▪ I. slow, n.
(sləʊ)
Also 1 slawa, 4–5 slowe.
[f. slow a. or v.
In the Rom. Rose 4751 it is very doubtful whether a slowe can be taken to mean ‘a moth’; it is more probable that it is due to some misunderstanding or misreading. In Leg. Holy Rood (1871) 214 the sense of with-oute slow is not clear, perh. ‘without delay’.]
1. A slow or slow-going person; a sluggard.
| c 897 K. ælfred tr. Gregory's Past. C. xxviii. 190 Ðu slawa, ga ðe to æmethylle. 1382 Wyclif Prov. xx. 4 For cold the slowe wolde not eren. Ibid. xxiv. 33 Hou longe, slowe, thou slepist? c 1450 in MS. Douce 52 lf. 21 Lothe to bedde and lothe fro bedde, men schall know þe slow. 1861 Pycroft Agony Point (1862) 191 Only one year before, he would have numbered with ‘the old fogies’ and the slows. |
2. a. A slow-paced horse.
| 1826 Sporting Mag. XVIII. 213 Our ‘slows’ are certainly quicker than most of that genus whom I have observed in other countries. 1832 Sir G. C. Lewis Lett. 17 Lest Gilbert should think that the Hereford horses have a monopoly of the slows. |
b. A slow train.
| 1956 Railway Mag. Mar. 163/2 There is a daily slow, stopping at all stations between Damascus and Deraa. 1976 P. Lovesey Swing, swing Together xiii. 55 We can take a train... We can catch a slow to Oxford. |
c. A slow tune in popular music.
| 1956 B. Burns in S. Traill Play that Music ii. 34 His style is hot and aggressive—pushing the beat in fast numbers and rhapsodic in slows. 1977 J. Wainwright Do Nothin' till you hear from Me xi. 184 In that set of standard slows, this ten-piece [band] of mine was like Ellington's piano. |
3. Cricket.
a. A slowly-bowled ball.
b. A slow bowler.
| 1854 F. Lillywhite Guide to Cricketers 84 [He] is a good bat, and can bowl ‘slows’ well. 1862 Sporting Life 14 June, Some of the slows seemed to puzzle him sorely. 1881 Standard 14 June 3/8 This was due to the condition of the wicket, on which the fast bowling bumped and the slows popped about a great deal. 1895 Strand Mag. Aug. 141, I have met some capital bowlers in the past. I should class them in two sections, the slows..and the fasts. |
4. a. pl. (See
quot.)
U.S.| 1855 Dunglison Med. Lex. (ed. 12) 564/1 Milk Sickness, Sick stomach, Swamp sickness, Tires, Slows... A disease occasionally observed in..Alabama, Indiana, and Kentucky, which affects both man and cattle, but chiefly the latter. Ibid. 792/2 Slows, Milk-sickness. |
b. the slows (
colloq.), an imaginary disease or ailment accounting for slowness.
| 1843 Ainsworth's Mag. IV. 124 If somewhat troubled with ‘the slows’, not a hound but was as true as the sun. 1843 J. C. Shairp Let. 25 Sept. in W. A. Knight Principal Shairp (1888) vi. 71 This..makes good my summer's work. ‘The Slows’ are my bane, but I must be courageous and face what remains... If I could but secure a second, I should be happy. 1927 Daily Express 13 Dec. 16/2 Rimell's mare, How Nice, had a fit of the slows, for she was always in the next division from start to finish. 1970 D. Francis Rat Race viii. 102 They might as well send him [sc. a racehorse] to the knackers. Got the slows right and proper, that one has. |
5. [
f. the
vb.]
slow-up, an act or instance of slowing a train, etc. See also
slow-down.
| 1891 Cent. Dict., Slow-up, the act of slackening speed. 1899 Westm. Gaz. 25 Aug. 4/1 Including two slow-ups, an average speed of 50.9 sec. per mile was maintained. |
▪ II. slow obs. variant of
slough n.1▪ III. slow, a. (
sləʊ)
Forms: α. (Chiefly
north. and
Sc.) 1, 3–
slaw, 1, 4–6
slawe, 3, 6
slau, 9
sla. β. 2–
slow (5
sclow), 4–6
slowe, 3–4, 7
slou; 6
slo,
sloo. γ. 3
slovȝ, 3–4
slouȝ, 4
slouȝe, 5
slowȝ,
slough(e; 4
slouh, 4–5
slowh, 5
sclowh; 4
sloȝ,
sloghe.
[Common Teutonic: OE. sláw (:—OTeut. slaiwaz), = MDu. and Du. sleeuw, slee, OS. sleu (MLG. and LG. slê), OHG. slêo (MHG. slê, slêw-, G. dial schleh, schlehe), ON. slǽr, sljár, sljór (Norw. sljo, slj{obar}, etc.; Sw. slö, Da. sl{obar}v), blunt, dull, etc. The stem is perh. the same as in L. lævus, Gr. λαιός left.] I. 1. Not quick or clever in apprehending or understanding a thing; obtuse, dull:
a. Of persons. Also with
in or
of.
| c 888 K. ælfred Boeth. xxxvii. §4 Þone sænan þe bið swa slaw [L. stupidus] þu scealt hatan assa ma þonne man. 1387 Trevisa Higden (Rolls) V. 255 (MS. γ), Constatyn..was slouȝ and dol of wyt. c 1475 Promp. Parv. (K.), Slaw, dulle of wyt, ebes. 1611 Cotgr., Pucelle nicette, a slow, dull, simple, foolish, or nice girle. 1825 Scott Betrothed xiii, My nephew..hath a fancy like a minstrel. Myself am but slow in imagining such devices. 1858 Dickens Lett. (1880) II. 73, I thought them a dull and slow audience. 1875 Jowett Plato (ed. 2) III. 228, I am slow of understanding. |
b. Of the mind, etc.
| a 1100 Ags. Hymns (Surtees) 37 Mod..ðæt slawe, Mens..torpida. 1398 Trevisa Barth. De P.R. v. xii. (Bodl. MS.), It is a token of dulnes and of slowe witte and vndirstonding. 1422 tr. Secreta Secret., Priv. Priv. 231 Tho that..haue moisti flesh and lytill hette, bene..of slow vndyrstondynge. 1651 Hobbes Leviath. i. viii. 32 A slow Imagination maketh that Defect..which is commonly called Dulnesse. 1727 Boyer Dict. Royal ii, A slow (heavy or dull) Wit, un Esprit lent ou pesant. 1849 Macaulay Hist. Eng. vi. II. 11 Such reasoning had no effect on the slow understanding and immperious temper of James. |
2. a. Naturally disinclined to be active or to exert oneself; constitutionally inert or sluggish; lacking in promptness or energy.
