sluggard
[sluhg-erd]
- a person who is habitually inactive or lazy.
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- lazy; sluggardly.
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Origin of sluggard
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for sluggard
Historical Examples
"The day is young, but I'm no sluggard, you know," said the lawyer.
A Son of HagarSir Hall Caine
The sluggard is wiser in his own conceit than seven men that can render a reason.
The Biglow PapersJames Russell Lowell
The fans who watch the game of life despise the sluggard in the strife.
Rippling RhymesWalt Mason
To escape this fault, a man must be either a saint or a sluggard.
Impressions of South AfricaJames Bryce
I will not, like a sluggard, wear out my youth in idleness at home.
Tales from ShakespeareCharles Lamb and Mary Lamb
sluggard
- a person who is habitually indolent
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- lazy
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Word Origin
C14 slogarde; related to slug 1
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Word Origin and History for sluggard
n.
late 14c., late 13c. as a surname, "habitually lazy person," from Middle English sluggi "sluggish, indolent," probably from a Scandinavian word; cf. dialectal Norwegian slugga "be sluggish," dialectal Norwegian sluggje "heavy, slow person," dialectal Swedish slogga "to be slow or sluggish." Adjective sluggy is attested in English from early 13c.
'Tis the voice of a sluggard -- I heard him complain:
"You have wak'd me too soon, I must slumber again."
[Isaac Watts, 1674-1748]
'Tis the voice of the Lobster: I heard him declare
"You have baked me too brown, I must sugar my hair."
["Lewis Carroll" (Charles L. Dodgson), 1832-1898]
As an adjective meaning "sluggish, lazy" from 1590s. Related: Sluggardly.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper