Etymology
Advertisement

slacker (n.)

agent noun from slack (v.), popularized from 1994, but the meaning "person who shirks work or avoids exertion" dates to 1897; agent noun from slack (v.). In earlier use also slackster (1901). Compare Old English sleacornes "laziness," which is not, however, from an agent noun. Related: Slackerly; slackerish. To slack off is by 1806 as "relieve the tension of." Slackener "one who or that which slackens" (transitive) is by 1861.

Entries linking to slacker

slack (v.)

1510s, transitive, "to moderate, make slack," a back-formation from slack (adj.) after the original verb in this sense, slake (q.v.), veered into a specialized sense.

The intransitive meaning "be slack; be remiss, inactive, or idle; fail to exert oneself" is attested from 1540s; current use in this sense is probably a re-coining from c. 1904 (see slacker, and compare Old English slacful "lazy," sleacmodnes "laziness"). Related: Slacked; slacking.

updated on December 16, 2022

Advertisement
Advertisement

Dictionary entries near slacker

skyscraper

slab

slabber

slack

slacken

slacker

slack-jawed

slackly

slackness

slacks

slag

© 2001-2023 Douglas Harper