late

Pronunciation

• IPA: /leɪt/^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English late (also lat), inherited from Old English læt (“slow, sluggish; late”),^[2][3][4] from Proto-Germanic *lataz (“slow, sluggish”),^[5][2] from Proto-Indo-European *lē- (“to let go, slacken”).^[2][4] It is related to let,^[3][5][6] to last and latter,^[7][5] and to Latin lassus (“weary”).^[5][7] Its relatives include Dutch laat, German lass (“idle, weary”) and Old Norse latr (“sluggish, lazy”).^[3][2]

Earliest recorded meaning

Late, slow, sluggish: Old English læt, about 725, in Beowulf.^[3] Etymonline gives “slow, slack, negligent” as the original sense.^[2]

Semantic evolution

The adverb, Old English late, first meant “slowly”, a sense lost in late Middle English.^[2][8] Middle English let meant “slow, sluggish” probably before 1200, and late “tardy” about 1225.^[3] “In the latter part of a period” is from the mid-13th century, and “recent”, as in of late, from about 1400.^[2] From this came “recently dead”, as in the late Mrs Smith, in the early 15th century.^[2][5] Lately is from about 1340.^[3] The old comparative was latter, now limited to set uses, while later and latest are 16th-century formations.^[5] Better late than never is from the late 15th century.^[2] Latecomer is from 1869.^[3]

Timeline

• c. 725 – Old English læt (Beowulf).^[3]
• c. 1225 – tardy.^[3]
• mid-13th century – in the latter part of a period.^[2]
• c. 1340 – lately.^[3]
• c. 1400 – recent.^[2]
• early 15th century – recently dead.^[2]
• late 15th century – better late than never.^[2]
• 16th century – later, latest.^[5]
• 1869 – latecomer.^[3]

Modern meaning

Adjective

1. Coming or happening after the usual or expected time; tardy.
2. Happening at an advanced hour, especially well into the night.
3. Belonging to the end or later part of a period: the late 19th century.
4. Recent: of late.
5. Recently dead: the late Mrs Smith.
6. Former: the late president.

Adverb

1. After the expected or proper time.
2. At or until an advanced hour or stage.
3. Recently: as late as last week.

Word family

• lateness
• late-blooming
• late-night
• lated
• latewood
• latish
• overlate

Related words

• let
• last
• latter
• lately
• lassitude

Usage notes

The American Heritage Dictionary notes that our late treasurer may properly mean a living former treasurer, but recommends former to avoid misunderstanding.^[9]

References

1. ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
4. ^ a b The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (2000), 4th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
5. ^ a b c d e f g Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
6. ^ Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
7. ^ a b Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
8. ^ Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
9. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin