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late

adj
/leɪt/US/læɪt/

Etymology

From Middle English late, lat, from Old English læt (“slow; slack, lax, negligent; late”), from Proto-West Germanic *lat, from Proto-Germanic *lataz (“slow, lazy”). By surface analysis, deverbal from let. Cognates Cognate with Yola laate (“late”), North Frisian leed, leet, lääs (“late”), Saterland Frisian leet (“late”), Dutch, German Low German laat (“late, tardy”), Danish lad (“languid, lazy, indolent”), Faroese, Icelandic latur (“lazy”), Norwegian Bokmål, Norwegian Nynorsk and Swedish lat (“lazy”), Gothic 𐌻𐌰𐍄𐍃 (lats, “lazy, slothful”).

  1. derived from *lataz✻
  2. derived from *lat✻
  3. derived from læt
  4. derived from late

Definitions

  1. Near the end of a period of time.

    • The seedlings appeared to be coming along nicely until a late frost killed them.
    • The meeting is convened for late morning.
    • In Southern U.S., "evening" is used for middle to late afternoon.

  2. Specifically, near the end of the day.

    • It was getting late and I was tired.

  3. Associated with the end of a period.

    • Late Latin is less fully inflected than Classical Latin.
  4. ›+ 12 more definitions

    1. Not arriving or occurring until after an expected time.

      • The flowers were late in blooming because of the prolonged cold weather.
      • Panos was so late that he arrived at the meeting after Antonio, who had the excuse of being in hospital for most of the night.
      • The heavy snow made all the trains late.

    2. Levied as a surcharge on a payment which has not arrived by a specified deadline.

      • The power company suspended late fees during the pandemic.

    3. Not having had an expected menstrual period.

      • I'm late, honey. Could you buy a test?
      • I am very worried. I am never late.

    4. Recently deceased, dead

      Recently deceased, dead: used particularly when speaking of the dead person's actions while alive. (Generally must be preceded by a possessive or an article, commonly "the"; see usage notes. Can itself only precede the person's name, never follow it.)

      • Her late husband had left her well provided for.
      • Mary was entitled to the crown by her late father’s testament.
      • To Edward […] he was terrible, nerve-inflaming, poisonously asphyxiating. He sat rocking himself in the late Mr. Churchill's swing chair, smoking and twaddling.

    5. Existing or holding some position not long ago, but not now

      Existing or holding some position not long ago, but not now; departed, or gone out of office.

      • the late bishop of London
      • the late administration
      • By Edvvard Reynoldes, late Preacher to the Honorable Society of Lincoln’s Inne: And now Rector of the Church of Braunſton in Northamptonſhire.

    6. Recent — relative to the noun it modifies.

      • the late war
      • Lancaster bore him—such a little town, / Such a great man. It doesn't see him often / Of late years, though he keeps the old homestead / And sends the children down there with their mother[…]

    7. Of a star or class of stars, cooler than the sun.

    8. A shift (scheduled work period) that takes place late in the day or at night.

      • At about 11 pm one night in Corporation Street my watch were on van patrol and Yellow Watch were on late as usual.

    9. After a deadline has passed, past a designated time.

      • We drove as fast as we could, but we still arrived late.

    10. Formerly, especially in the context of service in a military unit.

      • Colonel Easterwood, late of the 34th Carbines, was a guest at the dinner party.
      • The Hendersons will all be there / Late of Pablo Fanque's Fair / What a scene!
      • Linda Smith, late of 13 Oxford Street.

    11. Not long ago

      Not long ago; just now, recently.

      • He ſhall doe this, or elſe I doe recant / The pardon that I late pronounced heere.
      • Tears of the widower, when he sees ⁠A late-lost form that sleep reveals, ⁠And moves his doubtful arms, and feels Her place is empty, fall like these; […]

    12. Acronym of limbic-predominant age-related TDP-43 encephalopathy, a form of dementia.

      • The clinical entity LATE (limbic-predominant age-related TDP-43 encephalopathy) has recently emerged.
      • The framework of LATE would account for the pathogenetic impact of limbic TDP-43 proteinopathy as a driver of amnestic dementia, either together with comorbid typical AD changes or as a distinct feature.

The neighborhood

Vish — recursive loop

No curated loop yet for late. Loops are being traced one word at a time while the ingestion pipeline matures.

sense glosses and etymology drawn from English Wiktionary · source · CC-BY-SA