Dawdling
/ˈdɔːd.lɪŋ/noun
Moving or acting slowly and wasting time.
Did you know?The word is tied to an older English dialect word, daw, meaning a fool or simpleton, so its history carries a built-in judgment about wasted motion.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Germanic
PGmc
*dawlōną?
“slow, idle movement or lingering (uncertain reconstruction)”
Middle English
English
dawdelen
“to linger, waste time, idle”
16th Century
English
dawdle
“to waste time by moving slowly or delaying”
Modern English
English
dawdling
“moving or acting in a leisurely, delaying way”