Accidia

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A mental state marked by a profound sense of disinterest in life, exhibiting both emotional fatigue and spiritual apathy
2. This condition signifies a deep-rooted lethargy that results in detachment from emotional and spiritual engagement
3. A psychological condition characterized by a pervasive lack of interest in life, often accompanied by feelings of emotional weariness and spiritual emptiness

Etymology: Among the desert monks of Egypt, the writer Evagrius Ponticus described a afternoon weariness of the soul: a restless listlessness that made a monk keep glancing at the window, watch the sun crawl across the sky, and long to be anywhere else. The Greek name for it was "akedia," literally "not caring," formed from "a-," meaning "without," and "kēdos," meaning "care." The Latin church took up the idea as "acedia," and in the medieval lists of vices it merged with sloth. The English form "accidie," borrowed from Latin, kept more of the original sense of spiritual weariness than of plain laziness, which is why the word still suggests a heavy disengagement from life rather than simple idleness.