lethargy
Contents
EnglishEdit
EtymologyEdit
From Latin lēthargia, from Ancient Greek ληθαργία (lēthargía, “drowsiness”), from λήθαργος (lḗthargos, “forgetful, lethargic”), from λήθη (lḗthē, “forgetfulness”) + ἀργός (argós, “not working”).
PronunciationEdit
NounEdit
lethargy (countable and uncountable, plural lethargies)
- (pathology) A condition characterized by extreme fatigue or drowsiness, or prolonged sleep patterns. [from 14th c.]
- c. 1599, William Shakespeare, King Henry IV, Part 2:
- This Apoplexie is (as I take it) a kind of Lethargie, a sleeping of the blood, a horson Tingling.
- 2003, Amanda Ripley, "At Last, the Pill for Men", Time, 20 Oct 2003:
- So in order to avoid unpleasant side effects like lethargy and sexual dysfunction, most recent trials also gave men testosterone supplements.
- c. 1599, William Shakespeare, King Henry IV, Part 2:
- A state of extreme torpor or apathy, especially with lack of emotion or interest; loosely, sluggishness, laziness. [from 14th c.]
- Atterbury
- Europe lay then under a deep lethargy.
- 1995, Bruce W Nelan, "Crime and Punishment", Time, 20 Mar 1995:
- Yakovlev, one of the architects of the reforms put in place by Mikhail Gorbachev, says he too is "amazed" at the government's lethargy.
- 2008, Nick Fletcher, The Guardian, 9 May 2008:
- The increase in mining stocks helped the FTSE 100 shake off some earlier lethargy and close 9.8 points higher at 6270.8, despite the disappointment of unchanged UK interest rates.
- Atterbury
Related termsEdit
TranslationsEdit
pathological state of fatigue
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state of extreme torpor or apathy
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