Prolonged sitting at a desk can cause serious physical ____ over time.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
Long periods of physical ____ can lead to a variety of serious health problems over time.
Word Origin & History
Etymology tree
Proto-Indo-European *né
Proto-Indo-European *n̥-
Proto-Italic *n̥-
Latin in-bor.
Middle English in-
English in-
Proto-Indo-European *h₂eǵ-
Proto-Indo-European *-eti
Proto-Indo-European *h₂éǵeti
Proto-Italic *agō
Latin agō
Proto-Indo-European *-wós
Proto-Indo-European *-iHwósder.
Latin -īvus
▲
Ancient Greek ἐνεργητῐκός (energētĭkós)sl.
Latin āctīvus
Proto-Indo-European *-teh₂
Proto-Indo-European *-ts
Proto-Indo-European *-teh₂ts
Proto-Italic *-tāts
Latin -tās
Latin āctīvitāsder.
Middle French activitébor.
English activity
▲
Latin in-
▲
Latin āctīvus
Latin ināctīvuslbor.
French inactifder.
English inactive
▲
Proto-Indo-European *-teh₂ts
Latin -itāsder.
Old French -itebor.
Middle English -ite
English -ity
English inactivity
From in- + activity or inactive + -ity.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"Painters depicted Idle Hours (see fig. 99), reverie, solitude, and other themes that reflected Americans' new willingness to eschew productivity, and they sold their canvases to patrons who enjoyed both the inactivities portrayed and seeing themselves portrayed in inactivities."
— 1994, Helene Barbara Weinberg, Doreen Bolger, David Park Curry, American Impressionism and Realism:
"Shepard: How do the Reapers survive out in dark space?
Vigil: We have only theories. The researchers here came to believe the Reapers enter prolonged states of inactivity to conserve energy.
Vigil: This allows them to survive the thousands and thousands of years it takes for organic civilization to rebuild itself. But in this state, they are vulnerable."
— 2008, BioWare, Mass Effect, Redwood City: Electronic Arts, →ISBN, →OCLC, PC, scene: Ilos: