languor

[lang-ger]

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noun

lack of energy or vitality; sluggishness.

lack of spirit or interest; listlessness; stagnation.

physical weakness or faintness.

emotional softness or tenderness.

Origin of languor

1250–1300; < Latin (see languish, -or¹); replacing Middle English langour sickness, woe < Old French < Latin

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for languor

inactivity, tiredness, torpor, apathy, weakness, laziness, idleness, listlessness, fatigue, dullness, inaction

Examples from the Web for languor

Historical Examples of languor

Outside the door of the anaesthetizing-room Miss Harrison's languor vanished.
K
Mary Roberts Rinehart
Under her mask of languor, Carlotta's heart was beating wildly.
K
Mary Roberts Rinehart
Moderation is the languor and sloth of the soul, Ambition its activity and heat.
Reflections
Francois Duc De La Rochefoucauld
"I think I will go in," says Charlotte, with a pretence of languor.
The Cavalier
George Washington Cable
No languor, no dull headache, no exhaustion, follows your experience.
The Forest
Stewart Edward White

British Dictionary definitions for languor

languor

noun

physical or mental laziness or weariness

a feeling of dreaminess and relaxation

oppressive silence or stillness

Word Origin for languor

C14 langour, via Old French from Latin languor, from languēre to languish; the modern spelling is directly from Latin

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for languor

c.1300, "disease, distress, mental suffering," from Old French langor "sickness, weakness" (Modern French langueur), from Latin languorem (nominative languor) "faintness, feebleness, lassitude," from languere "be weak or faint" (see lax). Sense shifted to "faintness, weariness" (1650s) and "habitual want of energy" (1825).