Neglector

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A person who habitually fails to give proper attention or care to duties, responsibilities, or people they should be attentive to
2. An individual characterized by persistent disregard or omission in fulfilling obligations or showing concern for others
3. Someone known for consistently overlooking or neglecting tasks, duties, or the needs of people requiring attention

Etymology: "Neglector" is a plain English formation: the verb "neglect" with the agent suffix "-or," used to name someone who neglects. "Neglect" itself was borrowed in the late 1500s from Latin "neglegere," a compound of "nec" ("not") and "legere" ("to pick up, gather, choose"), so the root sense is literally "not picking up" or "not attending to." Its earliest English uses came from the same period when "negligent" and "negligence" were being borrowed from the same Latin root. The "-or" ending comes from Latin agent nouns such as "auctor" (author) and "actor," and English has long used it to name the doer of an action. "Neglector" is attested in English from around the early 1600s, though it has always been a far less common word than "negligent" or "neglecter," and it appears mostly in older or formal writing rather than everyday speech.