loafer

Meaning

Noun

1. An idle person.
2. A shoe with no laces, resembling a moccasin.

Verb

To loaf around; to be idle.

Synonyms

idler

lazybones

slacker

dawdler

layabout

sluggard

do-nothing

lazy person

vagabond

bum

lounger

tramp

good-for-nothing

slothful

ne’er-do-well

playboy

goof-off

indolent

dead-beat

lazy

drone

loiterer

moocher

prodigal

prodigal son

rascal

reveler

riff-raff

rogue

roue

ruffian

saunter

scrounger

slob

slouch

sponger

twiddler

unemployed person

wanderer

wastrel

bludger

good-for-naught

lazy-bones

lazy fellow

free-loader

shote

wassailer

chair warmer

corner-man

dead-head

Translations

fannullone

holgazán

gandul

poltrone

flâneur

bighellone

Faulenzer

fainéant

perdigiorno

gandul

haragán

paresseux

Gammler

τεμπέλης

baliekluiver

Pronounced as (IPA)

/ˈləʊfə/

Etymology

Cognate with Scots: lave

Cognate with Old English: lǣfan

In summary

Perhaps short for landloafer, possibly a partial translation of German Landläufer (compare dialectal German loofen (“to run”), and English landlouper); or more likely connected to Middle English love, loove, loffinge, looffinge (“a remnant, the rest, that which remains or lingers”), from Old English lāf (“remainder, residue, what is left”) (more at lave), which is akin to Scots lave (“the rest, remainder”), Old English lǣfan (“to let remain, leave behind”) (more at leave).