different between lazy vs lax

English

Etymology

Attested since 1540, origin uncertain. Probably from Middle Low German lasich (“slack, feeble, lazy”), from las, from Proto-Germanic *lasiwaz, *laskaz (“feeble, weak”), from Proto-Indo-European *las- (“weak”). Akin to Dutch leuzig (“lazy”), Old Norse lasinn (“limpy, tired, weak”), Old English lesu, lysu (“false, evil, base”). More at lush.

An alternate etymology traces lazy to Early Modern English laysy, a derivative of lay (plural lays +? -y) in the same way that tipsy is derived from tip. See lay.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?le?zi/
• Rhymes: -e?zi

Adjective

lazy (comparative lazier, superlative laziest)

1. Unwilling to do work or make an effort; disinclined to exertion.
   • 1610, Alexander Cooke, Pope Joane, in William Oldys, editor, The Harleian Miscellany: or, A Collection of Scarce, Curious, and Entertaining Pamphlets and Tracts, as well in Manuscript as in Print, Found in the Late Earl of Oxford's Library: Interspersed with Historical, Political, and Critical Notes: With a Table of the Contents, and an Alphabetical Index, volume IV, London: Printed for T[homas] Osborne, in Gray's-Inn, 1744, OCLC 5325177; republished as John Maltham, editor, The Harleian Miscellany; or, A Collection of Scarce, Curious, and Entertaining Pamphlets and Tracts, as well in Manuscript as in Print, Found in the Late Earl of Oxford's Library, Interspersed with Historical, Political, and Critical Notes, volume IV, London: Printed for R. Dutton, 1808–1811, OCLC 30776079, page 95:

     If there bee any lasie fellow, any that cannot away with worke, any that would wallow in pleasures, hee is hastie to be priested. And when hee is made one, and has gotten a benefice, he consorts with his neighbour priests, who are altogether given to pleasures; and then both hee, and they, live, not like Christians, but like epicures; drinking, eating, feasting, and revelling, till the cow come home, as the saying is.

2. Causing or characterised by idleness; relaxed or leisurely.

3. Showing a lack of effort or care.

   lazy writing

4. Sluggish; slow-moving.

5. Lax:
   1. Droopy.

   2. (optometry) Of an eye, squinting because of a weakness of the eye muscles.
6. (of a cattle brand) Turned so that (the letter) is horizontal instead of vertical.
7. (computing theory) Employing lazy evaluation; not calculating results until they are immediately required.

8. (Britain, obsolete or dialect) Wicked; vicious.
   • 1641, Ben Jonson, The Sad Shepherd

     The swilland dropsy enter in
     The lazy cuke , and swell his skin

Usage notes

• Nouns to which "lazy" is often applied: person, man, woman, bastard, morning, day, time, way.

Synonyms

• (unwilling to work): bone-idle, idle, indolent, slothful, work-shy
• See also Thesaurus:lazy

Derived terms

Translations

Verb

lazy (third-person singular simple present lazies, present participle lazying, simple past and past participle lazied)

1. (informal) To laze, act in a lazy manner.
   • 1842, George Cruikshank, Omnibus, London: Tilt & Bogue, p. 79,^[1]

     “Go to sea,” muttered Mr. Unity Peach. “Work for your living—don’t lazy away your time here!”

   • 1884, Mark Twain, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, New York: Webster, 1885, Chapter 21, p. 183,^[2]

     You’d see a muddy sow and a litter of pigs come lazying along the street and whollop herself right down in the way, where folks had to walk around her […]

   • 1908, O. Henry, “The Memento” in The Voice of the City, New York: McClure, p. 239,^[3]

     That same afternoon we were lazying around in a boat among the water-lilies at the edge of the bay.

Noun

lazy (plural lazies)

1. A lazy person.
   • 1874, David Livingstone, The Last Journals of David Livingstone in Central Africa, from 1865 to his death, London: John Murray, Volume I, Chapter 7, p. 159,^[4]

     The “lazies” of the party seized the opportunity of remaining behind—wandering, as they said, though all the cross paths were marked.

   • 1898, Jason E. Hammond, “Work and Reward” in Suggestive Programs for Special Day Exercises, Lansing, Michigan: Department of Public Instruction for District Schools, p. ,^[5]

     The dudes and noodles, cads and snobs, had better move away,

     This busy land can’t spare the room for lazies, such as they,

     To foreign climate let them go and there forever stay.

     Ours is a land for busy workers.

   • 2016, Marta Bausells and Eleni Stefanou, “Meet the Greek writers revolutionising poetry in the age of austerity,” The Guardian, 11 May, 2016,^[6]

     Which myth of the Greek crisis would you like to debunk? — That the Greeks are a nation of lazies on a permanent vacation; that austerity measures, as they were implemented, were proportionally distributed or worth the sacrifice.

