tardy
See also: Tardy
English
Etymology
From an earlier tardive, from French tardif, from Late Latin tardīvus, from Latin tardus (“slow”, “sluggish”), of obscure origin.
Pronunciation
- (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /ˈtɑːdi/
- (General American) IPA(key): /ˈtɑɹdi/
Audio (US) (file) - Rhymes: -ɑː(ɹ)di
Adjective
tardy (comparative tardier, superlative tardiest)
- Late; overdue or delayed.
- He yawned, then raised a tardy hand over his mouth.
- c. 1596–1599, William Shakespeare, “The Second Part of Henry the Fourth, […]”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, OCLC 606515358, [Act IV, scene iii]:
- When everything is ended, then you come. / These tardy tricks of yours will, on my life, / One time or other break some gallows’ back.
- 1795, Isaac D’Israeli, An Essay on the Manners and Genius of the Literary Character, London: T. Cadell Jr. and W. Davies, Chapter 9, p. 122,
- Men of genius anticipate their contemporaries, and know they are such, long before the tardy consent of the public.
- 1914, Saki, “The Stake” in Beasts and Super-Beasts, London: John Lane, pp. 202-203,
- As a matter of fact, the luncheon fare, when it made its tardy appearance, was distinctly unworthy of the reputation which the justly-treasured cook had built up for herself.
- 1963, James Baldwin, “Down at the Cross: Letter from a Region in My Mind” in The Fire Next Time, New York: Dial, p. 87,
- And the Black Muslims, along with many people who are not Muslims, no longer wish for a recognition so grudging and (should it ever be achieved) so tardy.
- Moving with a slow pace or motion; not swift.
- 1595 December 9 (first known performance), William Shakespeare, “The life and death of King Richard the Second”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies: Published According to the True Originall Copies (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, OCLC 606515358, [Act II, scene i]:
- […] fashions in proud Italy, / Whose manners still our tardy apish nation / Limps after in base imitation.
- 1638, George Sandys, “(please specify the part or chapter)”, in A Paraphrase upon the Divine Poems, London: […] Iohn Legatt, OCLC 228716552:
- Nor should their Age by Yeares be told: / Whose Souls, more swift then Motion, clime; / And check the tardy Flight of Time.
- 1709, Mat[thew] Prior, “Carmen Seculare, For the Year 1700. To the King”, in Poems on Several Occasions, 2nd edition, London: […] Jacob Tonson […], OCLC 1103119849, page 151:
- In various Views she tries her constant Theme; / Finds him, in Councils, and in Arms, the same: / When certain to o’ercome, inclin’d to save; / Tardy to Vengeance; and with Mercy brave.
- 1838 March – 1839 October, Charles Dickens, chapter XLIX, in The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby, London: Chapman and Hall, […], published 1839, OCLC 1057107260:
- […] a disease which medicine never cured, wealth never warded off, or poverty could boast exemption from; which sometimes moves in giant strides, and sometimes at a tardy sluggish pace, but, slow or quick, is ever sure and certain.
- 1926, Hope Mirrlees, Lud-in-the-Mist, Millennium, 2000, Chapter 19,
- These berries […] are a deadly and insidious poison, though very tardy in their action, often lying dormant in the blood for many days.
- 1972, Ian Anderson (lyrics), “Thick As A Brick”, performed by Jethro Tull:
- And the youngest of the family
Is moving with authority
Building castles by the sea
He dares the tardy tide
To wash them all aside.
-
- Ineffectual; slow-witted, slow to act, or dull.
- His tardy performance bordered on incompetence.
- (obsolete) Unwary; unready (especially in the phrase take (someone) tardy).
- c. 1593 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedy of Richard the Third: […]”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, OCLC 606515358, [Act IV, scene i]:
- Be not ta’en tardy by unwise delay.
- 1662, [Samuel Butler], “[The First Part of Hudibras]”, in Hudibras. The First and Second Parts. […], London: […] John Martyn and Henry Herringman, […], published 1678; republished in A[lfred] R[ayney] Waller, editor, Hudibras: Written in the Time of the Late Wars, Cambridge: University Press, 1905, OCLC 963614346, canto III, page 104:
- Yield, Scoundrel base (quoth she) or die; / Thy life is mine, and liberty. / But if thou think’st I took thee tardy, / And dar’st presume to be so hardy, / To try thy fortune o’re afresh, / I’le wave my title to thy flesh,
-
- (obsolete) Criminal; guilty.
- 1697, Jeremy Collier, Essays upon Several Moral Subjects
- And the Franks served the Men much the same ſauce when they found them tardy, and made them run their Heats through the Streets
- 1697, Jeremy Collier, Essays upon Several Moral Subjects
Usage notes
- The term suggests habitual lateness.
- Somewhat dated in the United Kingdom.
Synonyms
- (late; overdue; not on time): belated, delayed
Derived terms
- tardily
- tardiness
Translations
later in relation to the proper time
|
ineffectual; slow witted, slow to act, or dull
|
Noun
tardy (plural tardies)
- (US) A piece of paper given to students who are late to class.
- The teacher gave her a tardy because she did not come into the classroom until after the bell.
- (US) An instance of a student's being marked as tardy by a teacher on the teacher's attendance sheet.
See also
- tardy slip
Verb
tardy (third-person singular simple present tardies, present participle tardying, simple past and past participle tardied)
- (obsolete, transitive) To make tardy.
- c. 1610–1611 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The VVinters Tale”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, OCLC 606515358, [Act III, scene ii]:
- the good mind of Camillo tardied
My swift command
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Anagrams
- Darty