| α c 897 [see sense 15]. c 1000 Ags. Gosp. Matt. xxv. 26 Þu yfela ðeow & slawa. a 1023 Wulfstan Hom. (1883) 72 Se ðe wære full slaw, weorðe se unslaw. c 1200 Trin. Coll. Hom. 183 To gode þu ware slau and let, and to euele spac and hwat. c 1425 Castle Persev. 1033 in Macro Plays, He is provd, wrathful, & Envyous; Glotons, slaw, & lecherous. 1483 Cath. Angl. 343/1 To be Slawe,..pigrare, pigrescere. 1533 Bellenden Livy i. xii. (S.T.S.) I. 74 Þai held þe king of Romanis for ane slaw and effemynate prince. c 1600 Montgomerie Cherrie & Slae 943 Nothing he saw In age, but anger, slack and slaw. |
| β c 1200 Trin. Coll. Hom. 7 Longe we habben lein on ure fule synnes..alse slou man doð on swete slape. c 1250 Ten Abuses 5 in O.E. Misc. 184 Proest þat is wilde, Bischop slou. a 1310 in Wright Lyric P. xxxix. 110 He is the sloweste mon that ever wes y-boren. 1388 Wyclif Prov. xx. 4 A slow man nolde ere for coold; therfor he schal begge in somer. c 1440 Gesta Rom. lvi. 239 (Harl. MS.), He that is the sloweste of yow, or most slewthe is in, shall have my kyngdom aftir my discese. 1538 Starkey England i. iii. 79 Lyke as in a dropcy the body ys vnweldy, vnlusty, and slo, no thyng quyke to moue. 1588 Shakes. L.L.L. iii. i. 60 Is not Lead a mettall heauie, dull, and slow? 1824 [see slowish a.]. 1831 Society I. 321 A clever hint to show slow personages what is expected from them. |
| γ a 1225 Ancr. R. 258 Hwo mei beon, uor scheome, slummi & sluggi & slouh, þet bihalt hwu swuðe bisi ure Louerd was on eorðe? c 1290 S. Eng. Leg. I. 319 Ho-so hath of þe watere mest, he schal beo..gret slepare and slovȝ þar-to. c 1386 Chaucer Melib. ¶51 (Corpus MS.), And he þat is ydel & slowh, can neuer fynde couenable tyme for to doon his profyte. |
b. Characterized by, of the nature of, sloth or sluggishness.
| c 1384 Chaucer H. Fame iii. 1778 Ye maisty Swyne, ye ydel wrechhes, Ful of roten, slowe techches. 1390 Gower Conf. II. 92 Ther ben othre vices slowe, Whiche unto love don gret lette. a 1586 Sidney Astr. & Stella Sonn. xcvi, Slow heauinesse in both holds one degree. |
c. Having a dull edge; blunt. Now
dial. This sense is prominent in the cognate languages.
| c 1440 Promp. Parv. 458/1 Slaw, or dul of egge, ebes, obtusus. a 1904 in Eng. Dial. Dict. s.v., T' knife is slow. |
d. Med. Torpid; sluggish.
| 1896 Daily News 26 May 6/4 In the case of one's having a slow liver..the jerking might, perhaps, be of some service. 1899 Allbutt's Syst. Med. VII. 259 Producing a high blood-pressure..and a slow heart. |
3. a. Not quick, ready, prompt, or willing
to do something.
| c 1200 Ormin 9885 Stunnt & stidiȝ, dill & slaw To sekenn sawless seollþe. 1297 R. Glouc. (Rolls) 9327 He is..Slou to fiȝte & quic to fle, & þat nis no manhede. c 1340 Hampole Pr. Consc. 188 To listen and lere þai er ful slaw. 1390 Gower Conf. III. 110 He schal be..slouh and lustles to travaile In thing which elles myhte availe. 1565 Cooper Thesaurus s.v. Piger, Slow to write: loth to take the paynes to write. 1592 Shakes. Rom. & Jul. iv. i. 3, I am nothing slow to slack his hast. 1697 Dryden Virg. Past. i. 37 Freedom..came at length, tho' slow to come. 1781 Cowper To Protestant Lady 20 How slow to learn the dictates of his love. 1815 Scott Guy M. xxi, As some have not been slow to tell their lords. 1885 Manch. Exam. 15 May 5/3 They will not be slow to return him like for like. |
b. With
in.
| 1382 Wyclif Rom. xii. 11 Not slow in bisynesse, feruent in spirit. 1432–50 tr. Higden (Rolls) III. 151 When the peple was slawe þer in [etc.]. 1526 Pilgr. Perf. (W. de W. 1531) 158 Not slowe in commynge therto, nor sluggysshe therin. 1594 Kyd Cornelia i. 166 The wrath of heauen..is slow In punishing the euils we haue done. 1736 Ainsworth Lat. Dict. i. s.v., He is naturally slow in speech, and very dull. 1831 Scott Ct. Rob. iv, These men, quick in malice, though slow in perilous service. 1866 G. Macdonald Ann. Q. Neighb. xxx. (1878) 517 The people were very slow in dispersing. |
c. With
of.
| 1382 Wyclif Luke xxiv. 25 A! foolis, and slowe of herte for to bileue. 1555 Harpesfeld in Bonner Hom. 30 b, Fooles and sloo of belefe. 1590 Shakes. Mids. N. i. ii. 69 Pray you.., giue it me, for I am slow of studie. 1611 Bible Exod. iv. 10, I am slow of speach, and of a slow tongue. 1730 Bailey (fol.), Tardiloquious, slow of Speech. |
4. Tardy or dilatory in action; displaying a lack of promptitude or energy under particular circumstances; spending a comparatively long time in the performance of some act; doing something in a slow or deliberate manner.
| c 1340 Hampole Pr. Consc. 1464 Now er we smert, now er we slawe. 1387 Trevisa Higden (Rolls) III. 149 But þe peple was slowȝ, and þerfore Daniel prayed to God þat [etc.]. ? a 1400 Arthur 365 He was not sclowh, But to þe hulle hym drowh. 1482 Cely Papers (Camden) 128 Hyt wyllbe whel done for goude detturs ar sclow payars. 1533 Bellenden Livy iv. xii. (S.T.S.) II. 90 Ȝe ar full of mynassing in tyme of pece, and richt slaw in tyme of batall. 1596 Dalrymple tr. Leslie's Hist. Scot. II. 451 Quhen he tariet lang in Paris, and in cuming furth was ouer slawe. 1648 Milton Ps. lxxxv. 55 Then will he come, and not be slow; His footsteps cannot err. 1697 Dryden Virg. Georg. iii. 736 The Victim Ox..Sunk of himself,..Preventing the slow Sacrificer's Hand. a 1722 Sir J. Lauder Decis. (1759) I. 14 Ordinarily Mr. Gideon was in the rear of all their [witches'] dances, and beat up those that were slow. 1784 Cowper Task iii. 505 Experience, slow preceptress, teaching oft The way to glory by miscarriage foul. 1822 Lamb Elia ii. Thoughts on Bks. & Reading, Seldom-readers are slow readers. 1833 J. Nyren Yng. Cricketer's Man. (1902) 122 He was a slow bowler, and a pretty good one. |
b. slow learner Educ. (see
quot. 1981);
slow starter.
