- indolence
- c.1600, "insensitivity to pain," from Fr. indolence (16c.), from L. indolentia "freedom from pain, insensibility," noun of action from indolentem (nom. indolens) "insensitive to pain," used by Jerome to render Gk. apelgekos in Ephesians; from L. in- "not" + dolentem (nom. dolens) "grieving," prp. of dolere "suffer pain." Sense of "laziness" (1710) is from notion of "avoiding trouble" (cf. taking pains).
- indolent
- 1660s, from L.L. indolentem (see indolence).
- sloth
- c.1175, "indolence, sluggishness," formed from M.E. slou, slowe (see slow); replacing O.E. slæwð. Sense of "slowness, tardiness" is from c.1380. As one of the deadly sins, it translates L. accidia. The slow-moving mammal first so called 1613, a translation of Port. preguiça, from L. pigritia "laziness" (cf. Sp. perezosa "slothful," also "the sloth").
- apathy
- c.1600, "freedom from suffering," from Fr. apathie (16c.), from L. apathia, from Gk. apatheia "freedom from suffering, impassability," from apathes "without feeling," from a- "without" + pathos "emotion, feeling, suffering" (see pathos). Originally a positive quality; sense of "indolence of mind, indifference to what should excite" is from c.1733.
- Laurence
- masc. proper name, from O.Fr. Lorenz (Fr. Laurent), from L. Laurentius, lit. "of Laurentum," a maritime town in Latium, lit. "town of bay trees," from laurus (see laurel). The It. form is Lorenzo. A popular given name in the Middle Ages, as a surname it is attested from 1141. Larkin is a pet-form. For some reason, the name since at least 18c. has been the personification of indolence (cf. also Ger. der faule Lenz "Lazy Lawrence"). But in Scotland, the pet form Lowrie has been used for "a fox" (c.1500), also for "a crafty person" (1560s).