Idled

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. Not in operation or use, often referring to machines or engines ; to spend time without working or being productive
2. When a device or engine is running but not doing any work, remaining inactive ; to pass time lazily or without purpose
3. A state of inactivity or rest, especially for mechanical equipment ; to remain inactive or do nothing meaningful during a period

Etymology: "Idled" is the past tense of "idle," and the verb has an unexpectedly bleak ancestry. Its adjective ancestor in Old English, "īdel," meant "empty," "vain," or "worthless," and the same root gave German "eitel," still meaning "vain" or "conceited." The sense of doing nothing grew out of the sense of being empty of purpose: a person or thing with nothing in it, or nothing useful to do, was idle. The verb came later. Middle English "idelen" was borrowed from the Old English verb "īdlian," meaning to make empty or to make free, and it carried that older sense of emptying or freeing up. Over time it settled into the modern meaning, which covers both a machine running without doing any work and a person passing time without purpose. The word "idled" once suggested something made hollow, and now it describes something kept running but going nowhere.

Synonyms: dawdled, wasted time, loitered

Antonyms: worked, labored, acted