| 1938 High Points Apr. 33/1 The problem of the slow learner continues to grow involved as increased numbers flow into high school. 1945 ‘O. Malet’ My Bird Sings ii. ii. 121 Your sister does not benefit so swiftly by her education... She is a slow learner. 1946 P. Bottome Lifeline xvi. 144 She wanted everything... I'm exactly the opposite in love. I'm a slow starter. I want little. 1963 Times 25 May 9/4 Here is comfort for the slow-starter who begins at the bottom. 1975 Times 26 Apr. 7/4, I was 24 and I'd run away from home... I was kind of a slow starter. 1977 Wandsworth Borough News 7 Oct. 28/2 (Advt.), Tutorials: ‘A’ and ‘O’ level, most subjects; public examinations; slow learners welcome. 1981 D. Rowntree Dict. Education 286 Slow learner. A term often used rather loosely of any child whose attainments have always fallen noticeably behind those of other children of the same age, without any implication as to what might be thought to be the cause..or whether the child might be enabled to speed up or catch up. Sometimes, however, the term is used to indicate children who are not only expected to remain slow learners but also to be unable ever to learn as much as others. Some people would even restrict the term to pupils who are educationally subnormal. |
5. a. Not readily stirred or moved
to something (
esp. anger, revenge, etc.); not too ready, willing, or susceptible. Also with
infin.| 1382 Wyclif James i. 19 Slowe to wraththe. 1422 tr. Secreta Secret., Priv. Priv. i. xxix. 189 Be ryghtfull to al men, Slow to be wroth, Redy to mercy. 1567 Gude & Godlie Ball. 115 Mercyfull is he, Slaw to reuenge, and to forgiue reddie. 1593 Nashe Christ's T. (1613) 166 There is a certaine kind of good sloth, as to be slowe to anger, slowe to iudgement, slowe to reuenge. c 1600 Shakes. Sonn. xciv, Vnmooued, could, and to temptation slow. 1648 Milton Ps. lxxxvi. 55 Thou Lord art..Slow to be angry. 1784 Cowper Task vi. 547 Heav'n, tho' slow to wrath, Is never with impunity defied. 1866 G. Macdonald Ann. Q. Neighb. xii. (1878) 234 A clergyman of all men should be slow to take offence. |
b. Without
const., or with
in.
| 1639 S. Du Verger tr. Camus' Admir. Events 55 So is it with slow, heavy, and timorous humors, they must have time to increase their choller. 1818 Scott Br. Lamm. xxix, We know that maiden's ears must be slow in receiving a gentleman's language. |
c. Inattentive
to something.
| 1667 Milton P.L. iii. 193 To prayer, repentance, and obedience due,..Mine eare shall not be slow. 1746 Francis tr. Horace, Art Poet. 236 Rough to Reproof, and slow to future Cares. |
6. a. Of things, actions, etc.: Marked or characterized by slowness or tardiness. Of music: solemn, tragic.
slow handclap: see
handclap c.
| c 1290 S. Eng. Leg. I. 319 Ho-so hath of þe eorþe mest, he is..Of slouȝ wreche and Aruȝ mouth. 1382 Wyclif Exod. iv. 10, Y am of more latsum and of more slow tonge. 1390 Gower Conf. II. 44 Al hire mod was overtorned, Which ferst sche hadde of slow manere. 1430–40 Lydg. Bochas i. xiii. (1554) 23 Slowe credence Hath in some be founde full noyous. 1535 Coverdale Exod. iv. 10 For I haue a slowe speach, & a slowe tunge. 1593 Shakes. 3 Hen. VI, iv. viii. 40, I haue not..posted off their suites with slow delayes. 1611 ― Cymb. i. i. 64 That..the search [should be] so slow That could not trace them. 1681 Dryden Abs. & Achit. 697 Few words he said, but..those..More slow than Hybla drops, and far more sweet. 1754 Gray Poesy 36 Slow melting strains their Queen's approach declare. 1781 Cowper Charity 471 With slow deliberation he unties His glitt'ring purse. 1797 Godwin Enquirer ii. xii. 462 The style..of Tom Jones..is feeble, costive, and slow. 1810 Crabbe Borough xix. 3 The like slow speech was his. 1814 Byron Corsair Ep. Ded., The stanza of Spenser is perhaps too slow and dignified for narrative. 1826 F. Reynolds Life & Times II. 144 The curtain to the new piece having risen, the heroine entered to slow music. 1884 Encycl. Brit. XVII. 96 The first movement..is succeeded generally by one in a slow tempo. 1895 World 4 Dec. 27/1, I could see the conductor of the orchestra waiting eagerly for the word ‘mother’—the cue for the slow music—and I was, oh! so thankful when it came. 1926 G. B. Shaw Translations & Tomfooleries 78 You were not found..with the limelight streaming on your white face, and the band playing slow music. |
b. Med. Of the pulse: Below the average rapidity.
| 1728 Chambers Cycl. s.v. Pulse, A slow Pulse denotes..That the Contractions of the Heart are slow. 1818–20 E. Thompson tr. Cullen's Nosologia 214 First with lassitude,..afterwards with slow pulse. 1899 Allbutt's Syst. Med. VII. 635 A slow pulse, slowness of cerebration. |
c. Of trade, business, etc.: Slack; not brisk.
| 1887 Daily News 7 Feb. 2/5 Good sound samples not plentiful,..and the trade slow all round. 1903 Times 1 Dec. 35 Business in flannel was slow. |
7. a. Of a fire: That burns gently or slowly; gentle. Also
transf. of heat.
| 1604 E. G[rimstone] D'Acosta's Hist. Indies ii. vii. 96 Gold and silver, which wee refine with quicke-silver, the fire being small and slow. 1662 J. Davies tr. Olearius' Voy. Amb. 64 Being rather a moderate slow heat than an excessive scorching. 1769 Mrs. Raffald Eng. Housekpr. (1778) 26 Let it stew on a slow fire. 1811 A. T. Thomson Lond. Disp. (1818) 670 Distilling the charge..by a slow and gradually increased heat. 1840 R. H. Dana Bef. Mast xxix. 98 We..made a slow fire of charcoal, birch bark, brimstone, and other matters. |
| fig. 1893 Outing XXII. 118/1 The slow-fire of restlessness, doubt and curiosity. |
b. Of an oven: of such a temperature that it cooks slowly.
| 1747 H. Glasse Art of Cookery ix. 113 Bake it in a slow oven, with crust as above. 1846 A. Soyer Gastronomic Regenerator 571 Place them in a slow oven to bake. 1917 F. Klickmann Between Larch-Woods & Weir xiii. 242 She had told Dick to put the patties into a slow oven for ten or twelve minutes before eating. 1973 Times 1 Dec. 11 Place the casserole in a slow oven. |
c. slow burn fig.: (
a) (see
burn n.3 1 d); (
b)
Theatr., delayed response or slow reaction to a joke; also
attrib.| 1975 Daily Tel. 10 Feb. 12 For some of her jokes in public Margaret Thatcher relies..on what professional comedians call the ‘slow burn’. 1975 D. Lodge Changing Places i. 22 The realization..strikes him, like a slow-burn gag in a movie-comedy. |
8. colloq. a. Slow-going; behind the times; out of fashion; not smart or up-to-date.
| 1827 Sporting Mag. XXI. 29 Long courtships are stupid things, and voted slow. 1842 C. J. Apperley Life Sportsman ii, John Hawkes and myself always ride in leathers, though people say ‘it looks slow’. 1857 Hughes Tom Brown i. iv, Slow place, sir; slow place; off the main road. |
b. Dull or tedious in character; tiresome; apt to bore one.
| 1841 Lever C. O'Malley xxix, How very slow, all this! thought I. 1848 Punch XV. 19 All books are slow,..all domestic, all quiet enjoyments are slow. 1887 Smiles Life & Labour 332 It must..be admitted that angling is a very ‘slow’ amusement to persons of active habits. |
c. Of persons: Having no briskness or animation; dull, lifeless, insipid; humdrum.
| 1841 Lever C. O'Malley xxix, Slow fellows, like them, must find any place stupid. 1849 Alb. Smith Pottleton Legacy (1854) 281 He was a good creature, but too ‘slow’. |
d. slow poke,
slowpoke (
colloq., chiefly
U.S.)
= slow-coach; also
attrib. or as adj., slow, idle.
