languidadj.

Brit.

/ˈlaŋɡwɪd/, U.S.

/ˈlæŋɡwəd/

Forms: 1500s–1600s langued, 1500s–1600s (1700s archaic) languide, 1500s– languid.

Origin: Either (i) a borrowing from French. Or (ii) a borrowing from Latin. Etymons: French languide; Latin languidus.

Etymology: < Middle French, French languide (of a person or bodily function) weak, fatigued (1523), (of a person, a person's character, actions, emotions, etc.) indifferent, apathetic (1596) or its etymon classical Latin languidus faint, weary, unwell, sick, weak, drooping, slow, sluggish, idle, inert, apathetic, feeble < languēre (see languish v.) + -idus -id suffix¹. Compare Spanish lánguido (first half of the 15th cent.), Portuguese lânguido (a1664), Italian languido (a1342).Several senses of the English word appear to be unparalleled in French until considerably later, e.g. senses 1b (late 19th cent. or earlier), 2b (mid 20th cent. or earlier), 3b (1900 or earlier).

a. Of a person, animal, bodily function, etc.: weak, faint, or inert, esp. from illness or fatigue; lacking vitality or vigour, listless. Also in extended use.

ΘΚΠ

the world > health and disease > ill health > [adjective] > in state of ill health or diseased > torpid or sluggish

languish1552

languid1595

lethargized1614

languent1696

lymphatic1834

slow1865

1595 B. Barnes Divine Cent. Spirituall Sonnets lxxxxi. sig. G2^v Oh whither doth my lamentable soule..Prepare this langued carkase.

1598 A. M. tr. J. Guillemeau Frenche Chirurg. 50 b/2 The natural caliditye being in these partes feeble and languide.

1615 H. Crooke Μικροκοσμογραϕια 338 The first births in the beginning of the seauenth moneth are..verie languid and weake.

1684 tr. T. Bonet Guide Pract. Physician vi. 180 A languid, unequal, or formicating Pulse.

1707 J. Floyer Physician's Pulse-watch 33 A languid Pulse depends on languid Spirits.

1744 J. Armstrong Art of preserving Health iii. 84 Happy he whose toil Has o'er his languid powerless limbs diffus'd A pleasing lassitude.

1764 O. Goldsmith Traveller 12 Unknown to them, when sensual pleasures cloy, To fill the languid pause with finer joy.

1774 O. Goldsmith Hist. Earth VII. 168 [Serpents] Their lungs..are long and large, and doubtless are necessary to promote their languid circulation.

1816 J. Wilson City of Plague ii. ii How pale you look! Wearied, and pale, and languid.

1832 Ld. Tennyson Lotos-eaters i, in Poems (new ed.) 108 All round the coast the languid air did swoon.

1857 M. Gatty Parables 2nd Ser. 144 Languid, indeed, was the voice, and languid were the movements of the Grub.

1876 J. Saunders Lion in Path xi This recent illness had still left him languid.

1902 Westm. Gaz. 13 June 10/2 A sheep affected soon becomes thin and languid, and its painful snuffling has led farmers to call the disease ‘snuff’.

1955 V. Nabokov Lolita II. xii. 79 At first she ‘ran a temperature’..it was a very languid Lolita that moaned and coughed and shivered in my embrace.

1994 Harrowsmith Apr.–May 84/1 Perhaps the place had once been occupied by raving dipsomaniacs and pale, languid invalids of the kind described in Victorian novels.

b. Of a person, or a person's movement, deportment, etc.: exhibiting a natural or affected disinclination to physical exertion; leisurely, unhurried, slow-moving.

ΘΚΠ

the world > action or operation > inaction > disinclination to act or listlessness > [adjective] > languid

aswindc885

fade1303

enlangouredc1400

sweyntc1450

wearish1650

languid1727

languorous1753

Mondayish1804

1727 E. Young Universal Passion: Satire V 21 The languid lady next appears in state, Who was not born to carry her own weight.

1777 J. Richardson Dict. Persian, Arabic & Eng. I. 242 An indolent, languid woman, rising slowly upon her feet.

1818 J. Keats Endymion ii. 94 Loth was he to move From the imprinted couch, and when he did, 'Twas with slow, languid paces.

1863 F. A. Kemble Jrnl. Resid. Georgian Plantation 67 They are languid in their deportment.

1900 D. M. Wright N.Z. Chimes No languid beauty she Spreading her soft limbs amid dreaming flowers, But rough and strenuous.

1928 J. Galsworthy Swan Song i. vi, in Mod. Comedy (1929) 554 He used to impress me frightfully—such an awfully good-looking, languid beggar.

