English
idleness
Idleness comes from Middle English ydelnesse ‘Vanity, worthlessness’, from Proto-West Germanic *īdlanassī ‘idleness, emptiness’, and ultimately from *īdl ‘void, empty, ineffective’.
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*īdl‘void, empty, ineffective’reconstructed
- Proto-West Germanic, derivedc. 200–500 CE*īdlanassī‘idleness, emptiness’reconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150īdelnes‘idleness, vanity, frivolity’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500ydelnesse‘Vanity, worthlessness’
- Englishearliest quotation 1595idleness
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*īdl‘void, empty, ineffective’reconstructed
- Proto-West Germanic, derivedc. 200–500 CE*īdlanassī‘idleness, emptiness’reconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150īdelnes‘idleness, vanity, frivolity’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500ydelnesse‘Vanity, worthlessness’
- Englishearliest quotation 1595idleness
Earliest quotation: 1595, Ed. Spencer [i.e., Edmund Spenser]: “For either they be puffed vp vvith pride, /…”
Formed from idle + -ness
Proto-Germanic *īdlaz
Proto-West Germanic *īdl ‘void, empty, ineffective’
Old English īdel ‘empty, void’
Middle English idel
English idle
Linked words
through Proto-West Germanic *īdl ‘void, empty, ineffective’
Today it means
noun The state of being idle; inactivity.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-West Germanic *īdl / idleness