superl.
Destitute of forge or efficacy; effecting no purpose; fruitless; ineffectual; as, vain toil; a vain attempt.
superl.
Proud of petty things, or of trifling attainments; having a high opinion of one's own accomplishments with slight reason; conceited; puffed up; inflated.
superl.
Showy; ostentatious.
n.
Vanity; emptiness; -- now used only in the phrase in vain.
a.
Feeling or indicating vainglory; elated by vanity; boastful.
n.
Excessive vanity excited by one's own performances; empty pride; undue elation of mind; vain show; boastfulness.
adv.
In a vain manner; in vain.
n.
The quality or state of being vain.
n.
The skin of the squirrel, much used in the fourteenth century as fur for garments, and frequently mentioned by writers of that period in describing the costly dresses of kings, nobles, and prelates. It is represented in heraldry by a series of small shields placed close together, and alternately white and blue.
n.
Charged with vair; variegated with shield-shaped figures. See Vair.
n.
A worshiper of the god Vishnu in any of his incarnations.
n.
The worship of Vishnu.
n.
The third of the four great original castes among the Hindus, now either extinct or partially represented by the mercantile class of Banyas. See the Note under Caste, 1.
n.
A native attorney or agent; also, an ambassador.
n.
Hanging drapery for a bed, couch, window, or the like, especially that which hangs around a bedstead, from the bed to the floor.
n.
The drooping edging of the lid of a trunk. which covers the joint when the lid is closed.
p. pr. & vb. n.
of Valance
v. t.
To furnish with a valance; to decorate with hangings or drapery.