Definition

empty, i.e. (literally) profitless, or (specially), an idol

Etymology

from the base of G3155 (μάτην);

Word family

• μάτην mátēn

How the KJV renders it

• vain
• vanity

Every distinct English word the King James Version uses to translate this Greek term. The variety shows what readers in English receive across many different surface words — the same underlying word, scattered across the English Bible under different names.