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Webster 1913 Edition

Late

Late

(lāt)
,
Adj.
[
Com
par.
Later
(lāt′ẽr)
, or
latter
(lăt′tẽr)
;
sup
erl.
Latest
(lāt′ĕst)
or
Last
(lȧst)
.]
[OE.
lat
slow, slack, AS.
læt
; akin to OS.
lat
, D.
laat
late, G.
lass
weary, lazy, slack, Icel.
latr
, Sw.
lat
, Dan.
lad
, Goth.
lats
, and to E.
let
,
Verb.
See
Let
to permit, and cf.
Alas
,
Lassitude
.]
1.
Coming after the time when due, or after the usual or proper time; not early; slow; tardy; long delayed;
as, a
late
spring
.
2.
Far advanced toward the end or close;
as, a
late
hour of the day; a
late
period of life.
3.
Existing or holding some position not long ago, but not now; recently deceased, departed, or gone out of office;
as, the
late
bishop of London; the
late
administration.
4.
Not long past; happening not long ago; recent;
as, the
late
rains; we have received
late
intelligence.
5.
Continuing or doing until an advanced hour of the night;
as,
late
revels; a
late
watcher.

Late

,
adv.
[AS.
late
. See
Late
,
Adj.
]
1.
After the usual or proper time, or the time appointed; after delay;
as, he arrived
late
; – opposed to
early
.
2.
Not long ago; lately.
3.
Far in the night, day, week, or other particular period;
as, to lie abed
late
; to sit up
late
at night.
Of late
,
in time not long past, or near the present; lately;
as, the practice is
of late
uncommon
.
–
Too late
,
after the proper or available time; when the time or opportunity is past.

Webster 1828 Edition

Late

LATE

,
Adj.
[This word is from the root of let, the sense of which is to draw out, extend or prolong, hence to be slow or late. See Let. This adjective has regular terminations of the comparative and superlative degrees, later, latest, but it has also latter, and latest is often contracted into last.]
1.
Coming after the usual time; slow; tardy; long delayed; as a late spring; a late summer. The crops or harvest will be late.
2.
Far advanced towards the end or close; as a late hour of the day. He began at a late period of his life.
3.
Last, or recently in any place, office or character; as the late ministry; the late administration.
4.
Existing not long ago, but now decayed or departed; as the late bishop of London.
5.
Not long past; happening not long ago; recent; as the late rains. We have received late intelligence.

LATE

, adv.
1.
After the usual time, or the time appointed; after delay; as, he arrived late.
2.
After the proper or usual season. This year the fruits ripen late.
3.
Not long ago; lately.
And round them throng with leaps and bounds the late imprison'd young.
4.
Far in the night, day, week, or other particular period; as, to lie a-bed late; to sit up late at night.
Of late, lately, in time not long past, or near the present. The practice is of late uncommon.
Too late, after the proper time; not in due time. We arrived too late to see the procession.

Definition 2024

late

late

See also: latè, Latè, and latë

English

Adjective

late ‎(comparative later, superlative latest)

  1. Near the end of a period of time.
    It was late in the evening when we finally arrived.‎
  2. Specifically, near the end of the day.
    It was getting late and I was tired.‎
  3. (usually not used comparatively) Associated with the end of a period.
    Late Latin is less fully inflected than classical Latin.‎
  4. Not arriving until after an expected time.
    Even though we drove as fast as we could, we were still late.‎
    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.‎
  5. Not having had an expected menstrual period.
    I'm late, honey. Could you buy a test?‎
  6. (not comparable, euphemistic) Deceased, dead: used particularly when speaking of the dead person's actions while alive. (Often used with "the"; see usage notes.)
    • 1918, W. B. Maxwell, chapter 12, in The Mirror and the Lamp:
      To Edward […] he was terrible, nerve-inflaming, poisonously asphyxiating. He sat rocking himself in the late Mr. Churchill's swing chair, smoking and twaddling.
    Her late husband had left her well provided for.‎
    The piece was composed by the late Igor Stravinsky.‎
  7. 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
  8. Recent — relative to the noun it modifies.
    • 1914, Robert Frost, North of Boston, "A Hundred Collars":
      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 […]

Usage notes

  • (deceased): Late in this sense is unusual among English adjectives in that it qualifies named individuals (in phrases like the late Mary) without creating a contrast with another Mary who is not late. Contrast hungry: a phrase like the hungry Mary is usually only used if another Mary is under discussion who is not hungry.