1954 N. Coward Something on Tray in B. Day N. Coward: Compl. Lyrics (1998) 290/3 We cosily in bed repose Enjoying, in a rather languid way, A little eggy something on a tray.

2005 Word Feb. 32/2 Where no snaggle-toothed Cockney dictator can take a languid puff on his roll-up..and assure you will never get find it for less than twenty quid.

a. Of a person, a person's character, actions, emotions, etc.: not easily inspired to emotion, exhibiting only faint interest or concern; spiritless, indifferent, apathetic. Frequently in languid eye. Also in extended use.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > emotion > absence of emotion > [adjective] > lacking emotional sensibility

unfeelingc1000

mis-feelinga1382

stonishc1450

unpainfulc1450

obtuse1509

sprightlessa1522

insensate1553

senseless1560

soulless1568

dull-esprited1591

impassible1592

bluntie1598

impenetrable1600

stockish1600

stolidc1600

incapable1601

stupid1605

tasteless1605

unsensitive1610

unexalted1611

insensible1617

unsensible1619

languid1622

immovable1639

dead-hearted1642

sterile1642

resupine1643

unaffectionate1645

iron-bound1648

resentlessa1649

torpid1656

torpulent1657

impassive1699

unreceptive1722

hebete1743

apathetic1744

stubbed1744

gustless1766

unresponsive1768

unsusceptible1779

tideless-blooded1786

unaffectioned1788

inaccessible1796

hebetudinous1820

unimpressible1828

insensitive1834

apathetical1835

non-sensitive1836

blunt-hearted1845

irreceptive1846

unreceptant1846

unimpressionable1847

anaesthetic1860

insentient1860

hard (also tough, sharp) as nails1862

unsqueamish1893

tone-deaf1894

unget-at-able1897

facty1901

zombie1937

pegamoid1957

the world > action or operation > manner of action > lack of violence, severity, or intensity > [adjective] > weak (of immaterial things)

thin?c1225

wateryc1230

feeble1393

wash1548

waterish1549

fadea1554

limping1577

dilute1605

lank1607

languid1622

water gruel1630

invalid1635

sinewless1644

exsanguine1647

flaccid1647

diluted1681

wishy-washy1693

tiffany1694

foible1715

rickety1738

faintly1771

unrobust1775

pale1820

peely-wally1832

muscleless1841

weakling1848

weedy?1858

feeblose1882

papery1924

1622 S. Ward All in All 18 Some faint and languide wishes, oh that Christ were mine.

1648 J. Beaumont Psyche xv. clxxix. 287 With secret Checks her languid Soule she chid Which with such violence never yet did flame.

1685 J. Tutchin Poems 118 To see this Man, with folded Arms, and languid Eyes, Look like a Changeling, talk of nought but Love.

1713 J. Addison Cato i. v I'll hasten to my troops, And fire their languid souls with Cato's virtue.

1713 R. Steele in Guardian 1 Apr. 1/1 [Death] which, by reason of its seeming distance, makes but languid Impressions upon the Mind.

1742 A. Pope New Dunciad 46 With mincing step, small voice, and languid eye.

1751 Butler Charge Clergy Durham in Wks. (1874) II. 331 Without somewhat of this nature, piety will grow languid even among the better sort of men.

1775 E. Burke Speech Amer. Taxation 41 I never heard a more languid debate in this House.

1791 A. Radcliffe Romance of Forest I. i. 27 Madame gazed with concern upon her languid countenance.

1849 E. Bulwer-Lytton Caxtons I. i. iii. 15 Too lazy or too languid where only his own interests were at stake.

1849 T. B. Macaulay Hist. Eng. I. ii. 177 In him dislike was a languid feeling.

1849 T. B. Macaulay Hist. Eng. v. 570 A war of which the theatre was so distant..excited only a languid interest in London.

1855 T. B. Macaulay Hist. Eng. IV. xvii. 90 An appeal which might have moved the most languid and effeminate natures to heroic exertion.

1870 J. S. Howson Metaphors St. Paul iv. 153 What a contrast this is to our dull and languid Christianity!

1920 Amer. Woman Aug. 18/2 Billy, the insouciant! Billy the languid, the hater of scenes.

1975 E. Dunlop Robinsheugh xiv. 115 She passed a languid, indifferent eye over her daughter.

1996 Pittsburgh (Pa.) Post-Gaz. (Nexis) 12 Oct. b3 The Penguins' languid, non-start is discomfiting because of their all too familiar que sera sera approach.

b. Of style, writing, an idea, etc.: prosaic, insipid, or lifeless; mundane, lacking force or interest.

