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Added 9 October 2026

sloth

/sləʊθ/ noun

In Latin: pigritia Wiktionary

noun Definition from WordNet 3.1, Princeton University. Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about sloth at Wordnik → Where our words come from →

A disinclination to work or exert yourself.
Any of several slow-moving arboreal mammals of South America and Central America; they hang from branches back downward and feed on leaves and fruits.
Apathy and inactivity in the practice of virtue (personified as one of the deadly sins).

Origin

From Middle English slouthe, slewthe (“laziness”), from Old English slǣwþ (“sloth, indolence, laziness, inertness, torpor”), from Proto-West Germanic *slaiwiþu, from Proto-Germanic *slaiwiþō (“slowness, lateness”), equivalent to slow + -th (abstract nominal suffix). Cognate with Scots sleuth (“sloth, slowness”).

From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)

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