Cf. poke n.3 3.
| 1848 Bartlett Dict. Americanisms 255 ‘What a slow poke you are!’ A woman's word. 1877 F. Ross et al. Gloss. Words used in Holderness 128/2 Slaw-pooak.., a dunce; a driveller. 1920 G. Ade Hand-Made Fables 226 He placed the Experiences of an ordinary slow-poke year into one Week. 1935 J. T. Farrell Judgment Day xvi. 367 Slackers, slow-pokes, easy-going, unambitious fellows, I neither want, nor can tolerate. 1959 Guardian 31 Aug. 2/3 ‘Slowpokes’—unnecessarily slow drivers—cause other road users to take additional risks. 1971 W. H. McNeill in A. Bullock Twentieth Century 54/1 What could a slow⁓poke airplane do against intercontinental missiles? 1981 S. Rushdie Midnight's Children i. 112 Come on, slowpoke, you don't want to be late. |
II. 9. a. Taking or requiring a comparatively long time; tardy in progress, growth, etc.; very gradual.
slow pass:
spec. in
Bridge (see
quot. 1934);
slow-scan (
Television), scanning at a much slower rate than in ordinary television, so that the resulting signal has a much smaller bandwidth and can be transmitted more cheaply;
usu. attrib.| c 1230 Hali Meid. 37 His waxunge se lat, & se slaw his þrifti. 1565 Cooper Thesaurus, Exitus segnis, slow death. 1574 W. Bourne Regiment for Sea xxii. (1577) 60 These markes be very yare..: and those markes very slowe and asketh some distance in sayling. 1604 Shakes. Ham. i. ii. 58 (Q2), Hath my Lord wroung from me my slowe leaue. 1667 Milton P.L. x. 692 These changes in the Heav'ns, though slow, produc'd Like change on Sea and Land. 1781 Gibbon Decl. & F. xix. (1787) II. 156 He had recourse to the slower but more certain operations of a regular siege. 1816 Scott Old Mort. xxxii, The bridge was long and narrow, which rendered the manœuvre slow as well as dangerous. 1859 Darwin Orig. Spec. iv. (1860) 108 Variation.. is apparently always a very slow process. 1876 J. Parker Paraclete i. x. 154 Intellectual illumination is sudden, but intellectual education is always slow. 1934 Amer. Speech IX. 11/1 A slow pass is a pass preceded by a long period of thought, and since it conveys the impression that some strength is held without paying the regular price of a bid, is regarded as unethical. 1955 Sun (Baltimore) (B ed.) 7 Dec. 3/4 The so-called slow⁓scan system paints a picture every two seconds and requires only 8,000 cycles. Ibid. 3/5 Slow scan cannot handle objects in motion. 1960 Guardian 20 Apr. 4/1 The National Broadcasting Company will show short excerpts to American audiences at breakfast-time by using the ‘slowscan’ process and transmitting film by cable to Montreal. 1970 N. Armstrong et al. First on Moon v. 110 TV was tried on Gordon Cooper's Mercury flight, using a slow-scan black and white camera. 1973 Times 2 June 10/6 It was agreed when North South protested the score that East's pass over Three Spades was a ‘slow pass’. 1975 D. G. Fink Electronics Engineers' Handbk. xi. 62 Slow⁓scan tubes are useful for remotely located cameras requiring a data link to the monitor wherein the band⁓width reduction significantly lowers the data-link cost. |
b. With various complements implied, as (slow) in growing, coming in, rising, going off, etc.
slow bell (
Naut.,
N. Amer.), a bell signalling that a ship should proceed slowly; chiefly in prepositional phrases, at a reduced speed; also
fig.;
slow puncture, a puncture from which the air escapes gradually.
| 1594 Shakes. Rich. III, ii. iv. 15, I would not grow so fast, Because sweet Flowres are slow, and Weeds make hast. 1775 De Lolme Eng. Const. Advt. p. xiii, These profits I indeed thought to be but scanty and slow. 1798 Landor Gebir iii. 251 Some Sowed the slow olive for a race unborn. 1857 Emerson Poems 67 Slow structures, stone by stone, Built in an age. 1861 Dickens Uncomm. Trav. iv, Held out at arm's length at frequent intervals and soundingly slapped, like a slow lot at a sale. 1901 Daily Colonist (Victoria, B.C.) 5 Nov. 3/2 Early in the evening she [sc. S.S. City of Seattle] had run among a number of small icebergs and she was coming down the channel under a slow bell. 1944 Amer. Speech XIX. 108 Another of the best [phrases], used especially in declining a drink or an extra job of work, is ‘Not me, thanks; I'm taking it on the slow bell.’ 1946 Seafarers' Log 19 Apr. 3/4 There will be no slow bell on the organizing drive. 1958 Wall St. Jrnl. 17 Dec. 26/2 We were at slow-bell for much of '58 because of the recession. 1958 E. Newby Short Walk in Hindu Kush xviii. 217 Our airbeds had slow punctures and the ground was hard. 1968 C. P. Bracken Roman Ring xv. 147 He had left the Fiat at a garage outside Rome to have a slow puncture repaired. 1974 A. Morice Death of Heavenly Twin xii. 124 I've got a flat tyre. It's probably a slow puncture. |
10. a. Of fevers, etc.: Not rapidly developing into a serious form; not acute.
| c 1290 S. Eng. Leg. I. 76 A slouȝ feuere him cam on, þat ne nam him nouȝt ful strongue. 1596 Dalrymple tr. Leslie's Hist. Scot. I. 5 That sair seiknes..cam nevir till ws, nochtthelesse, continual caldes, albeit slawe. 1725 N. Robinson Th. Physick 291 Of the Cure of slow Fevers, attended with Hectic Heats. 1776 Gibbon Decl. & F. xiii. (1782) I. 467 He soon contracted a slow illness. 1822–7 Good Study Med. (1829) II. 237 The first variety..has..been commonly distinguished by the name of low or slow nervous fever. 1897 Allbutt's Syst. Med. III. 82 A dull slow swelling appears in the menaced joints. |
b. Not rapid in operation or effect.
| 1611 Shakes. Cymb. i. v. 10 These most poysonous Compounds, Which are the moouers of a languishing death: But though slow, deadly. 1794 Mrs. Radcliffe Myst. Udolpho lv, A slow poison was administered. 1796 Burke Corr. (1844) IV. 401 The work will be new, and slow in its operation, but it is certain in its effect. 1867 Bloxam Chem. 418 Touch-paper or slow port-fire, which consists of paper soaked in a weak solution of saltpetre and dried. |
c. Photogr. Of a plate, etc.: That takes or receives impressions with comparative slowness; not quickly affected by light, and therefore requiring a longer exposure. Also of other photographic items: necessitating longer exposures (
e.g., in the case of a lens, because its aperture is small).
| 1889 Anthony's Photogr. Bulletin II. 161 With a slow plate it is better..to leave the trees alone. 1890 Abney Photogr. (ed. 6) 125 Plates prepared with it are slow and give thin images. 1902 Encycl. Brit. XXXI. 695/1 Owing to the small working aperture it [sc. a lens] seems slow, but it is not so for the definition and flatness of field obtained. 1915 D. Grant Manual of Photogr. 74 ‘Slow’ papers give plucky results from flat negatives. 1957 E. S. Bomback Photogr. in Colour x. 107 The use of slow contact printing paper..may result in negative or partially negative images in the print. 1973 Sci. Amer. Dec. 39/3 Telescopes such as the 100-inch reflector on Mount Wilson, which has a focal ratio of f/5, are quite ‘slow’, that is, they require long exposure times. |
d. Med. slow (virus) disease or
slow infection, any of various progressive diseases caused by a virus or virus-like organism that multiplies slowly in the host organism and having incubation periods of months or years; hence (by a false analysis)
slow virus.
