SLOTH • FREE TRANSLATOR.ORG • Definition of Sloth

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/sloʊθ/ Listen

noun

Sloth n.

1.

Slowness; tardiness. "These cardinals trifle with me; I abhor This dilatory sloth and tricks of Rome."

2.

Disinclination to action or labor; sluggishness; laziness; idleness. "(They) change their course to pleasure, ease, and sloth." "Sloth, like rust, consumes faster than labor wears."

3.

(Zool.) Any one of several species of arboreal edentates constituting the family Bradypodidae, and the suborder Tardigrada. They have long exserted limbs and long prehensile claws. Both jaws are furnished with teeth, and the ears and tail are rudimentary. They inhabit South and Central America and Mexico. Note: The three-toed sloths belong to the genera Bradypus and Arctopithecus, of which several species have been described. They have three toes on each foot. The best-known species are collared sloth (Bradypus tridactylus), and the ai (Arctopitheus ai). The two-toed sloths, consisting the genus Cholopus, have two toes on each fore foot and three on each hind foot. The best-known is the unau (Cholopus didactylus) of South America. See Unau. Another species (Cholopus Hoffmanni) inhabits Central America. Various large extinct terrestrial edentates, such as Megatherium and Mylodon, are often called sloths.

Australian sloth, or Native sloth (Zool.), the koala.

Sloth animalcule (Zool.), a tardigrade.

Sloth bear (Zool.), a black or brown long-haired bear (Melursus ursinus, or Melursus labiatus), native of India and Ceylon; called also aswail, labiated bear, and jungle bear. It is easily tamed and can be taught many tricks.

Sloth monkey (Zool.), a loris.

verb

Sloth v. i. To be idle. (Obs.)

See images of 'Sloth'

Etymology of 'Sloth'

Collaborative International Dictionary of English 0.48

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"Sloth" Quotes from Famous Books

... heroes, ascended from fields ye have won, Your toils are not closed in the deeds ye have done; Touch the souls of each laggard and profligate son, The greed and the sloth, and the cowardice shame; Till we rise to complete the great work ye've begun, And with freedom make conquest ...

— War Poetry of the South • Various

... of the Body once rebelled against the Belly. "You," they said to the Belly, "live in luxury and sloth, and never do a stroke of work; while we not only have to do all the hard work there is to be done, but are actually your slaves and have to minister to all your wants. Now, we will do so no longer, and you can shift for yourself for the future." They were as good as their word, ...

— Aesop's Fables • Aesop

... can be no true giving of the life in service unless there is a wise enriching of the self, a thorough fitting for that service. The more of a man you are, the brighter your intellect, the broader your sympathies, the better your service to the world may be. The sloth that sinks the soul in indifference to its own development is the most sinful ...

— Levels of Living - Essays on Everyday Ideals • Henry Frederick Cope

... livelihood; and only the few who have taken the same time to learn the trade, and are as little afraid of hard work as himself, can compete with him. This temptation to seek a "soft berth," where the only work required is sitting in an office, or talking, or writing, or riding around, is the form of sloth which is taking the strength and independence and manliness out of young men to-day faster than anything else. It is only one degree above the loafer and the tramp. The young man who starts in life by ...

— Practical Ethics • William DeWitt Hyde

... "Madam, I begin to grow weary of Samaria; I feel a passion for glory; give me leave to seek it amidst the perils of war. My father, the sultan of Harran, has many enemies. Why does he not call me to his assistance? Why does he leave me here so long in obscurity? Must I spend my life in sloth, when all my brothers have the happiness to be fighting by his side?" "My son," answered Pirouze, "I am no less impatient to have your name become famous; I could wish you had already signalized yourself against your father's enemies; ...

— The Arabian Nights Entertainments Complete • Anonymous

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