Wiktionary

sloth

See also: slóð

English

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A sloth (2)

Alternative forms

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Etymology

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From Middle English slouthe, slewthe (“laziness”), from Old English slǣwþ (“sloth, indolence, laziness, inertness, torpor”), from Proto-West Germanic *slaiwiþu, from Proto-Germanic *slaiwiþō (“slowness, lateness”), equivalent to slow +‎ -th. Cognate with Scots sleuth (“sloth, slowness”).

Pronunciation

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Noun

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sloth (countable and uncountable, plural sloths)

  1. (uncountable) Laziness; slowness in the mindset; disinclination to action or labour.
    • 1667, John Milton, “Book X”, in Paradise Lost. […], London: […] [Samuel Simmons], and are to be sold by Peter Parker […]; [a]nd by Robert Boulter […]; [a]nd Matthias Walker, […], →OCLC; republished as Paradise Lost in Ten Books: […], London: Basil Montagu Pickering […], 1873, →OCLC, lines 787–792:
      Who having ſpilt much blood, and don much waſte / Subduing Nations, and achievd thereby / Fame in the World, high titles, and rich prey, / Shall change thir courſe to pleaſure, eaſe, and ſloth, / Surfet, and luſt, till wantonneſs and pride / Raiſe out of friendſhip hoſtil deeds in Peace.
    • 1758, Benjamin Franklin, Preliminary Address to the Pennsylvania Almanac:
      Sloth, like rust, consumes faster than labour wears.
    • 1953 April, “Arrears of Station Maintenance”, in Railway Magazine, page 217:
      Mr. Elliot's frank statement that "sloth and untidiness are indefensible" is a sign that the task will be tackled with vigour.
  2. (countable) A herbivorous, arboreal South American mammal of the families Choloepodidae and Bradypodidae, noted for its slowness and inactivity.
  3. (rare) A collective term for a group of bears.

Usage notes

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Sloth is one of the seven deadly sins.

Synonyms

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Antonyms

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Hyponyms

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Derived terms

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Translations

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Verb

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sloth (third-person singular simple present sloths, present participle slothing, simple past and past participle slothed)

  1. (obsolete, intransitive, transitive) To be idle; to idle (away time).
    • 1676, John Bunyan, The Strait Gate, or, Great Difficulty of Going to Heaven‎[1], London: Francis Smith, page 69:
      […] the most of professors are for imbezzeling, mispending and slothing away their time, their talents, their opportunities to do good in […]
    • 1677, Hannah Woolley, The Compleat Servant-Maid‎[2], London: T. Passinger, page 2:
      That you endeavour carefully to please your Lady, Master or Mistress, be faithful, diligent and submissive to them, encline not to sloth or laze in bed, but rise early in a morning.

Further reading

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Anagrams

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