Etymologically
Log in

lazy

Etymology and origin of the English word lazy

History Permalink
Confidence
Uncertain
Formation
Borrowing
First attested
1549

Pronunciation

  • IPA: /ˈleɪ̯zi(ː)/[1]

Etymology

It is of uncertain origin.[2][3][4] Skeat's view, now usual, is that it is probably from Low German: compare Middle Low German lasich (“weak, feeble, tired”),[3][2][5][4] which is cognate with Old Norse lasinn (“weak, dilapidated”) and Gothic lasiws, weak.[2][5] In the 19th century it was thought to come from lay;[3] Weekley rejects a link with French lassé, tired, because of the z sound.[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Of persons, averse to work, idle: 1549, as laysy, in Barnhart and the OED;[2][6] the 1540s in Etymonline.[3] The spelling with z is first recorded in Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream (1590).[2]

Semantic evolution

Of things, sluggish or slow-moving, as in a lazy river, is from before 1568, in Roger Ascham's Scholemaster.[2][6] Of places or times favouring idleness, it is from 1606.[6] Lazy replaced native slack, slothful and idle as the usual word for averse to work.[3] The back-formation laze is from the 16th century.[4] Lazy-tongs are from 1785, the lazy Susan from 1917,[3] and a lazy eye from 1939.[6]

Timeline

  • 1549 – laysy, idle.[2][6]
  • before 1568 – sluggish, of things.[2]
  • 1590 – the spelling lazy, in Shakespeare.[2]
  • 1917 – lazy Susan.[3]
  • 1939 – lazy eye.[6]

Modern meaning

Adjective

  1. Unwilling to work or make an effort; idle.
  2. Encouraging idleness: a lazy afternoon.
  3. Slow-moving; sluggish: a lazy stream.

Word family

  • lazily
  • laziness
  • lazyish
  • laze
  • lazybones
  • lazy eye
  • lazy Susan
  • lazy tongs
  • idle
  • slothful
  • slack

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. ^ a b c Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  5. ^ a b Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  6. ^ a b c d e f Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
Cite this entry

“Lazy.” Etymologically, 16 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/en/lazy. Accessed 16 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·