indolent

Forms

indolent (feminine indolente, masculine plural indolents, feminine plural indolentes)^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Late Latin indolēns (“who does not suffer”).^[2][3][4] The Latin word is formed from in- (“not”) and dolēns (“suffering, causing pain”), the present participle of doleō (“to suffer, to grieve”), which also gave dolent.^[5][6][7] According to Picoche, the Late Latin word rendered Ancient Greek ἀπαθής (apathḗs) in Saint Jerome, as the noun Latin indolentia rendered ἀπάθεια (apátheia) in Cicero.^[8]

The noun indolence was taken from Latin earlier, in the 14th century.^[3][4] The adjective is dated before 1636 by the TLFi and the DHLF, and to about 1590 (Sully) by the Grand Robert, the Petit Robert and the GLLF.^{[2][3][5][9][6]}

Earliest recorded meaning

Its first record, before 1636, is in Du Maurier's contribution to Sully's Économies royales, meaning “insensible, unaffected”.^[2][3] Littré quotes Sully's memoirs, where griefs move a man only as much as befits a good nature, which ne peut estre indolent en chose si sensible “cannot be unmoved in so painful a matter”.^[7]

Semantic evolution

Within less than a century the first sense, “insensible to pain”, had given way except in medicine, where indolent “painless” competes with indolore.^[3][2] The modern sense “avoiding effort, nonchalant”, suggesting slowness, softness and inactivity, appeared about the middle of the 17th century (before 1660, Scarron) and spread in the 18th.^[3][2] Boileau used it in Le Lutrin (1673).^[2] In 1704 the Jesuits' Dictionnaire de Trévoux noted that indolent and indolence had been hardly acceptable fifty years earlier.^[2]

The word was later applied to things that move slowly (before 1695, La Fontaine) and to what bears the mark of indolence (1738, Piron).^[6] The adverb indolemment is recorded before 1742, in Massillon.^[2][3]

Timeline

• Before 1636 – First record, in Sully's Économies royales, meaning “insensible”.^[2][3]
• Before 1660 – Scarron uses it in the sense “nonchalant”.^[2][3]
• 1673 – Boileau uses it in Le Lutrin.^[2]
• 1704 – The Dictionnaire de Trévoux notes that the word had only recently become acceptable.^[2]
• Before 1742 – The adverb indolemment appears in Massillon.^[2][3]

Meanings

Adjective

1. (medicine) Not painful, causing no pain; indolore: une tumeur indolente.^[2][7][9]
2. (dated) Insensible, unmoved by anything.^[2][9][10]
3. Lazy, avoiding effort; nonchalant, apathetic: un élève indolent.^[9][10][7]
4. By extension, of gestures or movements: slow and languid: une démarche indolente.^[10][6]

Noun

1. An indolent person.^[7][9][11]

Word family

• indolemment

Related words

• indolence
• dolent
• indolore
• Latin indolēns

References

1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Trésor de la langue française informatisé (2004), ATILF – CNRS & Université de Lorraine, atilf.fr/tlfi; electronic version of Imbs, Paul; Quemada, Bernard, eds. (1971–1994), Trésor de la langue française, Paris: CNRS / Gallimard
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
4. ^ a b Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
5. ^ a b Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
6. ^ a b c d Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
7. ^ a b c d e Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
8. ^ Picoche, Jacqueline (1991), Dictionnaire étymologique du français, Paris: Le Robert (Les Usuels du Robert)
9. ^ a b c d e Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
10. ^ a b c Dictionnaire Le Robert en ligne, dictionnaire.lerobert.com (accessed 2024)
11. ^ Wiktionnaire (French Wiktionary), fr.wiktionary.org