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The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 (gcide)

Sloth \Sloth\, n. [OE. slouthe, sleuthe, AS. sl?w?, fr. sl[=a]w
slow. See {Slow}.]
1. Slowness; tardiness.
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These cardinals trifle with me; I abhor
This dilatory sloth and tricks of Rome. --Shak.
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2. Disinclination to action or labor; sluggishness; laziness;
idleness.
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[They] change their course to pleasure, ease, and
sloth. --Milton.
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Sloth, like rust, consumes faster than labor wears.
--Franklin.
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3. (Zool.) Any one of several species of arboreal edentates
constituting the family {Bradypodidae}, and the suborder
Tardigrada. They have long exserted limbs and long
prehensile claws. Both jaws are furnished with teeth (see
Illust. of {Edentata}), and the ears and tail are
rudimentary. They inhabit South and Central America and
Mexico.
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Note: The three-toed sloths belong to the genera {Bradypus}
and {Arctopithecus}, of which several species have been
described. They have three toes on each foot. The
best-known species are collared sloth ({Bradypus
tridactylus}), and the ai ({Arctopitheus ai}). The
two-toed sloths, consisting the genus {Cholopus}, have
two toes on each fore foot and three on each hind foot.
The best-known is the unau ({Cholopus didactylus}) of
South America. See {Unau}. Another species ({Cholopus
Hoffmanni}) inhabits Central America.
Various large extinct terrestrial edentates, such as
Megatherium and Mylodon, are often called sloths.
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{Australian sloth}, or {Native sloth} (Zool.), the koala.

{Sloth animalcule} (Zool.), a tardigrade.

{Sloth bear} (Zool.), a black or brown long-haired bear
({Melursus ursinus}, or {Melursus labiatus}), native of
India and Ceylon; -- called also {aswail}, {labiated
bear}, and {jungle bear}. It is easily tamed and can be
taught many tricks.

{Sloth monkey} (Zool.), a loris.
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Sloth \Sloth\, v. i.
To be idle. [Obs.] --Gower.
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