1. État de ce qui est inerte.
2. Propriété qu'ont les corps de rester dans leur état de repos ou de mouvement, jusqu'ŕ ce qu'une cause étrangère les en tire.
ETYM Latin, idleness, from iners idle. Related to Inert.
Tendency to be inactive; sluggishness.
(Physics) The tendency of a body to maintain is state of rest or uniform motion unless acted upon by an external force.
A descriptive term for that property of a body which resists change in its motion. Two kinds of changes of motion are recognized: changes in translational motion, and changes in rotational motion.
In physics, the tendency of an object to remain in a state of rest or uniform motion until an external force is applied, as stated by Isaac Newton's first law of motion (see Newton's laws of motion).