n.
One who is habitually idle: disliked loafers on the job.
[Short for obsolete land-loafer, vagabond, idler, possibly partial translation of obsolete German Landläufer, from Middle High German landlöufer : land, land + löufer, runner (from loufen, to run , from Old High German hlouffan).]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.