Wiktionary

doldrum

English

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Etymology

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The noun is possibly derived from dull or Middle English dold (past participle of dullen, dollen (“to make or become blunt or dull; to make or become dull-witted or stupid; to make or become inactive”),[1] from dul, dol, dolle (“not sharp, blunt, dull; not quick-witted, stupid; lethargic, sluggish”);[2] see further at dull), modelled after tantrum.[3]

The adjective is probably derived from the noun.

Pronunciation

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Noun

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doldrum (plural doldrums)

  1. (slang, obsolete) A slothful or stupid person.
    Synonyms: dullard; see also Thesaurus:idiot
    • 1817 April 30, William Hone, “Political Priestcraft, Continued, in another Epistle to the Rev. Dan[iel] Wilson, […]”, in Hone’s Reformists’ Register, and Weekly Commentary, volume I, number 15, London: Printed by J. D. Dewick, […]; published by William Hone, […], published 3 May 1817, →OCLC, columns 476–477:
      Were there no "tears and miseries," when the half-witted doldrums, thinking they were not big enough to be seen, put themselves on horseback, to bask and frolic in a procession, and meet their man-midwife, or surgeon, or whatever he is, who had left his business at Norwich, to go to London, for the purpose of administering their little nostrum to the Prince Regent?

Derived terms

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Adjective

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doldrum (comparative more doldrum, superlative most doldrum)

  1. Boring, uninteresting.
    Synonym: humdrum
    She quit her doldrum job and left to seek a life of adventure.

Translations

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References

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  1. ^ “dullen, v.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 18 May 2019.
  2. ^ “dul, adj.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.
  3. ^ “doldrum”, in OED Online  ⁠, Oxford, Oxfordshire: Oxford University Press, 1897.
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