Etymology
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sluggard (n.)

late 14c. (late 13c. as a surname), slogard, "habitually lazy person, one afflicted with the sin of sloth," with -ard + Middle English sluggi "sluggish, indolent" (early 13c.), which is probably from Scandinavian; compare dialectal Norwegian slugga "be sluggish," sluggje "heavy, slow person," dialectal Swedish slogga "to be slow or sluggish."

'Tis the voice of a sluggard — I heard him complain:
"You have wak'd me too soon, I must slumber again."
[Isaac Watts 1674-1748]

***

'Tis the voice of the Lobster: I heard him declare
"You have baked me too brown, I must sugar my hair."
["Lewis Carroll" (Charles L. Dodgson), 1832-1898]

 As an adjective meaning "sluggish, lazy" from 1590s. Related: Sluggardly; sluggardize. Sluggardie "idleness, indolence" is from late 14c.; sluggardry is by 1510s.

updated on January 15, 2023

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