Meanings
- literaryuncountableSloth, slothfulness, especially as inducing general listlessness and apathy.First known use 13th c.
Underneath the surface excitements the demon of accidie had her by the hair.
1978, Lawrence Durrell, Livia, Faber & Faber, published 1992, page 363
Synonyms & antonyms
Origin
- Ancient Greekἀκήδεια“indifference”
- Late Latinaccīdia
- Old Frenchaccide
- Anglo-Normanaccidie
- Middle Englishaccidie
- Englishaccidie
From Middle English accidie, from Anglo-Norman accidie, Old French accide, accidie, from Late Latin accīdia, alteration of acēdia (“sloth, torpor”), from Ancient Greek ἀκήδεια (akḗdeia, “indifference”), from ἀ- (a-, “not”) + κῆδος (kêdos, “care”). Doublet of acedia.
More words from Middle English, Anglo-Norman, Old French
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Catalan acídia
- acídiageneral listlessness and apathy
Dutch luiheid, traagheid
- luiheidgeneral listlessness and apathy
- traagheidgeneral listlessness and apathy
- apathiegeneral listlessness and apathy
- acediageneral listlessness and apathy
Finnish raukeus
- raukeusgeneral listlessness and apathy
French flemme, paresse
- flemmegeneral listlessness and apathy
- paressegeneral listlessness and apathy
Polish apatia
- apatiageneral listlessness and apathy
Portuguese acídia
- acídiageneral listlessness and apathy
Spanish acidia
- acidiageneral listlessness and apathy
Cite this entry
accidie. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/accidie
“accidie.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/accidie. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “accidie,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/accidie.
Source: accidie on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.