tardy

Etymology

From an earlier tardive, from Old French tardif, from Vulgar Latin *tardivus, from Latin tardus (“slow”, “sluggish”).

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈtɑːdi/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈtɑɹdi/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɑː(ɹ)di

Adjective

tardy (comparative tardier, superlative tardiest)

1. Late; overdue or delayed.

   He yawned, then raised a tardy hand over his mouth.

2. Ineffectual; slow-witted, slow to act, or dullard.

   His tardy performance bordered on incompetence.

3. Moving with a slow pace or motion; not swift.
   • Sandys

     Check the tardy flight of time.

   • Prior

     tardy to vengeance, and with mercy brave

4. (obsolete) Unwary; unready.

   (Can we find and add a quotation of Hudibras to this entry?)

5. (obsolete) Criminal; guilty.

   (Can we find and add a quotation of Collier to this entry?)

Noun

tardy (plural tardies)

1. (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.

2. (US) An instance of a student being marked as tardy by a teacher in his or her attendance sheet.

Verb

tardy (third-person singular simple present tardies, present participle tardying, simple past and past participle tardied)

1. (obsolete, transitive) To make tardy.

   (Can we find and add a quotation of Shakespeare to this entry?)

Anagrams

• Darty