laggard
English
Etymology
From lag + -ard.
Pronunciation
- (UK) IPA(key): /ˈlæɡəd/
Audio (UK) (file) - (General American) IPA(key): /ˈlæɡɚd/
- Rhymes: -æɡə(ɹ)d
Adjective
laggard (comparative more laggard, superlative most laggard)
- Lagging behind; taking more time than the others in a group.
- 1752, Francis Gentleman and Ben Jonson, Sejanus, A Tragedy, Act 5, Scene 1, page 54–55:
- But come let's wing our Steps with utmost Speed,
The swiftest Haste is laggard to the Deed.
- But come let's wing our Steps with utmost Speed,
- 1912, E. Pauline Johnson, “The Song My Paddle Sings” in Flint and Feather,
- O! drowsy wind of the drowsy west,
- Sleep, sleep,
- By your mountain steep,
- Or down where the prairie grasses sweep!
- Now fold in slumber your laggard wings,
- For soft is the song my paddle sings.
- 1931, William Faulkner, Sanctuary, Vintage 1993, p. 66:
- Between blinks Tommy saw Temple in the path, her body slender and motionless for a moment as though waiting for some laggard part to catch up.
- 1959 September, Cecil J. Allen, “Locomotive Running Past and Present”, in Trains Illustrated, page 431:
- [...] and we were twice slowed badly because of a laggard stock train ahead stowing itself away at Enfield Lock; [...].
- 2016, Emma Gilleece, “Take the spat out of spatial,” Village, 30 November, 2016,
- A particularly robust intervention will be required if Ireland’s disbalance between Dublin’s primacy and its laggard provincial cities, is to be addressed.
- 1752, Francis Gentleman and Ben Jonson, Sejanus, A Tragedy, Act 5, Scene 1, page 54–55:
- (animal husbandry) Not growing as quickly as the rest of the flock or herd.
- The laggard broilers are euthanized and incinerated.
Translations
animal not growing as fast as flockmates
|
Noun
laggard (plural laggards)
- One who lags behind; one who takes more time than is necessary or than the others in a group.
- 1733, William Havard, Scanderbeg: A Tragedy, London: J. Watts, Act II, Scene 4, p. 17,
- Blushing I look upon my poor Resolves,
- A Laggard in the Race, and faintly striving
- To follow Excellence that soars so high.
- 1840, James Fenimore Cooper, The Pathfinder, or The Inland Sea, Chapter 20,
- “Late come, late served, Mabel,” said her uncle, between mouthfuls of broiled salmon; […] “late come, late served; it is a good rule, and keeps laggards up to their work.” ¶ “I am no laggard, Uncle; for I have been stirring nearly an hour, and exploring our island.”
- 1891, Rudyard Kipling, Letters of Marque, New York & Boston: H.M. Caldwell, 1899, Chapter 12, p. 141,
- The State line, with the comparatively new branch to the Pachbadra salt-pits, pays handsomely, and is exactly suited to the needs of its users. True, there is a certain haziness as to the hour of starting, but this allows laggards more time, and fills the packed carriages to overflowing.
- 1900 December – 1901 August, H[erbert] G[eorge] Wells, “chapter 8”, in The First Men in the Moon, London: George Newnes, […], published 1901, OCLC 843386372:
- It rose as one watched it; if one looked away from it for a minute and then back, its outline had changed; it thrust out blunt congested branches until in a little time it rose a coralline shape of many feet in height. Compared with such a growth the terrestrial puff-ball, which will sometimes swell a foot in diameter in a single night, would be a hopeless laggard.
- 1977, “What Ever Became of ‘Geniuses’?” Time, 19 December, 1977,
- It was 72 years ago when a French psychologist named Alfred Binet first devised a test that attempted to measure a child's intelligence. Seeking a way to distinguish truly retarded students from laggards with hidden ability, Binet developed a series of exercises involving completion of pictures and the assembling of objects, as well as problems in math, vocabulary and reasoning.
- 2010, Rita Trichur, “Expanded international trade key to driving innovation in Ontario: report,” Toronto Star, 21 September, 2010,
- Canada and Ontario must bolster international trade with both the European Union and emerging economies like China in order shake our reputation as innovation laggards, says a new report.
- 2020 January 1, James Dean, “House price recovery on track in US”, in The Times, number 73,044, page 32:
- Residential property prices in the United States climbed at their fastest pace in five months in October, suggesting that the housing market, a laggard of the economy, is gaining steam.
- 1733, William Havard, Scanderbeg: A Tragedy, London: J. Watts, Act II, Scene 4, p. 17,
Synonyms
- See also Thesaurus:idler
Translations
one who lags behind
|
References
- “laggard”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.