Link Centre Dictionary

sloth

UK/sləʊθ/ US/slɒθ/ uncommon obsolete rare

noun

1.

a disinclination to work or exert yourself

Synonyms
2.

any of several slow-moving arboreal mammals of South America and Central America; they hang from branches back downward and feed on leaves and fruits

Synonyms
3.

apathy and inactivity in the practice of virtue (personified as one of the deadly sins)

Synonyms

Origin

From Middle English slouthe, slewthe (“laziness”), from Old English slǣwþ (“sloth, indolence, laziness, inertness, torpor”), from Proto-West Germanic *slaiwiþu, from Proto-Germanic *slaiwiþō (“slowness, lateness”), equivalent to slow + -th (abstract nominal suffix). Cognate with Scots sleuth (“sloth, slowness”).

Phrases

  • ground sloth
  • native sloth
  • sloth animalcule
  • sloth bear
  • sloth monkey
  • tree sloth

Related words

Word family

Broader terms

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Parts

WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.