Etymology

idle

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Today it means: Empty, vacant. Full definition →

Middle English idel ← Old English īdel ← Proto-West Germanic *īdl
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idle · adjective1

  1. Proto-Germanic · inherited from*īdlaz
  2. Proto-West Germanic · inherited from*īdl
  3. Old English · inherited fromīdel
  4. Middle English · inherited fromidel
  5. English todayidle

From Middle English idel, ydel, from Old English īdel, from Proto-West Germanic *īdl, from Proto-Germanic *īdlaz. Cognate with Dutch ijdel (“vain, meaningless”), ijl (“rareified, skinny”), iel (“thin, slender”); German Low German iedel (“vain, idle”); German eitel (“vain, conceited”); and possibly Old Norse illr ("bad"; > English ill).

idle · verb2

  1. Proto-West Germanic · inherited from*īdlēn
  2. Old English · inherited fromīdlian
  3. Middle English · inherited fromidelen
  4. English todayidle

From Middle English idelen, from Old English īdlian, from Proto-West Germanic *īdlēn. Cognate with German eiteln (“to make empty, free up”).

idle · noun3

  1. Old English · inherited fromīdel“idleness”
  2. Middle English · inherited fromidel
  3. English todayidle

From Middle English idel, ydel, from Old English īdel (“idleness”), from the adjective (see above).

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.