tardy (adj.)
late 15c., "slow, moving with a slow pace or motion," from Old French tardif "slow, late" (12c.), also the name of the snail character in the Roman de Renart, from Vulgar Latin *tardivus, from Latin tardus "slow, sluggish; late; dull, stupid," a word of unknown origin; de Vaan gives it "no etymology."
The meaning "late, not acting or happening until after the proper or expected time" in English is from 1660s.
This word, not much used in English prose, is constantly employed in the U.S. and in Canada with reference to lateness in school-attendance. [Thornton, "American Glossary," 1912]
Related: Tardily; tardiness. Earlier forms of the word in English were tardif, tardyve (late 15c.). Modern tardive "characterized by laxness; tending to be late," 1905, is said to be a new borrowing from French. Seventeenth-century English lexicons (Blount. Coles, Cockeram) have tardiloquent "speaking slowly, drawling."
Trends of tardy
updated on January 01, 2024
