Late

Pronunciation

• IPA: /leɪt/
• Rhymes: -eɪt

Origin

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"), West Frisian let ("late"), Dutch laat ("late"), Low German laat ("late"), German lass ("dull, limp"), Swedish lat ("idle, lazy"), Icelandic latur ("lazy"), Latin lassus ("weary, faint").

Full definition of late

Adjective

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, The Mirror and the Lamp Chapter 12, To Edward … he was terrible, nerve-inflaming, poisonously asphyxiating. He sat rocking himself in the late Mr. Churchill's swing chair, smoking and twaddling.
7. Her late husband had left her well provided for.
   The piece was composed by the late Igor Stravinsky.
8. 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
9. 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.

Noun

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 BlueAt about 11 pm one night in Corporation Street my watch were on van patrol and Yellow Watch were on lates as usual.

Adverb

1. After a deadline has passed, past a designated time.We drove as fast as we could, but we still arrived late.

Derived terms

Anagrams

• et al.
• ETLA
• leat
• tael
• tale
• teal
• tela