What came first.......?

[gouda]

Dunno if this has been done before, but here goes anyways…

Sloth

…the name (of the animal) or the word?

[Dijon_Warlock]

Looks to me like the word came first. From www.m-w.com:

ain Entry: sloth
Pronunciation: 'sloth, 'släth also 'slOth
Function: noun
Inflected Form(s): plural sloths /with ths or [th]z/
Etymology: Middle English slouthe, from slow slow
Date: 12th century
1 a : disinclination to action or labor : INDOLENCE b : spiritual apathy and inactivity <the deadly sin of sloth>
2 : any of the slow-moving arboreal edentate mammals that comprise two genera (Bradypus and Choloepus), inhabit tropical forests of So. and Central America, hang from the branches back downward, and feed on leaves, shoots, and fruits – compare THREE-TOED SLOTH, TWO-TOED SLOTH

The entry under THREE-TOED SLOTH gives a date of 1879, and TWO-TOED SLOTH gives 1781. There’s also an entry for GROUND SLOTH which gives a date of 1860.

[AskNott]

Not to mention the “slothy tives.”

Whoops! I said I wouldn’t mention them. Sorry.
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…'tain’t often you get to imply Lewis Carroll and William Spooner in two words.

–Nott

[TVGuy]

Gee, I thought we were going to be discussing Gallus domesticus and it’s ovum.

(OK, wiseass going back in to woodwork now…)