Word of the Day

Thursday October 22, 2009

• Today's Word |
• Yesterday's Word |
• Previous Words |
• Subscribe Now

lassitude [LASS-uh-tood; LASS-uh-tyood]

noun

1. Lack of vitality or energy; weariness; languor.

• The problem was largely that kids sitting around talking, which is what teenagers do much of the time, is interesting mainly to themselves. Their lassitude and their ennui is boring to watch, no matter how essential a life process it seems to be.
  Sandra Martin, "Allan King made empathetic documentaries that spoke directly to the human condition", The Globe and Mail, Jun 16, 2009
• I am not a mere casual proponent of the use of stick shifts; to me, the near extinction of the manual transmission is a national disgrace, one of several signs of Americans' growing fecklessness and lassitude. Other signs include the broadening of our national buttocks and the truncation of our national attention spans to the point that my son seems perfectly content to drive for 20 minutes with his radio on scan.
  Gene Weingarten, "Shaking a Stick; Gene gives a road weenie her driving orders", The Washington Post, Jun 21, 2009
• She drew him down on a sofa and seated herself by his side. A deep lassitude was upon him, and the hand she had possessed herself of lay in her hold inert.
  Edith Wharton (1862 - 1937) An American novelist, short story writer and designer. Sanctuary (1903)

Origin of the Word

Lassitude, approximately 1533, derives from Middle French lassitude, from Latin lassitudo "faintness, weariness," from lassus "faint, tired."