lazy | Search Online Etymology Dictionary

44 entries found.

1540s, laysy, of persons, "averse to labor, action, or effort," a word of unknown origin. In 19c. thought to be from lay (v.) as tipsy from tip. Skeat is responsible for the prevailing modern view that it probably comes from Low German, from a source such as Middle Low German laisch "weak, feeble, tired," modern Low German läösig, early modern Dutch leuzig, all of which may go back to the PIE root *(s)leg- "slack." According to Weekley, the -z- sound disqualifies a connection with French lassé "tired" or German lassig "lazy, weary, tired." A supposed dialectal meaning "naught, bad," if it is the original sense, may tie the word to Old Norse lasenn "dilapidated," lasmøyrr "decrepit, fragile," root of Icelandic las-furða "ailing," las-leiki "ailment."

Replaced native slack, slothful, and idle as the usual word expressing the notion of averse to work. Lazy Susan is from 1917. Lazy-tongs is from 1785, "An instrument like a pair of tongs for old or very fat people, to take anything off the ground without stooping" [Grose, "Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue"]. In his 1788 edition, Grose has lazy man's load: "Lazy people frequently take up more than they can safely carry, to save the trouble of coming a second time."

laziness (n.)

1570s, from lazy + -ness.

lazily (adv.)

1580s, from lazy + -ly (2).

laze (v.)

1590s, back-formation from lazy. Related: Lazed; lazing.

lazybones (n.)

"idler," colloquial, 1590s, from lazy + plural of bone (n.). Another form was lazyboots (1831).

La-Z-Boy

brand of recliner chair, 1929, Floral City Furniture Co., Monroe, Michigan, U.S. According to company lore, chosen from names submitted in a contest. See lazy + boy.

slouch (n.)

1510s, "lazy man," variant of slouk (1560s), probably from a Scandinavian source, perhaps Old Norse slokr "lazy fellow," and related to slack (adj.) on the notion of "sagging, drooping." Meaning "stooping of the head and shoulders" first recorded 1725. Slouch hat, made of soft material, first attested 1764.

cuz

17c. as an abbreviation of cousin; 1889 as an attempt to represent the lazy pronunciation of because.

slug (n.1)

"shell-less land snail," 1704, originally "lazy person" (early 15c.); related to sluggard.

hulk (v.)

"to be clumsy, unwieldy, or lazy," 1789, from hulk (n.) or a back-formation from hulking. Meaning "rise massively" is from 1880. Related: Hulked; hulking.

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