idle
English
Etymology
From Middle English idel, ydel, from Old English īdel, from Proto-Germanic *īdalaz. Cognate with Dutch ijdel (“vain, meaningless”), German Low German iedel (“vain, idle”), German eitel (“vain, conceited”), and possibly Old Norse illr ("bad"; > English ill).
Pronunciation
Adjective
idle (comparative more idle, superlative most idle)
- (obsolete) Empty, vacant.
- Not being used appropriately; not occupied; (of time) with no, no important, or not much activity.
- idle hours
- My computer hibernates after it has been idle for 30 minutes.
- 2009, Jane Bryant Quinn, Making the Most of Your Money Now
- The majority of accounts require no minimum balance and charge no monthly service fee. Where monthly fees and balance requirements exist, they're low. You earn no interest on the idle money in the account.
- Not engaged in any occupation or employment; unemployed; inactive; doing nothing in particular.
- idle workmen
- 1879, R[ichard] J[efferies], chapter 1, in The Amateur Poacher, London: Smith, Elder, & Co., […], OCLC 752825175, page 062:
- Molly the dairymaid came a little way from the rickyard, and said she would pluck the pigeon that very night after work. She was always ready to do anything for us boys; and we could never quite make out why they scolded her so for an idle hussy indoors. It seemed so unjust. Looking back, I recollect she had very beautiful brown eyes.
- Averse to work, labor or employment; lazy; slothful.
- an idle fellow
- 1907, Robert William Chambers, chapter VI, in The Younger Set, New York, N.Y.: D. Appleton & Company, OCLC 24962326:
- “I don't mean all of your friends—only a small proportion—which, however, connects your circle with that deadly, idle, brainless bunch—the insolent chatterers at the opera, the gorged dowagers, the worn-out, passionless men, the enervated matrons of the summer capital, […]!”
- Of no importance; useless; worthless; vain; trifling; thoughtless; silly.
- an idle story; idle talk; idle rumor
- (obsolete) Light-headed; foolish.
- (Can we find and add a quotation of Ford to this entry?)
Synonyms
- (of no importance): pointless
- See also Thesaurus:lazy
Derived terms
- bone idle
- idle hands are the devil's workshop
- idle pulley
- idle wheel
Translations
not turned to appropriate use, not occupied, of time with little activity
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not engaged in any occupation or employment
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averse to work or labor
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of no importance, worthless, useless
Verb
idle (third-person singular simple present idles, present participle idling, simple past and past participle idled)
- (transitive) To spend in idleness; to waste; to consume.
- (intransitive) To lose or spend time doing nothing, or without being employed in business.
- to idle in an IRC channel
- 1939, Joan Evans, Chateaubriand (page 32)
- He had already heard of the young man's projected journey — evidently the Comte de Combourg had written many letters while his son idled at St. Malo […]
- (intransitive) Of an engine: to run at a slow speed, or out of gear; to tick over.
Translations
to spend in idleness, to waste
to lose or spend time doing nothing
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to run at a slow speed, or out of gear
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Derived terms
Noun
idle (plural idles)
References
- idle in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.
- idle in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
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