adverb taking the 'to' particle, taru-adjective, adverb
procrastinating; dillydallying; idling away time
Formal, literary term describing the act of wasting time or letting time slip by without progress. Often used with ～として or ～たる in classical or highly formal contexts. Rare in modern conversation.
荏苒として日を過ごす。
Spend days idly, letting time slip away.
荏苒たる歳月。
The years that have passed in vain.
The exact derivation is uncertain. The kanji 荏 (soft, weak) and 苒 (lush growth) combine to suggest a sense of time passing softly and unproductively, but this is a conventional association rather than a confirmed historical origin.