Many of us, at least once doing poor quality work, could hear from others that it was done negligently. But what is the meaning of this definition? In this article, we will talk about the origin of the word "negligent" and where it is used.
What does it mean
"Negligent" is a word that has not one, but three whole meanings. The first is basic and direct. So, a dressing gown is one that directly relates to a dressing gown, for example, a “dressing pocket”.
The second appeared a little later, figuratively meaning negligent - flax, idle. It is worth noting that this semantics is already obsolete. The third value is also figurative, it is it that is currently used. Negligent is unscrupulous, low-quality.
Etymology of the word
The word "bathrobe" has long existed in the Russian language. It came from Arabic through Turkish. In the original, it sounded a little different, namely “Hilat”, possessing the meaning of “honorable dress”.
It is noteworthy that initially the robe was such, being a symbol of the Russian nobility, which spent the bulk of its time in this robe. And the word “negligent” itself refers directly to the garment (for example, a dressing gown pocket).
By the middle of the nineteenth century, thanks to writers, it acquired a new, additional meaning. The neologism “negligence” appeared. At first, the new meaning was very close to the old. The robe was a symbol of idleness, licentiousness and laziness. Many writers of that time used the new word in their works, however, some other writers who called themselves purists (this word is derived from pure, which means “pure”), completely rejected it, considering this word to be characteristic of a low literary style.
Nowadays, the term "negligence" is also used little in fiction. But it is even an official term along with the word "criminal."
However, when dressing gowns became widespread among the lower strata of the population, so began to be called work clothes. Because of this, a new explanation of the appearance of this definition has appeared. The old saying was “work through the sleeves”. Let’s explain.
It was understood that the proverb refers to the deflated sleeves of industrial clothing. So, “to work negligently” began to have different semantics, synonymous with the meaning of the saying. After all, it implied that it is only possible to complete a task well with rolled up sleeves. While with the length of the clothes to the wrist, this is inconvenient to do, which means "to work, after the sleeves." And the word "negligent" began to mean "poor quality, careless."
Conclusion
So, now you know exactly what the term "negligent" means. In the article, we also examined the origin of this word.