Evanishing

Part of speech: verb, adjective

Definitions

1. Archaic term describing something that is gradually passing out of sight or ceasing to exist altogether
2. An obsolete way of describing the act of fading away or slipping beyond view until nothing remains
3. Old-fashioned wording for something that is disappearing, becoming invisible or dropping out of existence

Etymology: "Evanishing" is the present participle of "evanish," an older English verb meaning to vanish or fade away. The verb came into Middle English from Old French "esvanir," which itself draws on Latin "evanescere," to pass away or dissolve into vapour. Latin "evanescere" combines "ex-," out, with "vanescere," to vanish, which was built on "vanus," empty or unreal. That Latin root is also behind "vanish" itself, which entered English through Anglo-Norman and Old French. So "evanish" and "vanish" are near-doublets: two English words drawn from the same Latin source by somewhat different routes, with "evanish" keeping the prefix that "vanish" dropped. The participle form inherits the verb's sense of gradual disappearance, which is why it suits things that are fading rather than suddenly gone.