lethargy

From Latin lēthargia, from Ancient Greek ληθαργία (lēthargía, “drowsiness”), from λήθαργος (lḗthargos, “forgetful, lethargic”), from λήθη (lḗthē, “forgetfulness”) + ἀργός (argós, “not working”).

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈlɛθədʒi/
• (US) IPA^(key): /ˈlɛθɚdʒi/

lethargy (countable and uncountable, plural lethargies)

1. (pathology) A condition characterized by extreme fatigue or drowsiness, or prolonged sleep patterns. [from 14th c.]
   • c. 1599, William Shakespeare, King Henry IV, Part 2:

     This Apoplexie is (as I take it) a kind of Lethargie, a sleeping of the blood, a horson Tingling.

   • 2003, Amanda Ripley, "At Last, the Pill for Men", Time, 20 Oct 2003:

     So in order to avoid unpleasant side effects like lethargy and sexual dysfunction, most recent trials also gave men testosterone supplements.

2. A state of extreme torpor or apathy, especially with lack of emotion or interest; loosely, sluggishness, laziness. [from 14th c.]
   • Atterbury

     Europe lay then under a deep lethargy.

   • 1995, Bruce W Nelan, "Crime and Punishment", Time, 20 Mar 1995:

     Yakovlev, one of the architects of the reforms put in place by Mikhail Gorbachev, says he too is "amazed" at the government's lethargy.

   • 2008, Nick Fletcher, The Guardian, 9 May 2008:

     The increase in mining stocks helped the FTSE 100 shake off some earlier lethargy and close 9.8 points higher at 6270.8, despite the disappointment of unchanged UK interest rates.

• encephalitis lethargica (EL)
• lethargic
• Lethe