English vacation, from Anglo-Norman vacacioun, from Old French vacacion, from Latin vacātiō ‘freedom, exemption’.

  1. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEvacātiō1‘freedom, exemption’
  2. Old Frenchc. 842–1400vacacion1
  3. Anglo-Normanc. 1066–1400vacacioun1
  4. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500vacation1
  5. Englishearliest quotation 1603vacation1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English vacation
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1603, Michel de Montaigne, The Essayes […]: “The first exploited his, sundrie waies, and excelleth in…”.

Lineage

  1. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEvacātiōWiktionary, English vacation‘freedom, exemption’
  2. Old Frenchc. 842–1400vacacionWiktionary, English vacation
  3. Anglo-Normanc. 1066–1400vacaciounWiktionary, English vacation
  4. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500vacationWiktionary, English vacation
  5. Englishearliest quotation 1603vacationWiktionary, English vacation. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1603, Michel de Montaigne, The Essayes […]: “The first exploited his, sundrie waies, and excelleth in…”

Word family

English words that share an ancestor with vacation, grouped by the ancestor they share, most familiar first.

through Proto-Indo-European *h₁weh₂- ‘to lack’

  • want ← wanten ← vanta ← *wanatōną ← *wanô
  • waste ← wast ← wast ← *wōstī ← *wōstaz
  • various ← varieux ← varius ← *wasios
  • variety ← varieté ← varietās ← varius ← *wasios
  • vast ← vaste ← vastus ← *wāstos ← *(h₁)weh₂-stos
  • vary ← varien ← varier ← variō ← varius
  • void ← voide ← vuit ← *vocitum ← vacuus
  • variable ← variare ← varius ← *wasios
  • vanity ← vanite ← vanité ← vānitas ← vānus
  • vain ← veyn ← vānus ← *wānos
  • vacant ← vacāns
  • vanish ← evanisshen ← esvanir ← *exvanire ← ēvānēscō

33 more relatives in the full family tree

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Today it means

noun An extended trip or journey away from home for rest or pleasure.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “vacation”. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Latin vacātiō / vacation