| 1954 B. Sigurdsson in Brit. Vet. Jrnl. CX. 350 If the word chronic is taken to mean not only protracted, but also something which lingers on, has an irregular and unpredictable course and may end in any one of several different ways, then the expression should not be used about the diseases I have discussed here; these infections should perhaps rather be called slow infections. Ibid. 352 It seems as if an important group of slow virus infections is gradually coming to light. 1967 New England Jrnl. Med. CCLXXVI. 392/1 (heading) Slow-virus infections of the nervous system. 1971 Jrnl. Virol. VII. 301 Progressive pneumonia virus, the causative agent of slow, pulmonary disease of Montana sheep, was shown to be antigenically related to two other slow viruses of sheep, visna and maedi. 1976 R. H. Kimberlin Slow Virus Diseases of Animals & Man i. 5 One major distinguishing feature of slow diseases..was this: once clinical signs of disease have appeared the disease then follows a regular progressive course which always ends in serious illness and usually death. 1977 Sci. Amer. May 140/2 A dozen fatal diseases of the human central nervous system stand suspect of slow-virus origin. |
11. a. Of time: Passing slowly or heavily. Also
transf. of a
dial.| 1565 Cooper Thesaurus, Anni segnes, slow yeres passyng away in idlenesse. 1593 Shakes. Rich. II, i. iii. 150 The slye slow houres shall not determinate The datelesse limit of thy deere exile. 1611 Sir W. Mure Misc. Poems Wks. (S.T.S.) I. 17 The too slou day To steil away. 1792 S. Rogers Pleas. Mem. i. 102 When the slow dial gave a pause to care. 1818 Shelley Julian 489 As slow years pass, a funereal train. 1842 [see hour 2]. |
b. slow time, a rate of marching in which only 75 paces, of 30 inches each, are taken in a minute.
| 1802 in James Milit. Dict. 1837 Carlyle Fr. Rev. ii. i. xii, There is wheeling and sweeping, to slow, to quick and double-quick time. 1876 Voyle & Stevenson Milit. Dict. 390/1 The instruction given in manual and firing exercises is performed in slow time. |
12. a. Of clocks, etc.: Indicating a time in retard of the true or standard time; behind in time. Also of the sun: Behind mean time.
| 1696 W. Derham Artificial Clockmaker (1759) 158 By the Table, you see how many Minutes, and Seconds, the Dial is too fast, or too slow. 1742 R. Long Astronomy II. iii. xii. 509 In the common equation tables it is sometimes said the clock is too fast or too slow. 1855 Lardner Mus. Sci. & Art V. 135 From the 25th December to the 15th April the sun is always slow. 1886 J. Merrifield Naut. Astron. 165 The chronometer..is..fast when it shows a later time, and slow when it shows an earlier time than the true Greenwich mean time. |
b. Of local time: Less advanced than the standard to which it is referred.
| 1894 Amer. Ann. Photogr. 22 The local time of a place 3° 56 West of the [Eastern Standard] meridian..would be 15 m. 44 sec. slow. |
III. 13. a. Moving, flowing, etc., in a slow or sluggish manner; taking a long time to go a comparatively short distance; having a relatively low speed or velocity.
slow-pitch (softball) U.S., a type of softball in which each pitch must travel in an arc of a specified minimum height;
slow wheel spec., a type of potter's wheel turned at a slow speed.
| c 1400 Mandeville xv. (1839) 162 Saturne is sloughe and litille mevynge. 1423 Jas I Kingis Q. clv, The slawe ase, the druggare beste of pyne. 1565 Cooper Thes., Segnipes, slow of foote: goyng slowly. 1590 Shakes. Com. Err. i. i. 117 [They] would haue reft the Fishers of their prey, Had not their barke beene very slow of saile. 1605 ― Macb. i. iv. 17 Swiftest Wing of Recompence is slow, To ouertake thee. 1667 Milton P.L. iv. 173 Satan had journied on, pensive and slow. 1764 Goldsm. Trav. 293 The slow canal, the yellow-blossom'd vale. 1774 ― Nat. Hist. (1776) VII. 180 The viper, that is but a slow, feeble bodied animal, makes way in a heavy undulating manner. 1852 Thackeray Esmond i. vi, In those days letters were slow of travelling. 1871 Princess Alice Mem. (1884) 274 The train..is the slowest I was ever in in my life. 1946 W. B. Honey Art of Potter ii. ii. 12 A device was introduced for rotating the pot while it was being built, on a horizontal pivoted table or disc..; this ‘slow wheel’ presumably led to the invention of the fully developed potter's wheel. 1964 H. Hodges Artifacts i. 28 Many archaeologists are in the habit of distinguishing between a slow wheel, that is to say a device in which the movement of the wheel-head is either intermittent or relatively slow, and a fast wheel. 1971 Canadian Antiques Collector Apr. 16/1 Most frequently Ipswich ware is formed on a ‘slow wheel’ which is in principle a freely-revolving turntable. Both pot and wheel were revolved by hand. 1971 N.Y. Times 6 June 95/5 With the opening of the annual Long Beach Slow Pitch Softball League..policemen and addicts met for the first time in friendly competition. 1976 Billings (Montana) Gaz. 2 July 1-c/1 Softball fans will have a chance to glimpse some of the top men's slowpitch teams in the northwest during the Town & Country-Corner Pocket Men's Slowpitch Softball Tournament. |
b. slow lemur,
slow loris,
slow monkey: (see
quots.).
| 1800 Shaw Gen. Zool. I. i. 81 Slow Lemur, Lemur Tardigradus. 1833 Zool. Soc. Trans. I. 69 Future observers of these slow monkeys, as M. F. Cuvier denominates them. 1882 Encycl. Brit. XIV. 443 N[ycticebus] tardigradus, the common slow lemur or loris. |
c. Nuclear Physics. slow neutron, a neutron with little kinetic energy,
esp. as a result of being slowed down by a moderator;
freq. = thermal neutron; also
attrib.; so
slow reactor, a reactor in which fission is produced primarily by moderated neutrons; a thermal reactor.
| 1934 Chem. Abstr. XXVIII. 2263 The slow neutrons are probably emitted from Be when an excitation of a Be nucleus by a-particles occurs without capture. 1938 R. W. Lawson tr. Hevesy & Paneth's Manual of Radioactivity (ed. 2) x. 112 These slow neutrons are produced by allowing fast neutrons, such as those emitted by a radon-beryllium source, to pass through water, paraffin wax, or other substances containing hydrogen. 1945 H. D. Smyth Gen. Acct. Devel. Atomic Energy Mil. Purposes ii. 23 For a slow-neutron chain reaction using a moderator and unseparated uranium it was almost certain that tons of metal and of moderator would be required. 1949 Atomics Sept. 45/2 The so-called ‘slow neutron reactor’. These reactors take advantage of the fact that neutrons produce fission in uranium more easily as they go slower. 1958 Chambers's Techn. Dict. Add. 1014/1 Slow reactor. 1964 M. Gowing Britain & Atomic Energy 1939–1945 iv. 115 Bombs were discussed in terms of slow neutron chain reactions. 1973 Daily Tel. 12 Oct. 8/5 Fast reactors, cooled by sodium instead of carbon dioxide, as in slow reactors now used, can provide more heat more rapidly. |
14. a. Of pace, movement, etc.: Leisurely; not quick, fast, or hurried.
