late
Part of speech: adj
noun
adv
Morphological type: derivation
Topics: astronomy
natural-sciences
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”).
Inflected forms:
form: later
pos: adj
tags: comparative
form: latest
pos: adj
tags: superlative
form: lates
pos: noun
tags: plural
form: later
pos: adv
tags: comparative
form: latest
pos: adv
tags: superlative
Senses:
gloss: Near the end of a period of time.
pos: adj
examples: 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.
gloss: Specifically, near the end of the day.
pos: adj
examples: It was getting late and I was tired.
gloss: Associated with the end of a period.
pos: adj
tags: not-comparable
usually
examples: Late Latin is less fully inflected than Classical Latin.
gloss: Not arriving or occurring until after an expected time.
pos: adj
examples: 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.
gloss: Levied as a surcharge on a payment which has not arrived by a specified deadline.
pos: adj
examples: The power company suspended late fees during the pandemic.
gloss: Not having had an expected menstrual period.
pos: adj
examples: I'm late, honey. Could you buy a test?
I am very worried. I am never late.
gloss: 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.)
pos: adj
tags: euphemistic
not-comparable
examples: 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.
This parrot is no more! It has ceased to be! It's expired and gone to meet its maker! This is a late parrot! It's a stiff! Bereft of life, it rests in peace! If you hadn't nailed it to the perch it would be pushing up the daisies!
Mark’s late wife, Gemma, was an educator as well. Russian literature.
“He is not my ‘late husband’. He is my husband,” she said, before discussing how the couple had managed to retain their independent identities while together.
gloss: Existing or holding some position not long ago, but not now; departed, or gone out of office.
pos: adj
tags: dated
examples: 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.
It was a lonely place enough, even in all its rustic beauty, for so bright a creature as the late Miss Lucy Graham, but the generous baronet had transformed the interior of the gray old mansion into a little palace for his young wife, and Lady Audley seemed as happy as a child surrounded by new and costly toys.
gloss: Recent — relative to the noun it modifies.
pos: adj
examples: the late war
OLd Iohn of Gaunt, time-honoured Lancaſter,
Haſt thou according to thy oath and band
Brought hither Henry Herford thy bold ſon:
Heere to make good yͤ boiſtrous late appeale,
Which then our leyſure would not let vs heare,
Againſt the Duke of Norfolke, Thomas Mowbray?
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[…]
gloss: Of a star or class of stars, cooler than the sun.
pos: adj
gloss: A shift (scheduled work period) that takes place late in the day or at night.
pos: noun
tags: informal
examples: At about 11 pm one night in Corporation Street my watch were on van patrol and Yellow Watch were on late as usual.
gloss: After a deadline has passed, past a designated time.
pos: adv
examples: We drove as fast as we could, but we still arrived late.
gloss: Formerly, especially in the context of service in a military unit.
pos: adv
examples: 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.
gloss: Not long ago; just now, recently.
pos: adv
examples: 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; […]
Synonyms: late
tardy
Antonyms: early
mid
middle
Related words: overdue
Translations:
lang: Armenian
word: ուշ
roman: uš
lang: Asturian
word: sero
lang: Bulgarian
word: късен
roman: kǎsen
lang: Chinese Cantonese
word: 晏
roman: ngaan³
lang: Czech
word: pozdní
lang: Dutch
word: laat
lang: Dutch
word: late
lang: Esperanto
word: vespera
lang: Faroese
word: síðla
lang: Faroese
word: seint
lang: Finnish
word: myöhä
lang: Finnish
word: myöhäinen
lang: French
word: tard
lang: German
word: spät
lang: Gothic
word: 𐍃𐌴𐌹𐌸𐌿𐍃
roman: seiþus
lang: Greek
word: αργά
roman: argá
lang: Hungarian
word: késő
lang: Icelandic
word: seint
lang: Ingrian
word: mööhä
lang: Italian
word: tardo
lang: Japanese
word: 晩い
roman: osoi
lang: Latin
word: tardus
lang: Macedonian
word: доцен
roman: docen
lang: Old English
word: læt
lang: Polish
word: późny
lang: Portuguese
word: tardio
lang: Russian
word: по́здний
roman: pózdnij
lang: Scottish Gaelic
word: anmoch
lang: Slovene
word: pôzen
lang: Spanish
word: tarde
lang: Swedish
word: sen
lang: Thai
word: ดึก
roman: dʉ̀k
lang: Walloon
word: tård
lang: Yiddish
word: שפּעט
roman: shpet