Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “lazy” come from?

Lazy comes from Middle Low German lasich, derived from Middle Low German las, from Old Saxon lask, ultimately tracing to Proto-Indo-European roots las-, lēy-, laḱs-, and lē(y)d-.

lazy (English): Unwilling to do work or make an effort;...

Definitions

  1. Unwilling to do work or make an effort;...

Ancestry of “lazy”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Low Germanlasichslack, languid, idle; slack, feeble, lazy
2Middle Low Germanlaspatch, scrap; tired, dull; salmon
3Old Saxonlahs—
4Proto-Germaniclahsazsalmon
5Chinese拉薩—
6Tibetanལྷ་སLhasa
7Old Tibetanར་ས—

Words derived from “lazy”

  • lazily
  • laziness
  • lazybones
  • unlazy
  • lazyback
  • nonlazy
  • lazybutt
  • lazyweb
  • lazyload
  • lazy-bed
  • lazyitis
  • lazyish
Every word from Old Tibetan ར་ས →