October 16, 1997

doldrums

From a recent Slate article: "Here's a cure for Washington's doldrums: Susan Carpenter-McMillan, Paula Jones' new chief counselor, spokeswoman, and all-around Svengali." What's the origin of "doldrums"?

The word doldrums, which is almost always found in the plural, has several closely related senses. The earliest, 'a dull, depressed mood; low spirits; depression', is first found in 1811. This seems to be the sense the Slate writer is using.

The next sense is from 1824 or 1855, depending on your viewpoint: 'a becalmed state at sea; (spefic., often cap.) an area of the ocean just north of the equator characterized by calms and light shifting winds'. (The 'becalmed state' sense if from 1824, the use of the word as a geographical designation, which interprets the phrase "in the doldrums" as a real place, is first found in 1855.) Example from Robert Louis Stevenson: "The CURRENCY LASS weighed anchor for the second time and set sail for 'Frisco, attended by the same fine weather and good luck. She crossed the doldrums with but small delay."

The last major sense is 'a state of inactivity or stagnation', from the late nineteenth century. Example from the New York Times in 1995: "For the last five years, the state's lodging industry has been drifting in the doldrums. But now it is slowly beginning to shake off the recession."

The origin of doldrum is not exactly clear, but the first element is related to dull 'stupid'. The suffix is a noun suffix also of uncertain origin, but it's probably the same suffix as in tantrum, itself of unknown origin.