'listlessness' originates from English, specifically from the adjective 'listless' plus the suffix '-ness', where 'list' originally meant 'pleasure' or 'desire'.

'listlessness' developed from Middle English words such as 'listless' and 'listlesnes', which derive from the Old English noun 'līst' (or 'līest'), meaning 'pleasure' or 'desire'; the adjective 'listless' (literally 'without list') produced the noun 'listlessness'.

Initially connected to the idea of being 'without desire or pleasure', it has come to mean more broadly a lack of energy, enthusiasm, or interest in modern usage.