ΘΚΠ

society > leisure > the arts > literature > style of language or writing > weakness or feebleness > [adjective]

feeblec1400

colourlessc1425

flagging1540

pithless1555

blanched1570

toothless1592

unpointed1604

unsinewed1604

jejune1615

low-pitched1622

unsinewy?1623

macilent1624

flaccid1647

insinewy1653

unsubstanceda1658

incogent1667

pointless1673

languida1677

enervatea1704

unaccentuated1716

unnervate1725

lank1729

unforcible1754

nerveless1763

weak1771

flabby1793

slip-slop1814

tinkling1822

exsanguinea1834

twittery1840

slipshod1842

under-coloured1870

shaftless1881

thin1890

unaccented1893

wimpish1925

wimp1979

a1677 I. Barrow Wks. (1686) III. 404 Methinks the highest expressions, that language..can afford, are very languid and faint in comparison of what they strain to represent.

a1704 T. Brown Ess. Satire Ancients in Wks. (1730) I. 24 To hear Homer call'd dull and heavy..and Horace an Author unpolished languid and without force.

1788 H. J. Pye tr. Aristotle Poetic xxvi. 201 If it were lenthened in proportion to the length of the verse, it would be languid and insipid.

1864 J. H. Burton Scot Abroad II. ii. 179 They sent me two inscriptions but they were long and languid.

1865 T. Carlyle Hist. Friedrich II of Prussia VI. xx. vi. 150 He had written certain thin Books, all of a thin languid nature.

1865 J. R. Seeley Ecce Homo (ed. 8) iii. 25 The languid dreams of commentators.

1907 Trans. & Proc. Amer. Philol. Soc. 38 44 His style is more languid..than it should be.

1962 Valley Independent (Monessen, Pa.) 25 Sept. 14/3 Scranton is afraid of..displaying his languid ideas to Pennsylvanians.

2006 Wired July 115/3 With its..languid, utterly actionless plot,..The Wild Blue Yonder is about as far from a Matrix-style popcorn flick as you can get.

a. Of a thing: slow-moving; weak, lacking force.

ΘΚΠ

the world > movement > rate of motion > slowness > [adjective] > tardy or sluggish

lateeOE

latredec897

latelyOE

slowfulc1400

latesomea1425

languoring?c1425

sluggedc1430

tardy1483

tediousc1485

hooly1513

longsome1543

lingeringa1547

tarde1547

slow-worm1548

tardious?1572

lagging1597

snail-slow1600

snail-paced1601

snail-like1639

languid1646

dilatory1648

sluggish1648

languishing1693

laggard1702

lentitudinous1801

laggardly1826

lag-last1862

slowpoke1872

the world > action or operation > manner of action > lack of violence, severity, or intensity > [adjective] > lacking vigour, strength, or spirit

bloodlessc1225

feeble1340

languoring?c1425

languid1646

chlorotic1764

exanimate1841

limp1853

anaemic1898

brain-dead1972

1646 Sir T. Browne Pseudodoxia Epidemica iii. xxv. 176 A languid and dumbe allision upon the parts.

1692 R. Bentley Boyle Lect. vi. 28 No Motion so swift or languid, but a greater Velocity or Slowness may still be conceived.

1717 A. Pope tr. Homer Iliad III. ix. 279 When the languid Flames at length subside.

1748 W. Shenstone Verses to W. Lyttleton in Odes iv When languid suns are taking leave Of every drooping tree.

1771 J. W. Baker Consideration Exportation of Corn 40 Under a languid cultivation, and uncertain market, rent devours the farmer.

1830 C. Lyell Princ. Geol. I. 199 That the same power..should even in its more languid state be capable of raising to the surface considerable quantities of water from the interior.

1834 T. B. Macaulay William Pitt in Ess. (1854) 302 Two rivers met, the one gentle, languid, and though languid, yet of no depth.

1857 Chambers's Information for People (new ed.) I. 777 If the healing action is languid, some stimulating ingredient may be added.

1912 C. Gouldsbury Songs out of Exile 41 I..drew soft comfort from the languid breeze.

1979 Technol. & Culture 20 326 There was only a broad, flat, and languid river.

2001 B. Hurd Stirring Mud (2003) iii. 38 You adjust your pace to the bayou, its dappled sunlight and Spanish moss, its languid water.

b. Of a colour: faint, dull, not vivid.

