Jejune and Jejunum

Jejune, meaning insipid or superficial, comes from Latin jejunus, meaning empty. The same root gives us jejunum, the part of the small intestine that is usually empty when autopsied. The same idea of emptiness is reflected in the related French and Spanish words for the first meal of the day, dejeuner and desayuno — in other words, breakfast, or that which breaks the fast and ends the emptiness. This is part of a complete episode.