loll

English

WOTD – 15 September 2017

Etymology

Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot, Jeunes filles de Sparte (Young Women of Sparta, between 1868 and 1870), from the collection of the Brooklyn Museum in Brooklyn, New York City, New York, US. The woman in the foreground is depicted lolling on an animal skin.

From Middle English lollen, lullen (“to lounge idly, hang loosely”), of uncertain origin; the Middle English Dictionary suggests a derivation from Middle Dutch lollen, lullen (“to doze; to mumble, talk nonsense”),[1] though the words could merely be cognate. Compare modern Dutch lol (“fun”)), Icelandic lolla (“to act lazily”). See also lull.

Pronunciation

(Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /lɒl/
(General American) IPA^(key): /lɑl/
Rhymes: -ɒl
Audio (UK) (file)

Verb

loll (third-person singular simple present lolls, present participle lolling, simple past and past participle lolled)

(intransitive) To act lazily or indolently while reclining; to lean; to lie at ease. [from mid-14th c.]
- 1726, Aulus Persius Flaccus; John Dryden, transl., “The Second Satyr”, in The Satyrs of Aulus Persius Flaccus. Made English by Mr. Dryden, published in The Satyrs of Decimus Junius Juvenalis: And of Aulus Persius Flaccus. Translated into English Verse by Mr. Dryden, and Several Other Eminent Hands. To which is Prefix’d a Discourse concerning the Original and Progress of Satyr, 5th edition, London: Printed for J[acob] Tonson, at Shakespear's Head over-against Catherine-street in the Strand, →OCLC, page 251:
  And think'ſt thou, Jove himſelf, with Patience then / Can hear a Pray'r condemn'd by wicked Men? / That, void of Care, he lolls ſupine in State, / And leaves his Bus'neſs to be done by Fate?
- 2012 July 12, Sam Adams, “Ice Age: Continental Drift”, in The A.V. Club‎, archived from the original on 25 March 2014:
  The matter of whether the world needs a fourth Ice Age movie pales beside the question of why there were three before it, but [Ice Age:] Continental Drift feels less like an extension of a theatrical franchise than an episode of a middling TV cartoon, lolling around on territory that’s already been settled.
- 2015, Mary Davis, chapter 8, in Winning Olivia’s Heart (Heartsong Presents; HP1145), New York, N.Y.: Love Inspired Books, →ISBN, page 104:
  Liv's head lolled to the side and rested on his shoulder.
(intransitive) To hang extended from the mouth, like the tongue of an animal heated from exertion. [from 1610s]
- 1697, Virgil, “The Eighth Book of the Æneis”, in John Dryden, transl., The Works of Virgil: Containing His Pastorals, Georgics, and Æneis. […], London: […] Jacob Tonson, […], OCLC 403869432, lines 396–400, pages 445–446:
  Nor thy reſiſtleſs Arm the Bull withſtood: / Nor He the roaring Terror of the Wood. / The triple Porter of the Stygian seat, / With lolling Tongue, lay fawning at thy Feet: / And, ſeiz'd with Fear, forgot his mangled Meat.
- 1975, Susan Cooper, “Cadfan’s Way”, in The Grey King (The Dark Is Rising Sequence; 4), London: Chatto & Windus, →ISBN; republished New York, N.Y.: Simon Pulse, Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing Division, 2007, →ISBN, part 1 (The Golden Harp), page 21:
  Crouching on its stomach, the dog moved with him, teeth glittering, tongue lolling.
(transitive, intransitive) To let (the tongue) hang from the mouth in this way.
The ox stood lolling in the furrow.
- 1817 December, Percy Bysshe Shelley, “The Revolt of Islam. […]”, in [Mary] Shelley, editor, The Poetical Works of Percy Bysshe Shelley. […], volume I, London: Edward Moxon […], published 1839, OCLC 1000449192, page 267:
  The combatants with rage most horrible
  Strove, and their eyes started with cracking stare,
  And impotent their tongues they lolled into the air,
  Flaccid and foamy, like a mad dog’s hanging; […]
- 2011 September, Anna Solomon, chapter 30, in The Little Bride: A Novel, trade paperback edition, New York, N.Y.: Riverhead Books, →ISBN, page 307:
  [W]hen he saw the hundreds of heads of cattle lolling their greedy way through his grass, he ran towards them wildly, waving his arms, screaming.

Synonyms

(to act lazily or indolently): relax, slack, slacken

Translations

to act lazily or indolently

Arabic: تَكَاسَلَ‎ (takāsala), تَرَاخَى‎ (tarāḵā)
Bulgarian: излягам се (izljagam se)
Czech: povalovat se impf, rozvalit se pf
Finnish: laiskotella (fi), loikoilla (fi), löhötä (fi)
German: herumliegen (de), faulenzen (de), räkeln (de), herumlümmeln (de), sich flegeln (de)
Greek: χουζουρεύω (el) (chouzourévo), τεμπελιάζω (el) (tempeliázo)
Hungarian: lézeng (hu), nyúlik-málik
Maori: hakuhakutai
Quechua: hant'arqay
Russian: безде́льничать (ru) (bezdélʹničatʹ) (to laze about)
Spanish: recostarse (es), arrellanarse (es), repanchingarse (es), repanchigarse (es), reposar (es)

to hang extended from the mouth

Arabic: تَدَلَّى‎ (tadallā)
Bulgarian: вися (bg) (visja)
Czech: plandat impf, viset impf
Finnish: roikkua (fi)
German: heraushängen (de), hängen (de)

to let the tongue hang from the mouth in this way

Bulgarian: изплезвам (bg) (izplezvam)
Finnish: roikottaa suustaan

References

“lollen, v.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 15 September 2017.

Estonian

Etymology

From Proto-Finnic *lolli. Cognate to Votic lollo (“fool, idiot”) and dialectal Finnish lolli (“fool; stupid, fat, lazy”).

Adjective

loll (genitive lolli, partitive lolli, comparative lollim, superlative kõige lollim)

stupid

Noun

loll (genitive lolli, partitive lolli)

a stupid person; a fool

Declension

Declension of loll (type riik)

	singular	plural
nominative	loll	lollid
genitive	lolli	lollide
partitive	lolli	lolle / lollisid
illative	lolli / lollisse	lollidesse / lollesse
inessive	lollis	lollides / lolles
elative	lollist	lollidest / lollest
allative	lollile	lollidele / lollele
adessive	lollil	lollidel / lollel
ablative	lollilt	lollidelt / lollelt
translative	lolliks	lollideks / lolleks
terminative	lollini	lollideni
essive	lollina	lollidena
abessive	lollita	lollideta
comitative	lolliga	lollidega

Antonyms

tark