I. ˈlāt, usu -ād.+V adjective
( lat·er ˈlād.ə(r), -ātə- ; lat·est -ād.ə̇st, -ātə̇-)
Etymology: Middle English, late, slow, from Old English læt; akin to Old Frisian let late, Old Saxon lat lazy, Old High German laz slow, Old Norse latr slow, lazy, Gothic lats lazy, Old English lǣtan to let, allow, leave, cause — more at let
1. now dialect
a. : slow , sluggish
b. : tedious
2.
a.
(1) : coming or doing after the due, usual, or proper time : not early
the train is late
spring is very late this year
there were only a few late customers left — Vicki Baum
late fruits
sells a million copies to a large and late audience — J.D.Hart
(2) : of, relating to, or given or imposed because of tardiness
kept on receiving late marks
had to pay a late penalty
b.
(1) : of or relating to an advanced stage in point of time or development : advanced
the decline of trade under the late empire — D.W.McConnell
few men have remained good fellows till so late an age — Robert Lynd
specifically : far advanced toward the close of the day or night
keeps very late hours
(2) : coming or occurring at an advanced stage (as of life or a period)
rich old man captured … in a late marriage — William Howell
the comparatively late peopling of the Plains — Edward Sapir
c. : continuing or doing until an advanced hour
looking in on one of the late nightclubs — Erle Stanley Gardner
a late sleeper
3.
a. : living not long ago but not now : comparatively recently deceased
b. : being something or holding some position or relationship recently but not now
memorial week will be observed at his late home — Springfield (Massachusetts) Daily News
formal peace between the late belligerents — Foreign Policy Bulletin
do not love any of their late enemies — Dublin Sunday Independent
c. : made, appearing, or happening just previous to the present time : recent
many late students of society — Roger Burlingame
missions which have been performed in late combat — H.H.Arnold & I.C.Eaker
Synonyms: see last , tardy
II. adverb
( -er/-est )
Etymology: Middle English, from Old English, from læt, adjective
1.
a. : after the usual or proper time or the time appointed : after delay
came late to work
b. : at or to a distant or advanced point in time : far into the night, day, week, or other period
don't sit up late
the decision was reached late in 1951
I'll see you later on
2. : not long ago : lately , recently
a socialite, late of London and now of New York
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- of late