ΘΚΠ

the world > matter > colour > quality of colour > [adjective] > faint or weak

wateryOE

dima1250

lighta1398

rare?1440

delayed1543

faint1552

weak1585

pale1598

distempered1621

washya1639

thin1649

languid1663

dilute1665

welmish1688

sickly1695

dimmed1863

1663 J. Beale Let. 30 Nov. in R. Boyle Corr. (2001) II. 218 The more rayes are emitted from the object to the eye by acute angles, the brighter the colour, & glosse wilbe; & the colour more languide darke, or dusky, as the rayes are thinner.

1747 W. Gould Acct. Eng. Ants 3 The first are of a languid Red; the second extremely black and shining.

1764 T. Reid Inq. Human Mind vi. §22 The colours of objects, according as they are more distant, become more faint and languid.

1849 N. Brit. Rev. May 142 The sun was undimmed, the sky was of a languid blue.

1911 L. Hourticq Art in France v. 276 A tumult of grey clouds and pale foliage, a combination of languid colour and vague light which recalls some of Correggio's works.

2004 Australian (Nexis) 22 Oct. c4 A more sober and ultimately saleable collection than usual, in languid marine colours and coral-reef prints.

4. Of business, trade, etc.: sluggish, inactive, dull; not brisk or lively.

ΘΚΠ

the world > action or operation > inaction > [adjective] > characterized by inaction or inactivity > specifically of places, seasons, trade, etc.

dead1581

languid1728

flat1831

1728 Poem to William Burnett 5 Branching Trade, which now too languid seems.

1785 J. Anderson Acct. Present State Hebrides Introd. p. xxxix In small communities, that market will be languid and unsteady.

1832 T. F. Dibdin (title) Bibliophobia. Remarks on the present languid and depressed state of Literature and the Book Trade.

1833 H. Martineau Messrs. Vanderput & Snoek iv. 64 The business has been very languid.

1866 A. Crump Pract. Treat. Banking viii. 169 On account of the circulation of their currencies being more languid.

1866 J. E. T. Rogers Hist. Agric. & Prices I. xviii. 406 The market for exports was exceedingly languid.

1887 Daily News 20 June 2/5 A languid tone has been observed in many quarters.

1940 D. Aikman All-Amer. Front xvi. 258 Now and then there were disputes over the languid trade between northern and southern republics.

1968 Press-Telegram (Long Beach, Calif.) 27 Aug. c7/3 Brokers attributed the market's languid performance of the last several sessions to a lack of any dramatic news.

2002 Times (Nexis) 13 June Analysts said Singapore's property market is likely to remain languid because of worries over impending changes to pension policy.

5. Of a period of time: relaxed and peaceful; characterized by inactivity or idleness.

ΚΠ

1732 J. Thurston Fall ii. 33 And strait at once appears in order gay, Each kind assassin of the languid day.

1866 C. M. Yonge Cameos lxxix, in Monthly Packet Sept. 217 No doubt he had longed for her in the weary languid hours before Meaux.

1891 Denton (Maryland) Jrnl. 28 Nov. 1/6 A taste for literature secures cheerful occupation for the unemployed and languid hours of life.

1906 A. C. Benson From College Window viii. 165 It was one of those languid days of early spring, when the frame and the mind alike seem unstrung and listless.

1992 A. Kurzweil Case of Curiosities viii. 55 It took a long and languid summer for Claude to fall into the patterns of the Abbé's life.

This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2008; most recently modified version published online March 2022).