2. (obsolete) Sloth (animal).
   • 1716, Thomas Browne, Christian Morals, 2nd edition edited by Samuel Johnson, London: J. Payne, 1756, pp. 49-50,^[7]

     To strenuous minds there is an inquietude in overquietness, and no laboriousness in labour; and to tread a mile after the slow pace of a snail, or the heavy measures of the lazy of Brazilia, were a most tiring pennance, and worse than a race of some furlongs at the Olympicks.

References

Anagrams

• Zyla

English

Pronunciation

• (UK, US) IPA^(key): /læks/
• Rhymes: -æks
• Homophone: lacks

Alternative forms

• lacks (Killian)

Etymology 1

From Middle English lax, from Old English leax (“salmon”), from Proto-West Germanic *lahs (“salmon”), from Proto-Germanic *lahsaz (“salmon”), from Proto-Indo-European *la?s- (“salmon, trout”). Cognate with Middle Dutch lacks, lachs, lasche (“salmon”), Middle Low German las (“salmon”), German Lachs (“salmon”), Norwegian laks (“salmon”), Danish laks (“salmon”), Swedish lax (“salmon”), Icelandic lax (“salmon”), Lithuanian lašišà (“salmon”), Latvian lasis, Russian ??????? (losós?, “salmon”), Albanian leshterik (“eel-grass”). See also lox.

Noun

lax (plural laxes)

1. (now chiefly Britain dialectal, Scotland) A salmon.

Etymology 2

Borrowed from Latin laxus (“wide, roomy, loose”).

Adjective

lax (comparative laxer, superlative laxest)

1. Lenient and allowing for deviation; not strict.
   • 1886, John Addington Symonds, Philip Sidney

     Society at that epoch was lenient, if not lax, in matters of the passions.

2. Loose; not tight or taut.
3. Lacking care; neglectful, negligent.
4. (mathematics) Describing an associative monoidal functor.
5. (archaic) Having a looseness of the bowels; diarrheal.

Synonyms

• (lenient, not strict): permissive, lenient, relaxed
• (loose, not tight): loose, slack
• (lacking care): blameworthy, lash, negligent, remiss, reprehensible

Antonyms

• (lenient, not strict): strict
• (loose, not tight): taut, tight

Related terms

• laxity

Translations

Etymology 3

Noun

lax (uncountable)

1. (slang) Lacrosse.
   • 2010, Kate Kingsley, Pretty on the Outside (page 79)

     “I'm not playing lax this term,” Mimah said.

Anagrams

• Axl

Dacian

Noun

lax

1. The edible wild purslane plant.

German

Etymology

From Latin laxus.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /laks/
• Homophone: Lachs

Adjective

lax (comparative laxer, superlative am laxesten)

1. lax
2. (morale or ethics) easy, loose

Declension

Further reading

• “lax” in Duden online

Icelandic

Etymology

From Old Norse lax, from Proto-Germanic *lahsaz.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [laxs], [laks]

Noun

lax m (genitive singular lax, nominative plural laxar)

1. salmon

Declension

Derived terms

• laxbleikur:
• laxbleikur litur m

Latin

Etymology

From Proto-Italic *laks, from the same source as laci? (“entice”).

Pronunciation

• (Classical) IPA^(key): /laks/, [??äks?]
• (Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /laks/, [l?ks]

Noun

lax f (genitive lacis); third declension

1. deception, fraud

Declension

Third-declension noun.

Synonyms

• fraus

Descendants

• Mozarabic:

  Arabic: ???????? (?a?i)

  Hebrew: ????????? (?a?i)

References

• lax in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• lax in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré Latin-Français, Hachette

Anagrams

• alx

Middle English

Alternative forms

• lex

Etymology

From Old English leax, from Proto-West Germanic *lahs, from Proto-Germanic *lahsaz.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /laks/, /l?ks/

Noun

lax (plural lax or laxes)

1. salmon

Descendants

• English: lax
• Scots: lax

References

• “lax, n.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 2018-06-23.

Old Norse

Etymology

From Proto-Germanic *lahsaz. Cognate with Old English leax, German Lachs, English lox, Old High German lahs, Yiddish ??????? (laks?).

Noun

lax m (genitive lax, plural laxar)

1. (zoology) salmon

Declension

Derived terms

• Laxárdalr

Descendants

References

• lax in Geir T. Zoëga (1910) A Concise Dictionary of Old Icelandic, Oxford: Clarendon Press

Swedish

Etymology

From Old Norse lax, from Proto-Germanic *lahsaz. The 1000kr meaning comes from the color of the 1000kr bill which was the same color as a salmon.

Pronunciation

Noun

lax c

1. salmon
2. (slang) a bill with nominal value 1000 kronor or the corresponding amount of money

   Synonyms: lakan, långschal, skäring, papp

Declension

Derived terms

• laxrosa