_Ennui_ (Vol. vii., p. 478.; Vol. viii., p. 377.).--The meaning of this
admirable word is best gleaned from its root, viz. _nuit_. It is somewhat
equivalent to the Greek [Greek: agrupnia], and signifies the sense of
weariness with doing nothing. It gives the lie to the _dolce far niente_:
vide Ps. cxxx. 6., and Job vii. 3, 4. _Ennui_ is closely allied to our
_annoy_ or _annoyance_, through _noceo_, _noxa_, and their probable root
_nox_, [Greek: nux.] It is precisely equivalent to the Latin _tædium_,
which may be derived from _tæda_, which in the plural means a torch, and
through that word may have a side reference to night, the _tædarum horæ_:
cf. Ps. xci. 5. The subject is worthy of strict inquiry on the part of
comparative philologists.