indulgent

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin indulgēns (“kind, tender, fond”),^[2][3][4][5] the present participle of indulgeō (“to be kind, yield, concede”),^[2][3] the source of indulge.^[3][6] The Shorter Oxford and the Oxford Dictionary of English allow that it came through French indulgent as well,^[7][8] a French word that the OED dates only to the 16th century.^[2] The origin of the Latin verb is uncertain.^[3] Etymonline takes it as a compound whose second element seems to be from Proto-Indo-European *dlegh- (“to engage oneself, be fixed”), as the American Heritage Dictionary also does, and the first either in- (“in”) or the negative prefix of the same form.^[3][6] Klein gives its original sense as "to be long-suffering, patient" and compares Ancient Greek δολιχός (dolikhós, “long”).^[9]

Earliest recorded meaning

Ready to gratify others' wishes or to overlook their faults; lenient: 1509, in John Fisher's sermon for the Countess of Richmond.^[2][4] Etymonline dates it to about 1500,^[3] and Dictionary.com to 1500–10.^[5]

Semantic evolution

The word has often had a bad sense, "too lenient".^[3][7] From about 1571 to 1705 it could also mean indulging oneself, a sense the OED now gives to self-indulgent;^[2] the American Heritage Dictionary, however, still lists that sense.^[6] Johnson (1755) defined it as "kind; gentle" and "mild; favourable".^[10] From 1697, in Dryden's Virgil, it was also used of things.^[2] An indulgent was briefly an easy chair, in 1825.^[2]

Timeline

• 1509 – lenient, ready to gratify others or overlook faults.^[2][4]
• c. 1571 – indulging oneself (obsolete by 1705).^[2]
• 1697 – of things.^[2]
• 1825 – noun, an easy chair (obsolete).^[2]

Meanings

Adjective

1. Lenient, permissive or generous towards others, often too much so: Their indulgent grandparents let them stay up late.^{[6][11][4][2]}
2. Given to indulgence of one's own wishes; self-indulgent: an indulgent weekend of rich food.^[6]

Word family

• indulgently
• nonindulgent
• superindulgent
• unindulgent
• self-indulgent

Related words

• indulge
• indulgence
• indulgency
• indult

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b c d e f g Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ a b c d Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
5. ^ a b Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
6. ^ a b c d e The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (online 2024), 5th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
7. ^ a b Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
8. ^ Stevenson, Angus, ed. (2010), Oxford Dictionary of English, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
9. ^ Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
10. ^ Johnson, Samuel (1755), A Dictionary of the English Language, London; 4th ed. 1773; Johnson's Dictionary Online, ed. Beth Rapp Young et al.
11. ^ Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins