idleness
/ˈaɪdəlnəs/ noun
Forms idlenesses
- noun The state of being idle; inactivity.
- noun The state of being indolent; indolence.
- noun Groundlessness; worthlessness; triviality; vanity; frivolity.
Synonyms
Etymology
From Middle English ydelnesse, from Old English īdelnes, from Proto-West Germanic *īdlanassī, equivalent to idle + -ness. Cognate with Old Frisian īdelnisse (“idelness”), obsolete Dutch ijdelnis, Old Saxon īdalnussi (“idleness, vanity”), Old High German ītalnissa (“idleness, vanity, emptiness”).
Webster’s 1913
- noun The condition or quality of being idle (in the various senses of that word); uselessness; fruitlessness; triviality; inactivity; laziness.
Etymology [AS. idelnes.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “idleness”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details