idle

== English == === Pronunciation === enPR: īʹd(ə)l, IPA(key): /ˈaɪd(ə)l/ (Canada, idle-idol split) IPA(key): /ˈʌɪdəl/ Rhymes: -aɪdəl Homophones: idol, idyll, idyl (US pronunciation) === Etymology 1 === From Middle English idel, ydel, from Old English īdel, from Proto-West Germanic *īdal, from Proto-Germanic *īdalaz. 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). ==== Adjective ==== idle (comparative more idle, superlative most idle) (obsolete) Empty, vacant. Synonyms: bare, leer, void Not being used appropriately; not occupied; (of time) with no, no important, or not much activity. Synonyms: dormant, quiescent, suspended; see also Thesaurus:inactive Not engaged in any occupation or employment; unemployed; inactive; doing nothing in particular. Synonyms: unbusied, workless; see also Thesaurus:obsolete, Thesaurus:unemployed Averse to work, labor or employment; lazy; slothful. Synonyms: indolent, inert; see also Thesaurus:lazy Of no importance; useless; worthless; vain; trifling; thoughtless; silly. Synonyms: petty, pointless; see also Thesaurus:insignificant (obsolete) Light-headed; foolish. Synonyms: fatuous, unwise; see also Thesaurus:foolish ===== Derived terms ===== ===== Translations ===== === Etymology 2 === From Middle English idelen, from Old English īdlian, from Proto-West Germanic *īdalēn. Cognate with German eiteln (“to make empty, free up”). ==== Verb ==== idle (third-person singular simple present idles, present participle idling, simple past and past participle idled) (transitive) To spend in idleness; to waste; to consume. (intransitive) To lose or spend time doing nothing, or without being employed in business. (intransitive) Of an engine: to run at a slow speed, or out of gear; to tick over. (transitive) To cause (an engine) to idle(3) ===== Derived terms ===== ===== Related terms ===== (sense 3) idling speed ===== Translations ===== === Etymology 3 === From Middle English idel, ydel, from Old English īdel (“idleness”), from the adjective (see above). ==== Noun ==== idle (plural idles) The state of idling, of being idle. (mechanical engineering) The lowest selectable thrust or power setting of an engine. Synonyms: full throttle, wide open a lumpy idle (gaming) An idle animation. (gaming) An idle game. Synonyms: idle game, incremental game ===== Hyponyms ===== flight idle ground idle === References === idle on Wikipedia.Wikipedia William Dwight Whitney, Benjamin E[li] Smith, editors (1911), “idle”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., →OCLC. “idle”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC. === Anagrams === Diel, Lide, deli, diel, eild, lied == Spanish == === Pronunciation === IPA(key): /ˈidle/ [ˈið̞.le] Rhymes: -idle Syllabification: id‧le === Verb === idle second-person plural imperative of ir combined with le