doldrums
Posted: Tue Jun 21, 2005 12:25 am
I like it best in plural. no one can have just one! and we're not talking Horse Latitudes....doldrums
SYLLABICATION: dol·drums
PRONUNCIATION: dldrmz, dôl-, dl-
PLURAL NOUN: (used with a sing. or pl. verb) 1a. A period of stagnation or slump. b. A period of depression or unhappy listlessness. 2a. A region of the ocean near the equator, characterized by calms, light winds, or squalls. b. The weather conditions characteristic of these regions of the ocean.
ETYMOLOGY: From obsolete doldrum, dullard, alteration (influenced by tantrum) of Middle English dold, past participle of dullen, to dull, from dul, dull. See dull.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Katy