spec. (
i)
slow motion, (
a) motion of slower speed than normal; also
attrib.; (
b)
Cinemat., the technique of shooting a film at a faster speed than normal so that when it is projected the action will appear to be slowed down; also
transf., and
attrib.; (
ii) of a ballroom dance: with steps at walking-pace.
| 1422 tr. Secreta Secret., Priv. Priv. 235 Whoso hath the Paas large and slow, he is..wel spedynge in al his dedys. 1513 Douglas æneid xii. vii. 7 With steppis slaw furth stalkand all in feyr. 1533 Bellenden Livy i. xi. (S.T.S.) I. 64 Mecius..fled with slaw passage to þe montanis. 1613 Shakes. Hen. VIII, i. i. 132 To climbe steepe hilles Requires slow pace at first. 1667 Milton P.L. xii. 648 With wandring steps and slow. 1774 Goldsm. Nat. Hist. (1824) III. 192 The motion of this serpent is slow. 1797–1805 S. & Ht. Lee Canterb. T. I. 301 That journey itself became visibly slower and slower. 1801 J. Strutt Sports & Pastimes iii. ii. 130 At a show in the country, about forty years ago, which was contrived in such a manner, that the whole group descended and ascended with a slow motion to the sound of music. 1827 Scott Surg. Dau. xiii, He understood it was the purpose..to proceed by slow marches and frequent halts. 1833 Reg. & Instr. Cavalry i. 16 This is the slowest step at which troops are to move. 1834 Mechanics' Mag. 4 Oct. 16/2 The gear was changed from the quick to the slow motion. 1860 Tyndall Glac. i. vii. 52 Hence the slow motion of these glaciers. 1878 Abney Photogr. 305 To enable the operator to grasp the slow-motion focussing-screw. 1903 Work 4 July 341/2 Next make the ball and vertical slow-motion screw. 1924 Spectator 3 May 720/1 Its deliberation becomes a separate quality, akin to the slow motion of the cinema. 1928 ‘H.M.V.’ Catal. 76/2 Slow F[ox]-T[rot]. 1929 E. Wilson I thought of Daisy ii. 102 A slow-motion diving picture of champion woman swimmers. 1938 W. S. Churchill Let. 9 June in M. Gilbert W. S. Churchill (1976) V. xlvi. 946 In all my experience of public offices..I have never seen anything like the slow-motion picture which the work of this Committee has presented. 1943 J. B. Priestley Daylight on Saturday xi. 70 The sound of their slow⁓motion patter..just gets your goat. 1949 A. Chujoy Dance Encycl. 76/2 Baston, a form of slow waltz..in which the couples turn in circles in several directions. 1949 A. Wilson Wrong Set 56 She was almost lying in Bruce's arms as he carried her through the slow foxtrot. 1956 J. Baldwin Giovanni's Room i. ii. 57 Like those figures in slow motion one sometimes sees on the screen. 1962 F. I. Ordway et al. Basic Astronautics vii. 316 This test is accomplished by firing the model engine in a wind tunnel and observing the flow of the exhaust gases with the aid of slow motion cameras. 1962 J. Braine Life at Top ii. 54 They were taking their partners for a waltz now, a slow waltz, an old waltz from the days of Carroll Gibbons and the Orpheans. 1966 ‘M. Halliday’ Wicked as Devil ix. 79 The floor was crowded for a slow foxtrot. 1973 Listener 23 Aug. 244/1 Time on Friday moved very slowly. Everything seemed to be as if in a slow motion film. 1976 Listener 29 July 105/2 Going to the dancing class to practise the slow waltz and the tango. |
b. Characterized by slowness of motion, progress, etc. (In later
quots. after Pope.)
| 1709 Pope Ess. Crit. 357 A needless Alexandrine..That, like a wounded snake, drags its slow length along. 1788 Gibbon Decl. & F. IV. 192 The slow length of a sickly and desponding host was heavily dragged along the Flaminian way. 1856 N. Brit. Rev. XXVI. 269 Three, four, and five years did cases drag their slow length along. 1868 J. S. Mill Eng. & Irel. 36 This great undertaking must not drag its slow length through generations. |
c. Causing or tending to cause slowness of movement or speed; retarding, heavy.
| 1868 J. Lillywhite's Cricketers' Compan. 61 The wickets were in excellent order, though somewhat ‘slow’ for Gravesend. 1873 Bennett & Cavendish Billiards 77 On a slow table a No. 2 is required. 1881 Chicago Times 4 June, With..time allowance for ‘slow’ track. 1904 Field 6 Feb. 202/3 A system..lacking directness on a slow and heavy turf. |
d. Of a railway track: Utilized for traffic of low speed. Of a lane of a dual carriageway or motorway: intended for vehicles which are not overtaking; also
fig.| 1898 Daily News 1 Mar. 5/5 In passing from the slow to the main line the engine fouled the points. 1967 ‘M. Carrel’ Dark Edge of Violence ix. 80 The police car..dropped back and sulked along in the slow⁓lane. 1969 R. Petrie Despatch of Dove iii. 146 He'd put himself in a silly position, in the slow lane without the chance of a turn-off. 1972 B. Everitt Cold Front v. 38 ‘Are we conversing or making love?’.. ‘Let's go into the slow lane for a minute. What are you doing between leaving Medicom and joining the Grand Old Man?’ 1977 R. Rendell Judgement in Stone xix. 151 Joan's driving had become erratic, and her jerky zigzagging from slow lane to fast was a frightening experience. |
IV. 15. absol. as pl. Those who are slow in any sense. (
Cf. slow n. 1.)
| c 897 K. ælfred Gregory's Past C. xxxix. 280 Ða slawan sint to manianne ðæt hie ne forielden ðone timan for hiera slæwðe. a 1225 Ancr. R. 258 Aȝean slowe & slepares is swuðe openlich his earlich ariste from deað to liue. 1390 Gower Conf. II. 13, I am al beknowe That I have ben on of tho slowe. Ibid. 44 Thus sche was on of the slowe As of such hertes besinesse. 1605 Shakes. Macb. iii. i. 96 The valued file Distinguishes the swift, the slow, the subtle. 1860 Hughes Tom Brown at Oxf. xiv, The fastest of the fast and the slowest of the slow. |
V. 16. Comb. a. Parasynthetic, as
slow-blooded,
slow-gaited,
slow-hearted,
slow-minded,
slow-motioned, etc. Also
slow-heartedness,
slow-mindedness.
