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| ==Origin== | | ==Origin== |
| [https://nordan.daynal.org/wiki/index.php?title=English#ca._1100-1500_.09THE_MIDDLE_ENGLISH_PERIOD Middle English] idel, from [https://nordan.daynal.org/wiki/index.php?title=English#ca._600-1100.09THE_OLD_ENGLISH.2C_OR_ANGLO-SAXON_PERIOD Old English] īdel; akin to Old High German ītal worthless | | [https://nordan.daynal.org/wiki/index.php?title=English#ca._1100-1500_.09THE_MIDDLE_ENGLISH_PERIOD Middle English] idel, from [https://nordan.daynal.org/wiki/index.php?title=English#ca._600-1100.09THE_OLD_ENGLISH.2C_OR_ANGLO-SAXON_PERIOD Old English] īdel; akin to Old High German ītal worthless |
− | *[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/12th_century before 12th Century] | + | *[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/12th_century before 12th Century] |
| ==Definitions== | | ==Definitions== |
| *1: lacking [[worth]] or basis : vain <idle chatter> <idle [[pleasure]]> | | *1: lacking [[worth]] or basis : vain <idle chatter> <idle [[pleasure]]> |
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| Typically, when one describes a [[machine]] as idle, it is an [[objective]] [[statement]] regarding its current state. However, when used to describe a [[person]], idle typically carries a [[negative]] connotation, with the [[assumption]] that the person is wasting their time by doing nothing of [[value]]. Such a view is [[reflected]] in the [[proverb]] "an idle mind is the [[devil]]'s workshop". Also, the popular phrase "killing time" refers to idleness and can be defined as spending time doing nothing in particular in order that time seems to pass more quickly. These [[interpretations]] of idleness are not [[universal]] – they are more typically associated with Western cultures. | | Typically, when one describes a [[machine]] as idle, it is an [[objective]] [[statement]] regarding its current state. However, when used to describe a [[person]], idle typically carries a [[negative]] connotation, with the [[assumption]] that the person is wasting their time by doing nothing of [[value]]. Such a view is [[reflected]] in the [[proverb]] "an idle mind is the [[devil]]'s workshop". Also, the popular phrase "killing time" refers to idleness and can be defined as spending time doing nothing in particular in order that time seems to pass more quickly. These [[interpretations]] of idleness are not [[universal]] – they are more typically associated with Western cultures. |
| ==Books on idleness== | | ==Books on idleness== |
− | The state of being idle is sometimes even [[celebrated]] with a few [[books]] on the subject of idleness. ''How to Be Idle'' by Tom Hodgkinson is one such example from an [[author]] who is also known for his magazine, "[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Idler_(1993) The Idler]", [[devoted]] to promoting its ethos of "idle living". Nobel Laureate [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bertrand_Russell Bertrand Russell]'s ''In Praise of Idleness; And other essays'' is another [[book]] that [[explore]]s the [[virtues]] of being idle in the [[modern]] [[society]]. | + | The state of being idle is sometimes even [[celebrated]] with a few [[books]] on the subject of idleness. ''How to Be Idle'' by Tom Hodgkinson is one such example from an [[author]] who is also known for his magazine, "[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Idler_(1993) The Idler]", [[devoted]] to promoting its ethos of "idle living". Nobel Laureate [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bertrand_Russell Bertrand Russell]'s ''In Praise of Idleness; And other essays'' is another [[book]] that [[explore]]s the [[virtues]] of being idle in the [[modern]] [[society]]. |
| | | |
− | Mark Slouka published his essay, "Quitting the Paint Factory: The Virtues of Idleness"[2] in the November 2004 [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harper%27s_Magazine Harper's Magazine], hinting at a [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Post-scarcity post-scarcity] economy, and linking [[conscious]] [[busy-ness]] with antidemocratic and [[fascist]] tendencies. | + | Mark Slouka published his essay, "Quitting the Paint Factory: The Virtues of Idleness"[2] in the November 2004 [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harper%27s_Magazine Harper's Magazine], hinting at a [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Post-scarcity post-scarcity] economy, and linking [[conscious]] [[busy-ness]] with antidemocratic and [[fascist]] tendencies. |
| ==See also== | | ==See also== |
| *'''''[[Leisure]]''''' | | *'''''[[Leisure]]''''' |
| [[Category: Sociology]] | | [[Category: Sociology]] |