Not empty, not full.

February 18, 2022 3:38 AM

Is there a word that means not empty, but not full, that doesn't rely on those concepts such as half-full?

My toddler knows what full is, and what empty is. If something isn't full, (as in 100%) she'll call it empty - but it's not empty either. She's only 1.5 and will get it eventually, but it made me curious: is there an adjective to describe that not-all-the-way full and not empty state?

Interested in words in other languages, too.

Thanks, linguists of mefi!

posted by freethefeet to Writing & Language (28 answers total)

Well, in the cases of rooms or spaces we do have 'occupied' which sits between empty and full/fully-occupied.
posted by vacapinta at 3:51 AM on February 18, 2022

This StackExchange question for words meaning non-empty doesn't come up with any general answer, but for specific meanings suggests occupied (as per vacapinta); laden; populous/populated.
posted by Klipspringer at 4:15 AM on February 18, 2022

I'd probably use "depleted" here, though that's not exactly a word most toddlers will be popping out with.
posted by Hold your seahorses at 4:23 AM on February 18, 2022

What about "some"?
posted by unknowncommand at 4:30 AM on February 18, 2022 [22 favorites]

"partly", "mostly", "almost," etc. They're entering the world of adverbs! :D I don't think there's an adjective in English for what you're asking.
posted by curious nu at 4:33 AM on February 18, 2022 [7 favorites]

A mathematician might describe it as "non-empty" (a perfectly fine adjective), but of course that doesn't rule out the glass being full.
posted by number9dream at 4:55 AM on February 18, 2022 [3 favorites]

"Some" is a really good word and concept for a kid that age to have. I like that one.
posted by phunniemee at 5:20 AM on February 18, 2022 [15 favorites]

If it needs to be a simple modifier of the glass/water combo, maybe "in-between"
posted by unknowncommand at 5:28 AM on February 18, 2022

In math there are sets that are open (just the inside) and closed (that includes the edge) but there are sets that are both open and closed so I've seen the term "clopen". So how about fempty?
posted by sammyo at 6:01 AM on February 18, 2022 [2 favorites]

Goldilocks glass.
posted by michaelh at 6:06 AM on February 18, 2022 [1 favorite]

When I was reading that question the only all purpose word that came to mind was 'some' so nthing that. Especially paired with 'almost' full/empty or 'a bit'. All the other ways we typically describe how much empty space there is in any container seem to be based on fractions and she'll have to be a bit older before they will start to make sense.

Incidentally, the question reminded me of the Jaffa cake ad explaining moon phases
posted by koahiatamadl at 6:13 AM on February 18, 2022 [4 favorites]

What an interesting question! If the contents are being depleted, there's full / used / used up. Or full / in use / empty from these gas cylinder tags. But I think you have a lot of good ideas here already.
posted by drdanger at 6:55 AM on February 18, 2022

I went to a Montessori school and I am pretty sure my 3-5 teacher used the term "half-full" as well as "mostly full" and "mostly empty". I found this lesson plan that uses the word "nearly".

I like "some" as well.
posted by RobinofFrocksley at 7:21 AM on February 18, 2022 [4 favorites]

The pessimist says the glass is half empty. The optimist says the glass is half full. The engineer says the glass is bigger than it needs to be. I say thanks, that's enough, that's plenty, that's an elegant sufficiency, more than that and I won't be driving home.

I would love to find out what the last of those turns into when your toddler says it... something about elephants, perhaps?
posted by flabdablet at 7:25 AM on February 18, 2022 [1 favorite]

I think the OP is looking for a word that serves the same function of speech as 'empty' or 'full'. You can say "It is empty, it is full" but you cannot say "It is some, it is nearly".
posted by greta simone at 7:28 AM on February 18, 2022 [1 favorite]

The glass is utilized.
posted by michaelh at 7:31 AM on February 18, 2022

We use full, a lot, half-full, a little, and empty with my toddler. You do have to change the verb or sentence a bit -- 'the cup is full' to 'the cup has a lot of milk!' Toddler makes some full sentences but uses the words solo, too.
posted by carrioncomfort at 7:57 AM on February 18, 2022 [1 favorite]

Agree that "some" is the way to go here! -- but just to address OP's "curiosity" about this as a linguistic topic: Interestingly the ambiguity of empty/full is one of the most famous examples leading to the theory of linguistic relativity: when Benjamin Lee Whorf (of the famous Sapir-Whorf duo) worked for the Hartford Fire Insurance Company, he noticed that workers tossed matches into gasoline drums marked "empty" of gasoline, even though they were still highly flammable due to remaining gasses. The so-called empty drums were even more flammable than those labeled "full" of gasoline, though the label "full" caused the workers to be careful with matches around those. The "empty" label was misleading because the drums were not really empty (of flammable gas) and so it was the labeling or naming, not the actual physical condition of emptiness or fullness, that created concepts, meaning and behavior.
posted by nantucket at 8:06 AM on February 18, 2022 [8 favorites]

Partly full, partially full, somewhat full, half full...
posted by jcworth at 8:09 AM on February 18, 2022

I keep thinking you need the equivalent of "lukewarm," but for quantity.
posted by Occula at 8:25 AM on February 18, 2022 [2 favorites]

I knew kid who ordered up juice/water sizes as "single" or "double." And yes, his parents did own a coffee shop.
posted by thivaia at 8:27 AM on February 18, 2022 [3 favorites]

How about ‘logey,’ defined here by urban dictionary, but I remember it as an old-fashioned country word. Oops - on review, it means full, but I have only ever heard it used to mean half-full (in an uncomfortable way).
posted by mmiddle at 8:39 AM on February 18, 2022

I’d think about the function you want the phrase to have - kiddos are often taught “all done”! And I am somehow assuming that you are looking for a word for kiddo to communicate to you that there is still, e.g., water in the glass and that they aren’t finished yet. If this is the case, what about “not done”? My Kenyan colleagues also used “still” in exactly this way, and it’s fantastically useful, communicating both Thing/Situation (quantity or identity) and Remains (persistence through time) - where is rrrrrrrrrt? She is still [not here yet]. Is there food? It is still [on the table, not completely consumed or put away].
posted by rrrrrrrrrt at 8:58 AM on February 18, 2022

You can say "It is empty, it is full" but you cannot say "It is some, it is nearly".

Wondering if this is possible in other languages.
posted by Rash at 9:05 AM on February 18, 2022 [1 favorite]

These are gradable antonyms, I think. There are lots of sets of adjectives for which you describe the properties of an object in terms of how close to one end of the spectrum it is - eg. long/short, high/low. I’m having a hard time thinking of another example where the ends of the spectrum are absolutes, as in empty/full, but I bet they exist.

Anyway, we often use terms like “medium” or “mid” to express that something isn’t quite at either end of the spectrum: mid-height, medium length. I guess that’s what “half-full” and “half-empty” are doing?
posted by chaiyai at 9:58 AM on February 18, 2022

The talk of moon phases made me think gibbous. For things that can be consumed I propose "gobbous".
posted by BobTheScientist at 9:59 AM on February 18, 2022 [3 favorites]

there's a pejorative connotation, but would "middling" work?
posted by bruceo at 3:37 PM on February 18, 2022

I'm partial to partial.
But "It is partial" rankles, so maybe "It is fractional", with the exact fraction variable..
posted by birdsquared at 6:40 PM on February 18, 2022