loafer

English

Penny loafers

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈləʊfə/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈloʊfɚ/
• Rhymes: -əʊfə(ɹ)

Etymology 1

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).

Noun

loafer (plural loafers)

1. An idle person.
   • 1923, George Washington Ogden, “Chapter 2”, in The Baron of Diamond Tail:

     Along this unequal way, where loafers sat on whittled benches, lounged in doorways, leaned against porch props, Dan Gustin went pegging in his high-heeled boots like a mule in a Mexican chain hobble, holding a straight course for the hotel, past the doors of temptation.

2. A shoe with no laces, resembling a moccasin.
   • 2023 May 31, Nigel Harris, “Comment: GBR now! We have no Plan B”, in RAIL, number 984, page 3:

     Someone must explain to Sunak about the time bomb ticking beneath his £1,000 loafers.

Synonyms

• (idle person): bum, bumpkin, footler, idler, lout, yob, yobbo
• (footwear): penny loafer
• See also Thesaurus:idler

Translations

idle person

• Bulgarian: безделник (bg) m (bezdelnik)
• Catalan: gandul (ca) m, gallof m
• Dutch: nietsnut (nl), leegloper (nl), luilak (nl) m
• Finnish: tyhjäntoimittaja (fi)
• French: oisif (fr) m, fainéant (fr), paresseux (fr)
• Galician: lacazán (gl) m,preguizán (gl) m, nugallán (gl) m, galloufeiro m, guillote m, arlote m, pantrigueiro m, vacaceiro m, palanquin m, palafustrán (gl) m, calaceiro (gl) m
• German: Faulpelz (de) m, Faulenzer (de) m, Bummler m, Bummelant m, Gammler (de) m
• Greek: τεμπέλης (el) m (tempélis)
• Hungarian: léhűtő (hu), semmittevő (hu), naplopó (hu)
• Irish: liúdramán m
• Italian: fannullone (it) m, perditempo (it) m, perdigiorno (it) m
• Latin: cessātor m
• Macedonian: бе́зделник m (bézdelnik), безде́лница f (bezdélnica)
• Maori: kaihau, parakūkā, kaitahaumu, inukorokoro, kaikora, kaitahaumu, karioi
• Occitan: estaire, pigre (oc) m
• Polish: leń (pl) m, arcyleń m
• Portuguese: folgado (pt) m, vadio (pt) m
• Punjabi: ਲਫੰਗਾ (pa) m (laphaṅgā)
• Russian: безде́льник (ru) m (bezdélʹnik), безде́льница (ru) f (bezdélʹnica), ло́дырь (ru) m (lódyrʹ), лоботря́с (ru) m (lobotrjás), лоботря́ска (ru) f (lobotrjáska), лентя́й (ru) m (lentjáj), лентя́йка (ru) f (lentjájka), лежебо́ка (ru) m or f (ležebóka)
• Spanish: haragán (es) m, gandul (es) m, holgazán (es) m, comodón
• Swahili: lofa (sw)
• Welsh: diogyn m, stelciwr m

footwear

• Chinese:

  Cantonese: 懶佬鞋／懒佬鞋 (laan⁵ lou² haai⁴)

• Finnish: louferi (fi)
• French: mocassin (fr) m
• Galician: mocasín m
• German: Loafer m, Slipper (de) m, Schlüpfschuh m, Trotteur m
• Indonesian: pantofel (id)
• Irish: lófaire m
• Italian: mocassino (it) m
• Navajo: kébiiʼníʼdíʼisí
• Polish: loafersy (pl) m pl
• Portuguese: sapatilha (pt) f
• Spanish: mocasín (es) m

Verb

loafer (third-person singular simple present loafers, present participle loafering, simple past and past participle loafered)

1. (dialect, intransitive) To loaf around; to be idle.

Etymology 2

From American Spanish lobo (“wolf”) (/ˈloβo/), reinterpreted as or conflated with loafer (“idler”); compare the alternative forms which reflect other re-interpretations and conflations. Doublet of lupus and wolf.

Alternative forms

• lobo, lobo wolf
• lofer (wolf), lover (wolf), loper (wolf)

Noun

loafer (plural loafers)

1. (Southwestern US dialects) A wolf, especially a grey or timber wolf.
   • 1964, Ike Blasingame, Dakota Cowboy: My Life in the Old Days, page 72:

     The great menace to livestock, other than the continual battle with cold, [...] was the gray wolf. [...] The big loafers came in from everywhere.

   • 2010, Cynthia K. Rhodes, Lucille Mulhall: An Athlete of Her Time, →ISBN:

     Cowboys had killed “loafers” at five hundred yards away with rifles. [...] Lucille was not like most cowhands and she sets out to capture the "loafer" with her lariat.

   • 2016, Patrick Dearen, A Cowboy of the Pecos, page 128:

     By the 1890s loafers had become such a problem that some newly organized counties, as well as certain cattle outfits, paid bounties for their scalps. For a cowboy making a dollar or so a day, wolf-hunting could be lucrative.

Usage notes

• Often used in compound with "wolf": "loafer wolf".

