Old English 'aemtig' meant 'at leisure, unoccupied' — describing a free person, not a vacant vessel. The meaning shifted later.
Containing nothing; not filled or occupied; having no value, substance, or meaning.
From Old English 'ǣmtig' meaning 'vacant, unoccupied, at leisure,' derived from 'ǣmetta' meaning 'leisure, rest,' which literally meant 'without obligation.' The prefix 'ǣ-' is a negative marker, and 'metta' is related to 'mōt' meaning 'a meeting, an obligation.' The original sense was thus 'free from obligation, at leisure' — a person with nothing to do. The shift from 'unoccupied (of a person)' to 'containing nothing (of a vessel)' occurred during Middle English. Key roots: ǣmetta (Old English: "leisure, rest"), ǣ- (Old English: "without, not (negative prefix)").
'Empty' originally meant 'at leisure' — an empty person was someone free from duties, not a vacant container. The semantic jump from 'having nothing to do' to 'containing nothing' happened during Middle English. The word has no close cognates in other Germanic languages; German uses 'leer,' Dutch 'leeg,' and Swedish 'tom,' all from different roots. The intrusive 'p' in 'empty' (compare Old English 'ǣmtig') is a phonological insertion that developed to ease the transition