| 1884 W. C. Smith Kildrostan 91 It is a quakerish thing.., Tame and *slow-blooded. |
| 1608 H. Clapham Errour Left Hand A 5 To helpe the *slowe conceited. |
| 1744 Akenside Ode on Leaving Holland 23 The *slow-eyed fathers of the land. |
| 1588 Shakes. L.L.L. iii. i. 56 He is verie *slow gated. 1863 Mrs. Gaskell Sylvia's L. I. ix. 187 She..sauntered back behind the patient slow-gaited creatures. |
| 1581 Mulcaster Positions xlii. (1887) 257 If the maister be verie sharp witted..and the boy *slowheaded. |
| 1690 Norris Beatitudes (1692) 28 To convince the *slow-hearted and distrustful World. |
| a 1680 Charnock Attrib. God (1834) I. 743 The frequent rebukes of their *slow-heartedness. |
| 1705 S. Dale Pharmacologia Suppl. 332 De Blatta,..the *slow leg'd Beetle. |
| 1695 Lond. Gaz. No. 3136/4 A very strong bay Mare, 8 years old,..*slow mettled. |
| 1930 D. H. Lawrence A Propos of Lady Chatterley's Lover 9 The evocative power of the so-called obscene words..perhaps are [sic] still too strong for *slow-minded, half-evoked lower natures to-day. |
| 1935 Kipling Two Forewords 16 The seller..berated, for their *slow-mindedness, men who, but for being too much urged to buy, would have bought. |
| 1856 ‘Mark Twain’ Let. 10 June (1917) I. 33 They are either excessively *slow motioned or very lazy. 1951 N. G. Annan Leslie Stephen x. 285 Progress for him was an incalculable and slow-motioned operation. |
| 1530 Tindale Exod. iv. 10, I am *slowe mouthed and slowe tongued. 1882 Blackmore Christowell xxi, Persons..slow-mouthed at making, or taking, a joke. |
| 1682 Lond. Gaz. No. 1731/4 A thin Melancholy Man,..*slow Speeched. |
| 1592 Nashe P. Penilesse Wks. (Grosart) II. 60 Prooue it when you will, you *slowe spirited Saturnists. |
| 1820 Keats Lamia i. 365 One came near,..*Slow-stepp'd. 1530 *Slow-tongued [see slow-mouthed]. 1836 J. H. Newman Lyra Apost. (1849) 123 And slow-tongued Moses rule by eloquence of deed! |
| 1596 Shakes. Tam. Shr. ii. i. 208 Oh *slow wing'd Turtle, shal a buzard take thee? 1897 Outing XXX. 354/2, I watched the slow-winged clouds floating far above. |
| 1571 Golding Calvin on Ps. viii. 8 There is no man so dull and *slowe-witted. 1909 Expositor Aug. 174 The more slow-witted and less versatile Romans. |
b. With verbs, as
slow-clap,
slow-foot,
slow-handclap (see
handclap c),
slow-march,
slow-steam,
slow-time,
slow-waltz.
| 1960 *Slow-clap [see out-score v.]. 1979 Guardian 26 Oct. 2/1 Mrs Thatcher was also slow-clapped and heckled..during her speech. |
| 1590 Spenser F.Q. i. iii. 10 At last she has A damzell spyde *slow footing her before. 1885 W. B. Yeats in Dublin Univ. Rev. May 82/2, I see the night, Deep-eyed, slow⁓footing down the empty glade. |
| 1760 Lett. to Hon. Brigadier General 9 Lord George *slow-marched the Cavalry at the Battle of Minden. 1927 T. E. Lawrence Let. 19 May (1938) 516 These long dreary slow-marching books are invaluable friends in Drigh Road. 1977 Times 30 July 2/3 The RAF colour squadron slow-marched the old colour..off the parade ground. |
| 1975 Petroleum Economist Sept. 356/3, 22 per cent of the active fleet..was estimated to be *slow-steaming in July. Ibid. 341/2 Due to slow-steaming, fuel consumption..fell. 1977 Living with Tanker Surplus (Shell Internat. Petroleum Co.) 5 The financial rewards for slow-steaming small vessels are greater than for large vessels, because a small ship consumes relatively more bunkers per tonne of cargo. |
| 1898 Engineering Mag. XVI. 105 A resolute attempt to *slow-time the machinery. |
| 1976 ‘P. B. Yuill’ Hazell & Menacing Jester viii. 81 He recovered a bit as I was *slow-waltzing him to the stairs. |
c. With
adjs., as
slow-sudden,
slow-sure,
slow-syruppy.
| 1742 Young Nt. Th. i. 384 Beware, Lorenzo! a slow⁓sudden death. 1837 Carlyle Fr. Rev. ii. v. viii, An epigrammatic slow-sure Manuel. 1863 Grosart Small Sins (ed. 2) 70 If man would but mark the slow-sure advance of the very least sin! 1922 Joyce Ulysses 261 Neatly she poured slowsyruppy sole. |
d. With
ns., as
slow-beat,
slow-burn (see sense 7 c),
slow-combustion,
slow-contact,
slow-gait,
slow-growth,
slow-neutron (see sense 13 c),
slow-pitch (see sense 13 a),
slow-poke (see sense 8 d),
slow-scan (see sense 9 a),
slow-speed,
slow-tempo;
slow-release adj., (
a)
Electr., applied to a relay in which the delay between a de-energizing signal and the opening of the contacts is intentionally increased; (
b) characterized by the slow release of an active substance (as by a pharmaceutical preparation);
slow-wave adj.,
spec. applied to the commonest form of non-REM sleep, in which brain waves having a frequency of ½ to 3 hertz, lower than that of alpha or beta waves, are detectable.
| 1965 Economist 4 Sept. 857/2 Egypt's slow-beat socialism is not so agreeable to Moscow as was Algeria's hot rhythm under Mr Ben Bella. 1977 J. Wainwright Do Nothin' till you hear from Me viii. 125 He can blow a beautiful slow-beat chorus. |
| 1885 Spon Mech. Own Bk. (1893) 663 Improved Economic Slow Combustion Hot Air Stove. 1907 Hodges Elem. Photogr. (ed. 6) 101 Gas⁓light or Slow-contact Papers. |
| 1940 C. Day Lewis tr. Virgil's Georgics ii. 41 Waggonloads drawn home by the slow-gait oxen. 1965 H. I. Ansoff Corporate Strategy vi. 109 The electronics industry ranges from high growth in technologically sophisticated areas, such as optical electronics, to slow-growth consumer oriented product-markets, such as radio and television. 1970 Globe & Mail (Toronto) 26 Sept. b2/2 Ontario Development Corp. has granted loans totalling more than $1-million to 10 companies planning to set up plants in slow-growth areas of the province. |
| 1928 Jrnl. Inst. Electr. Engineers LXVI. 342/2 The No. 2 armature is especially suitable for slow-release relays. 1961 Lancet 29 July 230/1 Possibly the diminished efficacy of penicillin in the treatment of uncomplicated gonorrhœa may be due to the wide use of slow-release preparations giving a prolonged, though low, blood concentration. 1969 S. F. Smith Teleph. & Telegr. A ii. 43 One particularly useful way of obtaining a slow release feature without making the relay slow to operate is to connect a permanent shunt across the operating coil of the relay. 1974 Nature 25 Jan. 199/2 The efficiency of slow-release nitrogen was investigated as an initial and maintenance fertiliser treatment. |
| 1958 Newnes Compl. Amat. Photogr. 33 An older box camera with a slow-speed shutter can be speeded up very simply. 1971 Engineering Apr. 20/1 In the case of slow-speed engines, machining can often be confined to pin and journal diameters and web faces. 1980 Redbook Oct. G12/2 Slow-speed film lets you get good pictures even on a sun-drenched sandy beach or glistening ski slope. |
| 1962 D. Francis Dead Cert vi. 55 We swayed lazily round the floor to some dreamy slow-tempo music. 1978 T. Williamson Technicians of Death viii. 60 The invisible disc jockey began to play a slow-tempo number. |
| 1963 G. Troup Masers & Lasers (ed. 2) iv. 71 There are three kinds of structures suitable for slow-wave propagation in the paramagnetic maser. 1967 Physiol. Rev. XLVII. 118 Slow wave sleep. 1968 Brit. Med. Bull. XXIV. 257/1 There is a reduction in the amplitude of the evoked response during rapid eye-movement sleep as compared with slow-wave sleep. 1974 W. P. Koella in van Praag & Meinardi Brain & Sleep 9 Stages 1 to 4 are referred to as NREM-sleep; the term ‘slow-wave-sleep’ should be reserved for stages 3 and 4 which are characterized by the ‘slow’ delta-waves. |
▸
slow-cook v.