Translations

Noun

late ‎(plural lates)

  1. (informal) A shift (scheduled work period) that takes place late in the day or at night.
    • 2007, Paul W Browning, The Good Guys Wear Blue
      At about 11 pm one night in Corporation Street my watch were on van patrol and Yellow Watch were on late as usual.

Adverb

late ‎(comparative later, superlative latest)

  1. After a deadline has passed, past a designated time.
    We drove as fast as we could, but we still arrived late.
  2. 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!
            — "Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite!", The Beatles

Derived terms

Translations

References

  • 2009 April 3, Peter T. Daniels, "Re: Has 'late' split up into a pair of homonyms?", message-ID <bdb13686-a6e4-43cd-8445-efe353365394@l13g2000vba.googlegroups.com>, alt.usage.english and sci.lang, Usenet.

Statistics

Most common English words before 1923: blood · copyright · 4 · #528: late · bed · living · view

Anagrams

Dutch

Pronunciation

Adjective

late

  1. Inflected form of laat

Verb

late

  1. (archaic) singular present subjunctive of laten

Italian

Adjective

late f

  1. feminine plural of lato

Karelian

Noun

late ‎(genitive lattien, partitive latettu)

  1. floor

Latin

Adverb

lātē ‎(comparable lātius, superlative lātissimē)

  1. broadly, widely
  2. extensively
  3. far and wide, everywhere
  4. lavishly, to excess

Related terms

References

  • late in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  • late in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
  • Meissner, Carl; Auden, Henry William (1894) Latin Phrase-Book, London: Macmillan and Co.
    • the twigs are shooting out, spreading: rami late diffunduntur
    • to have a wide extent: late patere (also metaphorically vid. sect. VIII. 8)

Middle English

Etymology

From Old Norse lát ‎(“conduct, demeanour, voice, sound”, literally “let, letting, loss”) (from Proto-Germanic *lētiją ‎(“behaviour”), from Proto-Indo-European *lēid-, *lēy- ‎(“to leave, let”). Cognate with Middle Low German lāt ‎(“outward appearance, gesture, manner”), Old English lǣtan ‎(“to let”). More at let.

Noun

late

  1. Manner; behaviour; outward appearance or aspect.
  2. A sound; voice.
    • c 1275-1499, King Alexander
      Than have we liking to lithe the lates of the foules.

Old English

Etymology

Adverbial form of læt

Adverb

late

  1. late

Portuguese

Pronunciation

  • (Brazil) IPA(key): /ˈla.t͡ʃi/

Verb

late

  1. third-person singular (ele and ela, also used with você and others) present indicative of latir
  2. second-person singular (tu, sometimes used with você) affirmative imperative of latir

Spanish

Verb

late

  1. Informal second-person singular (tú) affirmative imperative form of latir.
  2. Formal second-person singular (usted) present indicative form of latir.
  3. Third-person singular (él, ella, also used with usted?) present indicative form of latir.

Swedish

Adjective

late

  1. absolute definite natural masculine form of lat.

Etymology

From Middle English late, lat, from Old English læt ‎(“slow; slack, lax, negligent; late”), from Proto-Germanic *lataz ‎(“slow, lazy”), from Proto-Indo-European *lē(y)d- ‎(“to weaken, tire, relax, subside”). Cognate with Scots lat ‎(“late”), Saterland Frisian leet ‎(“late”), West Frisian let ‎(“late”), Dutch laat ‎(“late”), Low German laat ‎(“late”), German lass ‎(“dull, limp”), German lässig ‎(“casual, easy-going”), Swedish lat ‎(“idle, lazy”), Icelandic latur ‎(“lazy”), Latin lassus ‎(“weary, faint”). See also last.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /leɪt/
  • Rhymes: -eɪt

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