otiose

The otiose bustle.

otiose

1 : being at leisure or ease : idle, unemployed

2 : without profit : sterile,

<otiose undertaking>

3 : lacking use or effect : functionless

<otiose letters in an alphabet>

<otiose lines in a play>

4. of a deity : remote and aloof : not concerned with the details of the world
—Webster's Third New International Dictionary, Unabridged. Merriam-Webster, 2002. http://unabridged.merriam-webster.com

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FROM THE OED:
Definitions of otiose,
with example sentences

otiose 1.a. Of belief, principle, thought, etc.: having no practical result; unfruitful, sterile; futile, pointless.

Such stories..as require, on the part of the hearer, nothing more than an otiose assent.—1794 W. PALEY Evidences (1827) I. II. i. 354.

As Lynne never read it, it was otiose to wonder whether she would have seen anything of herself in the character of Sheila Spindrift, erring wife.—1991 Wilson Q. Spring 122/1.

The ‘why’ of moral duty is not an otiose but a fruitful principle.—1875 W. JACKSON Doctr. Retribution 49.

otiose b. Having no practical function; redundant; superfluous.

I doubt the opinion sometimes held, that there abound in Homer idle or ‘otiose’ epithets.—Primer of Homer xiii. 146.

Divorced from its dramatic context, much of the music here seems simply otiose and self-indulgent.—1993 Classic CD June 57/1.

otiose 2. At leisure; at rest; idle; inactive; indolent, lazy.

A malcontent by necessity, because otiose and resourceless.—1850 Tait's Mag. 17 732/2.

Our policy in Turkey has now dwindled into an otiose support of the Government.—1865 Sat. Rev. 7 Jan. 24

OTIOSE describes that which is purposeless, profitless, or useless and is therefore at best superfluous and at worst encumbering and productive of unnecessary expense or difficulty.

• VAIN describes that which is either absolutely lacking in value and worth or relatively insignificant and unavailing in comparison or contrast to other things vastly more significant, valuable, or powerful.

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GLOSS

There are three ways to pronounce the word correctly: o.she.oze, od.ee.oze, ot.ee.oze. It would seem from its spelling otiose that that most American speakers might sound out "t" right after the initial "o." But not so. I don't have any numbers on the frequencies of the three pronunciations, but from my experience over the years in academic environments, the preferred pronunciation seems to be o.she.oze.

Otiose is part of the active speaking vocabulary of my mentor and former colleague, "J.S.": a stellar wit, who, it might be mentioned in passing, studied at Harvard and Amherst, the latter of which—since we are talking about standard pronunciation— is enunciated by its graduates sans "h." It's "AM.erst." And to his credit, J.S. did not pick up the affectation of pronouncing Harvard "HA'-vuhd."

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Try saying, at least in your imagination, the word otiose a few times with the she sound in the middle: o.she.oze, o.she.oze, o.she.oze.

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Webster's Third notes that otiose and vain are synonyms, drawing the following differences:

• OTIOSE describes that which is purposeless, profitless, or useless and is therefore at best superfluous and at worst encumbering and productive of unnecessary expense or difficulty.

• VAIN describes that which is either absolutely lacking in value and worth or relatively insignificant and unavailing in comparison or contrast to other things vastly more significant, valuable, or powerful.

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Otiosity, noun

Front fender otiosities:
Buick's functionless

"portholes"

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OTIOSITY ON-LINE


If you've got some prime time to waste, check out <Otiose.org>, a website that advertises and delivers, in its own arch way, a truely "futile, idle, functionless," experience. Were I given to the otiose habit of punning, I might say the blog's writer has managed to create a unique on-line location-cum-void experience, one which we might call the "cypher-space" phenomenon (were we given to punning).

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