indolence

C2 Topic:Abstract Ideas

US /ˈɪndl̩əns/ UK /ˈɪndəl(ə)ns/ See IPA manual

Freq #65615

Meanings

1

noun
Habitual laziness; a dislike of work or effort.

Years of comfort had bred in him a deep indolence.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · habitual laziness; a... laziness idlenessslothfulnesssluggishness

Word family

Related forms indolencyindolent indolently

Etymology

Borrowed from Middle French indolence, or from its etymon Latin indolentia (“freedom from pain; insensibility”), from in- (prefix meaning ‘not’) + dolēns (“hurting, suffering; grieving, lamenting”) + -ia (suffix forming feminine abstract nouns). Dolēns is the present participle of doleō (“to hurt, suffer; to be sorry, deplore, grieve for, lament”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *delh₁- (“to divide, split”).

*delh₁- Proto-Indo-European indolence Middle French indolentia Latin

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Abstract Ideas Word Formation & Derivatives

External links

# indolence

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** /ˈɪndl̩əns/
**IPA (UK):** /ˈɪndəl(ə)ns/
**Frequency rank:** 65615

## Meanings
1. Habitual laziness; a dislike of work or effort.

## Examples
- Years of comfort had bred in him a deep indolence.

## Related Forms
- indolency
- indolent
- indolently

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: *delh₁-
- Root: indolence
- Root: indolentia

## Etymology
Borrowed from Middle French indolence, or from its etymon Latin indolentia (“freedom from pain; insensibility”), from in- (prefix meaning ‘not’) + dolēns (“hurting, suffering; grieving, lamenting”) + -ia (suffix forming feminine abstract nouns). Dolēns is the present participle of doleō (“to hurt, suffer; to be sorry, deplore, grieve for, lament”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *delh₁- (“to divide, split”).

## AI Etymology
Indolence is borrowed from Middle French indolence, or from its etymon Latin indolentia (“freedom from pain; insensibility”), from in- (prefix meaning ‘not’) + dolēns (“hurting, suffering; grieving, lamenting”) + -ia (suffix forming feminine abstract nouns). Dolēns is the present participle of doleō (“to hurt, suffer; to be sorry, deplore, grieve for, lament”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *delh₁- (“to divide, split”). The analysis is mainly morphological: the modern nominal form is built from the named base and affix. Important recorded forms include *delh₁- (Proto-Indo-European), indolence (Middle French), and indolentia (Latin). Current senses include habitual laziness; a dislike of work or effort. The wider family includes related words such as indolency, indolent, and indolently.

## Topics
- Abstract Ideas
- Word Formation & Derivatives

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