单词	languid
释义	languidn. Brit. /ˈlaŋɡwɪd/, U.S. /ˈlæŋɡwəd/ Forms: 1600s 1800s– languid, 1800s language (in sense 2, rare). Origin: A variant or alteration of another lexical item. Etymon: languet n. Etymology: Alteration of languet n., after words ending in -id suffix².The form language shows alteration after language n., perhaps reinforced by the collocation with mouth n. †1. A shoelace; = languet n. 3. Obsolete. ΘΚΠ the world > textiles and clothing > clothing > types or styles of clothing > footwear > parts of footwear > [noun] > protective studs or plates > fastenings > lace, thong, or strap latchetc1440 langueta1500 shoe-latchet1526 shoe-tie1600 shoestring1616 latch1653 tab1674 languid1688 shoe whang1691 shoe-latch1884 1688 R. Holme Acad. Armory iii. 14/2 Close Shooes, are such as have no open in the sides of the Latchets or Languides. 2. A flat metal plate attached above the foot of an organ flue pipe, opposite the mouth. Also attributive. Cf. languet n. 2e. ΚΠ 1852 tr. J. J. Seidel Organ & its Constr. 78 The language [Ger. Kern], just above the foot to which it is soldered on. 1855 E. J. Hopkins Organ 360 The language or languid is the flat plate of metal that lies horizontally over the top of the foot, just inside the mouth. 1855 E. J. Hopkins Organ 375 Languid Wood Pipes are sometimes made. 1876 J. Hiles Catech. Organ (1878) iv. 24 A flat piece of metal called the language, or languid. 1900 Proc. Musical Assoc. 27th Sess. 119 The plug, or languid, as an organ builder would style it,..partially blocks the tube [of the fipple flute]. 1942 W. T. Bartholomew Acoustics of Music iii. 125 The many variations in design and dimensions of the lip, the mouth of the pipe, the languid, [etc.]..with which an organ builder secures quality differentiation. 1998 S. Bicknell in N. Thistlethwaite & G. Webber Cambr. Compan. Organ ii. 29 The vast repertoire of voicing techniques includes manipulation of the upper and lower lips, the languid and the foot-hole. This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2008; most recently modified version published online March 2022). languidadj. Brit. /ˈlaŋɡwɪd/, U.S. /ˈlæŋɡwəd/ Forms: 1500s–1600s langued, 1500s–1600s (1700s archaic) languide, 1500s– languid. Origin: Either (i) a borrowing from French. Or (ii) a borrowing from Latin. Etymons: French languide; Latin languidus. Etymology: < Middle French, French languide (of a person or bodily function) weak, fatigued (1523), (of a person, a person's character, actions, emotions, etc.) indifferent, apathetic (1596) or its etymon classical Latin languidus faint, weary, unwell, sick, weak, drooping, slow, sluggish, idle, inert, apathetic, feeble < languēre (see languish v.) + -idus -id suffix¹. Compare Spanish lánguido (first half of the 15th cent.), Portuguese lânguido (a1664), Italian languido (a1342).Several senses of the English word appear to be unparalleled in French until considerably later, e.g. senses 1b (late 19th cent. or earlier), 2b (mid 20th cent. or earlier), 3b (1900 or earlier). 1. a. Of a person, animal, bodily function, etc.: weak, faint, or inert, esp. from illness or fatigue; lacking vitality or vigour, listless. Also in extended use. ΘΚΠ the world > health and disease > ill health > [adjective] > in state of ill health or diseased > torpid or sluggish languish1552 languid1595 lethargized1614 languent1696 lymphatic1834 slow1865 1595 B. Barnes Divine Cent. Spirituall Sonnets lxxxxi. sig. G2^v Oh whither doth my lamentable soule..Prepare this langued carkase. 1598 A. M. tr. J. Guillemeau Frenche Chirurg. 50 b/2 The natural caliditye being in these partes feeble and languide. 1615 H. Crooke Μικροκοσμογραϕια 338 The first births in the beginning of the seauenth moneth are..verie languid and weake. 1684 tr. T. Bonet Guide Pract. Physician vi. 180 A languid, unequal, or formicating Pulse. 1707 J. Floyer Physician's Pulse-watch 33 A languid Pulse depends on languid Spirits. 1744 J. Armstrong Art of preserving Health iii. 84 Happy he whose toil Has o'er his languid powerless limbs diffus'd A pleasing lassitude. 1764 O. Goldsmith Traveller 12 Unknown to them, when sensual pleasures cloy, To fill the languid pause with finer joy. 1774 O. Goldsmith Hist. Earth VII. 168 [Serpents] Their lungs..are long and large, and doubtless are necessary to promote their languid circulation. 1816 J. Wilson City of Plague ii. ii How pale you look! Wearied, and pale, and languid. 1832 Ld. Tennyson Lotos-eaters i, in Poems (new ed.) 108 All round the coast the languid air did swoon. 