Emily Dickinson Lexicon

leisure, n. [OFr leisir, to be permitted.]

1. Play; relaxation; vacation; discretionary time; period of rest; hours after work.
2. Lull; cessation; hiatus; recess; respite; suspension; [fig.] reflection; meditation; contemplation; rumination; time for thinking about.
3. Stillness; period of inactivity; [fig.] demise; rigor mortis; state of death.
4. Phrase. “At leisure”: unoccupied; dormant; passive; lethargic; inactive; free from business; excused from employment; [fig.] paralyzed; mortified; in shock; lacking energy, focus, or strength.