vanish

The story

1. Latin · derived fromēvānēscō, ēvānēscere
2. Vulgar Latin · derived from*exvanire“to vanish, disappear, to fade out”
3. Old French · derived fromesvanir, esvaniss-
4. Middle English · inherited fromevanisshen
5. English todayvanish

Aphetic for obsolete evanish, from Middle English evanisshen, esvanisshen, from Old French esvanir, esvaniss- (modern French évanouir), from Vulgar Latin *exvanire (“to vanish, disappear, to fade out”), from Latin ēvānēscō, ēvānēscere, from vānus (“empty”). By surface analysis, Latin vān- + -ish (“verb suffix”). Doublet of evanesce. Displaced native Old English cwincan, whose causative persists as quench (“put out (fire)”).