1857 M. Gatty Parables 2nd Ser. 144 Languid, indeed, was the voice, and languid were the movements of the Grub. 1876 J. Saunders Lion in Path xi This recent illness had still left him languid. 1902 Westm. Gaz. 13 June 10/2 A sheep affected soon becomes thin and languid, and its painful snuffling has led farmers to call the disease ‘snuff’. 1955 V. Nabokov Lolita II. xii. 79 At first she ‘ran a temperature’..it was a very languid Lolita that moaned and coughed and shivered in my embrace. 1994 Harrowsmith Apr.–May 84/1 Perhaps the place had once been occupied by raving dipsomaniacs and pale, languid invalids of the kind described in Victorian novels. b. Of a person, or a person's movement, deportment, etc.: exhibiting a natural or affected disinclination to physical exertion; leisurely, unhurried, slow-moving. ΘΚΠ the world > action or operation > inaction > disinclination to act or listlessness > [adjective] > languid aswindc885 fade1303 enlangouredc1400 sweyntc1450 wearish1650 languid1727 languorous1753 Mondayish1804 1727 E. Young Universal Passion: Satire V 21 The languid lady next appears in state, Who was not born to carry her own weight. 1777 J. Richardson Dict. Persian, Arabic & Eng. I. 242 An indolent, languid woman, rising slowly upon her feet. 1818 J. Keats Endymion ii. 94 Loth was he to move From the imprinted couch, and when he did, 'Twas with slow, languid paces. 1863 F. A. Kemble Jrnl. Resid. Georgian Plantation 67 They are languid in their deportment. 1900 D. M. Wright N.Z. Chimes No languid beauty she Spreading her soft limbs amid dreaming flowers, But rough and strenuous. 1928 J. Galsworthy Swan Song i. vi, in Mod. Comedy (1929) 554 He used to impress me frightfully—such an awfully good-looking, languid beggar. 1954 N. Coward Something on Tray in B. Day N. Coward: Compl. Lyrics (1998) 290/3 We cosily in bed repose Enjoying, in a rather languid way, A little eggy something on a tray. 2005 Word Feb. 32/2 Where no snaggle-toothed Cockney dictator can take a languid puff on his roll-up..and assure you will never get find it for less than twenty quid. 2. a. Of a person, a person's character, actions, emotions, etc.: not easily inspired to emotion, exhibiting only faint interest or concern; spiritless, indifferent, apathetic. Frequently in languid eye. Also in extended use. ΘΚΠ the mind > emotion > absence of emotion > [adjective] > lacking emotional sensibility unfeelingc1000 mis-feelinga1382 stonishc1450 unpainfulc1450 obtuse1509 sprightlessa1522 insensate1553 senseless1560 soulless1568 dull-esprited1591 impassible1592 bluntie1598 impenetrable1600 stockish1600 stolidc1600 incapable1601 stupid1605 tasteless1605 unsensitive1610 unexalted1611 insensible1617 unsensible1619 languid1622 immovable1639 dead-hearted1642 sterile1642 resupine1643 unaffectionate1645 iron-bound1648 resentlessa1649 torpid1656 torpulent1657 impassive1699 unreceptive1722 hebete1743 apathetic1744 stubbed1744 gustless1766 unresponsive1768 unsusceptible1779 tideless-blooded1786 unaffectioned1788 inaccessible1796 hebetudinous1820 unimpressible1828 insensitive1834 apathetical1835 non-sensitive1836 blunt-hearted1845 irreceptive1846 unreceptant1846 unimpressionable1847 anaesthetic1860 insentient1860 hard (also tough, sharp) as nails1862 unsqueamish1893 tone-deaf1894 unget-at-able1897 facty1901 zombie1937 pegamoid1957 the world > action or operation > manner of action > lack of violence, severity, or intensity > [adjective] > weak (of immaterial things) thin?c1225 wateryc1230 feeble1393 wash1548 waterish1549 fadea1554 limping1577 dilute1605 lank1607 languid1622 water gruel1630 invalid1635 sinewless1644 exsanguine1647 flaccid1647 diluted1681 wishy-washy1693 tiffany1694 foible1715 rickety1738 faintly1771 unrobust1775 pale1820 peely-wally1832 muscleless1841 weakling1848 weedy?1858 feeblose1882 papery1924 1622 S. Ward All in All 18 Some faint and languide wishes, oh that Christ were mine. 1648 J. Beaumont Psyche xv. clxxix. 287 With secret Checks her languid Soule she chid Which with such violence never yet did flame. 1685 J. Tutchin Poems 118 To see this Man, with folded Arms, and languid Eyes, Look like a Changeling, talk of nought but Love. 1713 J. Addison Cato i. v I'll hasten to my troops, And fire their languid souls with Cato's virtue. 