Further reading

• Robert N. Smead, Vocabulario Vaquero/Cowboy Talk: A Dictionary of Spanish Terms from the American West

Anagrams

• Florea, florae, floræ

Finnish

Etymology

From English loafer

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈlou̯fer/, [ˈlo̞u̯fe̞r]

Noun

loafer

1. Synonym of louferi (“loafer”).

Declension

Inflection of loafer (Kotus type 6/paperi, no gradation)
nominative		loafer	loaferit
genitive		loaferin	loaferien loafereiden loafereitten
partitive		loaferia	loafereita loafereja
illative		loaferiin	loafereihin
		singular	plural
nominative		loafer	loaferit
accusative	nom.	loafer	loaferit
	gen.	loaferin
genitive		loaferin	loaferien loafereiden loafereitten
partitive		loaferia	loafereita loafereja
inessive		loaferissa	loafereissa
elative		loaferista	loafereista
illative		loaferiin	loafereihin
adessive		loaferilla	loafereilla
ablative		loaferilta	loafereilta
allative		loaferille	loafereille
essive		loaferina	loafereina
translative		loaferiksi	loafereiksi
abessive		loaferitta	loafereitta
instructive		—	loaferein
comitative		See the possessive forms below.

Possessive forms of loafer (Kotus type 6/paperi, no gradation)

first-person singular possessor singular plural nominative loaferini loaferini accusative nom. loaferini loaferini gen. loaferini genitive loaferini loaferieni loafereideni loafereitteni partitive loaferiani loafereitani loaferejani inessive loaferissani loafereissani elative loaferistani loafereistani illative loaferiini loafereihini adessive loaferillani loafereillani ablative loaferiltani loafereiltani allative loaferilleni loafereilleni essive loaferinani loafereinani translative loaferikseni loafereikseni abessive loaferittani loafereittani instructive — — comitative — loafereineni second-person singular possessor singular plural nominative loaferisi loaferisi accusative nom. loaferisi loaferisi gen. loaferisi genitive loaferisi loaferiesi loafereidesi loafereittesi partitive loaferiasi loafereitasi loaferejasi inessive loaferissasi loafereissasi elative loaferistasi loafereistasi illative loaferiisi loafereihisi adessive loaferillasi loafereillasi ablative loaferiltasi loafereiltasi allative loaferillesi loafereillesi essive loaferinasi loafereinasi translative loaferiksesi loafereiksesi abessive loaferittasi loafereittasi instructive — — comitative — loafereinesi first-person plural possessor singular plural nominative loaferimme loaferimme accusative nom. loaferimme loaferimme gen. loaferimme genitive loaferimme loaferiemme loafereidemme loafereittemme partitive loaferiamme loafereitamme loaferejamme inessive loaferissamme loafereissamme elative loaferistamme loafereistamme illative loaferiimme loafereihimme adessive loaferillamme loafereillamme ablative loaferiltamme loafereiltamme allative loaferillemme loafereillemme essive loaferinamme loafereinamme translative loaferiksemme loafereiksemme abessive loaferittamme loafereittamme instructive — — comitative — loafereinemme second-person plural possessor singular plural nominative loaferinne loaferinne accusative nom. loaferinne loaferinne gen. loaferinne genitive loaferinne loaferienne loafereidenne loafereittenne partitive loaferianne loafereitanne loaferejanne inessive loaferissanne loafereissanne elative loaferistanne loafereistanne illative loaferiinne loafereihinne adessive loaferillanne loafereillanne ablative loaferiltanne loafereiltanne allative loaferillenne loafereillenne essive loaferinanne loafereinanne translative loaferiksenne loafereiksenne abessive loaferittanne loafereittanne instructive — — comitative — loafereinenne third-person possessor singular plural nominative loaferinsa loaferinsa accusative nom. loaferinsa loaferinsa gen. loaferinsa genitive loaferinsa loaferiensa loafereidensa loafereittensa partitive loaferiaan loaferiansa loafereitaan loaferejaan loafereitansa loaferejansa inessive loaferissaan loaferissansa loafereissaan loafereissansa elative loaferistaan loaferistansa loafereistaan loafereistansa illative loaferiinsa loafereihinsa adessive loaferillaan loaferillansa loafereillaan loafereillansa ablative loaferiltaan loaferiltansa loafereiltaan loafereiltansa allative loaferilleen loaferillensa loafereilleen loafereillensa essive loaferinaan loaferinansa loafereinaan loafereinansa translative loaferikseen loaferiksensa loafereikseen loafereiksensa abessive loaferittaan loaferittansa loafereittaan loafereittansa instructive — — comitative — loafereineen loafereinensa

Further reading

• “loafer”, in Kielitoimiston sanakirja [Dictionary of Contemporary Finnish]‎^[1] (in Finnish) (online dictionary, continuously updated), Kotimaisten kielten keskuksen verkkojulkaisuja 35, Helsinki: Kotimaisten kielten tutkimuskeskus (Institute for the Languages of Finland), 2004–, retrieved 2023-07-03