1713 R. Steele in Guardian 1 Apr. 1/1 [Death] which, by reason of its seeming distance, makes but languid Impressions upon the Mind. 1742 A. Pope New Dunciad 46 With mincing step, small voice, and languid eye. 1751 Butler Charge Clergy Durham in Wks. (1874) II. 331 Without somewhat of this nature, piety will grow languid even among the better sort of men. 1775 E. Burke Speech Amer. Taxation 41 I never heard a more languid debate in this House. 1791 A. Radcliffe Romance of Forest I. i. 27 Madame gazed with concern upon her languid countenance. 1849 E. Bulwer-Lytton Caxtons I. i. iii. 15 Too lazy or too languid where only his own interests were at stake. 1849 T. B. Macaulay Hist. Eng. I. ii. 177 In him dislike was a languid feeling. 1849 T. B. Macaulay Hist. Eng. v. 570 A war of which the theatre was so distant..excited only a languid interest in London. 1855 T. B. Macaulay Hist. Eng. IV. xvii. 90 An appeal which might have moved the most languid and effeminate natures to heroic exertion. 1870 J. S. Howson Metaphors St. Paul iv. 153 What a contrast this is to our dull and languid Christianity! 1920 Amer. Woman Aug. 18/2 Billy, the insouciant! Billy the languid, the hater of scenes. 1975 E. Dunlop Robinsheugh xiv. 115 She passed a languid, indifferent eye over her daughter. 1996 Pittsburgh (Pa.) Post-Gaz. (Nexis) 12 Oct. b3 The Penguins' languid, non-start is discomfiting because of their all too familiar que sera sera approach. b. Of style, writing, an idea, etc.: prosaic, insipid, or lifeless; mundane, lacking force or interest. ΘΚΠ society > leisure > the arts > literature > style of language or writing > weakness or feebleness > [adjective] feeblec1400 colourlessc1425 flagging1540 pithless1555 blanched1570 toothless1592 unpointed1604 unsinewed1604 jejune1615 low-pitched1622 unsinewy?1623 macilent1624 flaccid1647 insinewy1653 unsubstanceda1658 incogent1667 pointless1673 languida1677 enervatea1704 unaccentuated1716 unnervate1725 lank1729 unforcible1754 nerveless1763 weak1771 flabby1793 slip-slop1814 tinkling1822 exsanguinea1834 twittery1840 slipshod1842 under-coloured1870 shaftless1881 thin1890 unaccented1893 wimpish1925 wimp1979 a1677 I. Barrow Wks. (1686) III. 404 Methinks the highest expressions, that language..can afford, are very languid and faint in comparison of what they strain to represent. a1704 T. Brown Ess. Satire Ancients in Wks. (1730) I. 24 To hear Homer call'd dull and heavy..and Horace an Author unpolished languid and without force. 1788 H. J. Pye tr. Aristotle Poetic xxvi. 201 If it were lenthened in proportion to the length of the verse, it would be languid and insipid. 1864 J. H. Burton Scot Abroad II. ii. 179 They sent me two inscriptions but they were long and languid. 1865 T. Carlyle Hist. Friedrich II of Prussia VI. xx. vi. 150 He had written certain thin Books, all of a thin languid nature. 1865 J. R. Seeley Ecce Homo (ed. 8) iii. 25 The languid dreams of commentators. 1907 Trans. & Proc. Amer. Philol. Soc. 38 44 His style is more languid..than it should be. 1962 Valley Independent (Monessen, Pa.) 25 Sept. 14/3 Scranton is afraid of..displaying his languid ideas to Pennsylvanians. 2006 Wired July 115/3 With its..languid, utterly actionless plot,..The Wild Blue Yonder is about as far from a Matrix-style popcorn flick as you can get. 3. a. Of a thing: slow-moving; weak, lacking force. ΘΚΠ the world > movement > rate of motion > slowness > [adjective] > tardy or sluggish lateeOE latredec897 latelyOE slowfulc1400 latesomea1425 languoring?c1425 sluggedc1430 tardy1483 tediousc1485 hooly1513 longsome1543 lingeringa1547 tarde1547 slow-worm1548 tardious?1572 lagging1597 snail-slow1600 snail-paced1601 snail-like1639 languid1646 dilatory1648 sluggish1648 languishing1693 laggard1702 lentitudinous1801 laggardly1826 lag-last1862 slowpoke1872 the world > action or operation > manner of action > lack of violence, severity, or intensity > [adjective] > lacking vigour, strength, or spirit bloodlessc1225 feeble1340 languoring?c1425 languid1646 chlorotic1764 exanimate1841 limp1853 anaemic1898 brain-dead1972 1646 Sir T. Browne Pseudodoxia Epidemica iii. xxv. 176 A languid and dumbe allision upon the parts. View more context for this quotation 1692 R. Bentley Boyle Lect. vi. 28 No Motion so swift or languid, but a greater Velocity or Slowness may still be conceived. 1717 A. Pope tr. Homer Iliad III. ix. 279 When the languid Flames at length subside. 1748 W. Shenstone Verses to W. Lyttleton in Odes iv When languid suns are taking leave Of every drooping tree. 1771 J. W. Baker Consideration Exportation of Corn 40 Under a languid cultivation, and uncertain market, rent devours the farmer. 1830 C. Lyell Princ. Geol. I. 199 That the same power..should even in its more languid state be capable of raising to the surface considerable quantities of water from the interior. 1834 T. B. Macaulay William Pitt in Ess. (1854) 302 Two rivers met, the one gentle, languid, and though languid, yet of no depth. 1857 Chambers's Information for People (new ed.) I. 777 If the healing action is languid, some stimulating ingredient may be added. 1912 C. Gouldsbury Songs out of Exile 41 I..drew soft comfort from the languid breeze. 1979 Technol. & Culture 20 326 There was only a broad, flat, and languid river. 2001 B. Hurd Stirring Mud (2003) iii. 38 You adjust your pace to the bayou, its dappled sunlight and Spanish moss, its languid water. b. Of a colour: faint, dull, not vivid. ΘΚΠ the world > matter > colour > quality of colour > [adjective] > faint or weak wateryOE dima1250 lighta1398 rare?1440 delayed1543 faint1552 weak1585 pale1598 distempered1621 washya1639 thin1649 languid1663 dilute1665 welmish1688 sickly1695 dimmed1863 1663 J. Beale Let. 30 Nov. in R. Boyle Corr. (2001) II. 218 The more rayes are emitted from the object to the eye by acute angles, the brighter the colour, & glosse wilbe; & the colour more languide darke, or dusky, as the rayes are thinner. 1747 W. Gould Acct. Eng. Ants 3 The first are of a languid Red; the second extremely black and shining. 1764 T. Reid Inq. Human Mind vi. §22 The colours of objects, according as they are more distant, become more faint and languid. 1849 N. Brit. Rev. May 142 The sun was undimmed, the sky was of a languid blue. 1911 L. Hourticq Art in France v. 276 A tumult of grey clouds and pale foliage, a combination of languid colour and vague light which recalls some of Correggio's works. 2004 Australian (Nexis) 22 Oct. c4 A more sober and ultimately saleable collection than usual, in languid marine colours and coral-reef prints. 4. Of business, trade, etc.: sluggish, inactive, dull; not brisk or lively. ΘΚΠ the world > action or operation > inaction > [adjective] > characterized by inaction or inactivity > specifically of places, seasons, trade, etc. dead1581 languid1728 flat1831 1728 Poem to William Burnett 5 Branching Trade, which now too languid seems. 1785 J. Anderson Acct. Present State Hebrides Introd. p. xxxix In small communities, that market will be languid and unsteady. 1832 T. F. Dibdin (title) Bibliophobia. Remarks on the present languid and depressed state of Literature and the Book Trade. 1833 H. Martineau Messrs. Vanderput & Snoek iv. 64 The business has been very languid. 1866 A. Crump Pract. Treat. Banking viii. 169 On account of the circulation of their currencies being more languid. 1866 J. E. T. Rogers Hist. Agric. & Prices I. xviii. 406 The market for exports was exceedingly languid. 1887 Daily News 20 June 2/5 A languid tone has been observed in many quarters. 1940 D. Aikman All-Amer. Front xvi. 258 Now and then there were disputes over the languid trade between northern and southern republics. 1968 Press-Telegram (Long Beach, Calif.) 27 Aug. c7/3 Brokers attributed the market's languid performance of the last several sessions to a lack of any dramatic news. 2002 Times (Nexis) 13 June Analysts said Singapore's property market is likely to remain languid because of worries over impending changes to pension policy. 5. Of a period of time: relaxed and peaceful; characterized by inactivity or idleness. ΚΠ 1732 J. Thurston Fall ii. 33 And strait at once appears in order gay, Each kind assassin of the languid day. 1866 C. M. Yonge Cameos lxxix, in Monthly Packet Sept. 217 No doubt he had longed for her in the weary languid hours before Meaux. 1891 Denton (Maryland) Jrnl. 28 Nov. 1/6 A taste for literature secures cheerful occupation for the unemployed and languid hours of life. 1906 A. C. Benson From College Window viii. 165 It was one of those languid days of early spring, when the frame and the mind alike seem unstrung and listless. 1992 A. Kurzweil Case of Curiosities viii. 55 It took a long and languid summer for Claude to fall into the patterns of the Abbé's life. This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2008; most recently modified version published online March 2022). < n.1688adj.1595
随便看	waterscape waterscapes waterscot waterscrew watersealed waterseller waterselling watersewer watershake watershaken watershard watershed watershed event watershed moment watershed year watersheds watershoot watershot watershut watersick waterside watersider watersides watersilk waterski

languidn.

languidadj.