trans. to cook (food) at a low temperature for a long period; to cook in a slow cooker;
cf. sense 7b.
| 1923 Mansfield (Ohio) News 15 June 10 (advt.) These beans are *slow-cooked by a new process which gives them a uniform, mellow tenderness. 2005 Courier-Mail (Brisbane) 25 July (Goodlife section) 4/1 You mentioned last week that you slow cook red pork. |
▸
slow-cooked adj. (of food) cooked at a low temperature for a long period; cooked in a slow cooker.
| 1893 Los Angeles Times 5 Sept. 15/5 In the same neighborhood..was a restaurant for ‘*slow-cooked’ food. 2004 H. Fearnley-Whittingstall River Cottage Meat Bk. xi. 300 The slow-cooked lamb shank has been one of the boom dishes of modern food culture. |
▸
slow cooker n. a large lidded pot with an electric heating element, for cooking food (
esp. stews) at low temperatures for long periods (in
quot. 1947 an integral section of a stove).
| 1947 Wisconsin Rapids Daily Tribune 10 Sept. 8/7 (advt.) For sale—general electric 3 burner stove with *slow cooker and oven. 1971 Reno (Nevada) Evening Gaz. 9 Mar. 10/1 (advt.) All Purpose Slow Cooker 14.87. 2001 Nat. Health Oct. 56/2 Using slow-cookers or roasting in an oven at a very low temperature helps flavours to marry and creates a rich-tasting dish with little or no fat. |
▪ IV. slow, adv. (
sləʊ)
Also 6
slaw(e,
slau.
[f. slow a.] 1. a. In a slow or tardy manner; slowly.
| a 1500 Adrian & Epotys 22 in Brome Bk. 25 Than seyd þe Emprore, note slawe, ‘Arte thow wysse wysdam to teche?’ 1513 Douglas æneid viii. vii. 105 The mychty God of fyr..als tyte, And no slawer,..Furth of his bed startis. 1590 Shakes. Mids. N. i. i. 3 But oh, me thinkes, how slow This old Moon wanes. 1632 Milton Penseroso 76, I hear the far-off Curfeu sound,..Swinging slow with sullen roar. 1680 Moxon Mech. Exerc. xii. 209 In large and heavy Work the Tread comes slow and heavily down. 1733 W. Ellis Chiltern & Vale Farm. 109 It grew so slow, as provoked him to take it up. 1762 Sir W. Jones Arcadia Poems (1777) 103 Slow he approach'd; then wav'd his awful hand. 1812 Byron Ch. Har. ii. xli, As the stately vessel glided slow Beneath the shadow. 1848 Thackeray Van. Fair viii, We drove very slow for the last two stages on the road. 1858 Edin. Rev. July 207 The narrative moves slow. |
b. slow back: a direction to a golfer when the club is swung back from the ball in making a stroke.
| 1886 H. G. Hutchinson Hints on Golf 17 Golfers have gone so far as to instruct their caddies to say to them, ‘Slow back,’ so as to keep them in mind of this precept each time they addressed themselves to drive the ball. 1909 P. A. Vaile Mod. Golf viii. 136 Gather speed as you go up, but do not get up much speed on the upward swing, for if you do you have to waste energy fighting it at the top of the swing. This is the reason for ‘slow back’. 1922 Wodehouse Clicking of Cuthbert iii. 73 Slow back—keep the head. |
2. Comb. a. With
pres. pples. and
ppl. adjs., as
slow-burning,
slow-circling,
slow-creeping, etc.
spec. slow-reacting substance (
Physiol.), any of various substances that are produced in the body in response to various stimuli and cause slower and longer lasting contraction of smooth muscle than does histamine;
spec. one released in anaphylaxis;
abbrev. SRS (see
S 4 a);
slow-releasing = slow-release adj. (
a)
s.v. slow a. 16 d.
Combinations of this type are extremely common from
c 1725; many examples from 18th century poetry are collected by Jodrell.
| 1591 Sylvester Du Bartas i. ii. 186 Then Slow-growing Babes should instantly be Men. 1630 Milton On Shakespear 9 Whilst to th' shame of slow-endeavouring art, Thy easie numbers flow. 1697 Dryden Virg. Georg. iii. 843 The slow creeping Evil eats his way. Ibid. iv. 689 Baleful Styx..With Nine slow circling Streams. a 1716 Bp. O. Blackall Wks. (1723) I. 223 Being Burnt alive in a slowburning Fire. 1779 Warner in Jesse Selwyn & Contemp. (1844) IV. 301, I shall..come in a steel-springed slow-driving hack on Friday. 1833 Rennie Alph. Angling 59 The pike,..which likes to prowl about in slow-running, weedy waters. 1859 Darwin Orig. Spec. iv. (1860) 103 The case of slow-breeding animals. 1876 ‘Mark Twain’ Tom Sawyer xxxi. 237 The slow-dragging ages. 1891 Roberts Adrift Amer. 237 The big slow-sailing turkey buzzards. 1894 Kipling Jungle Bk. 95 Asleep in the arms of the slow-swinging seas. 1904 ― Traffics & Discov. 368 Warn them of seas that slip our yoke Of slow conspiring stars. 1904 H. G. Wells Food of Gods ii. i. 142 They were children—slow-growing children of a new race. 1910 J. Poole Pract. Telephone Handbk. (ed. 4) xi. 169 A slow-acting relay. 1912 W. de la Mare Listeners 24 Whose feathers..Gleam with slow-gathering drops of dew. 1915 D. H. Lawrence Rainbow i. 1 They were fresh, blond, slow-speaking people. 1916 A. Huxley Burning Wheel 22 The chime Of bells slow-dying. 1920 E. Sitwell Wooden Pegasus 101 A slow-leaking tap. 1921 D. H. Lawrence Tortoises 10 You..set forward. slow-dragging, on your four-pinned toes. 1921 R. Graves Pier glass 44 Slow-rising smoke and nothing wrong! 1923 T. E. Herbert Telephony xiii. 334 The special feature of the slow releasing relay..is the extension of the core on which is placed a solid copper collar. 1924 R. Campbell Flaming Terrapin iii. 43 The death-cry and the agony supreme Of the slow-drowning world. 1925 Slow-running [see idling passage]. 1925 F. Scott Fitzgerald Great Gatsby iii. 59 But I am slow-thinking. 1927 T. Wilder Bridge of San Luis Rey ii. 38 That city of large girdled Women..slow-moving and slow-smiling, a city of crystal air. 1930 E. Pound XXX Cantos v. 20 A Knight with slow-lifting eyelids. 1930 Blunden Poems 315 At last slow-mending From the hacked wounds of our proud error's field. 1931 A. Huxley Cicadas 33 Death in the Scorpion hunts him up the sky..round the vault of time, round the slow-curving year. 1932 W. Faulkner Light in August i. 23 The slowspitting and squatting men. 1932 Auden Orators ii. 75 O charged-to-the-full-in-secret slow-beating heart. 1939 Kellaway & Trethewie in Austral. Jrnl. Exper. Biol. XVII. 227 The perfusate was also tested for the presence of the substance described by Feldberg and Kellaway (1938) which, after a latent interval, causes contraction of the gut followed by slow relaxation and by characteristic after-changes in the excitability of the muscle. This substance we have called S.R.S. (slow reacting substance). 1947 Crowther & Whiddington Science at War 160 The slow-sinking depth charges may be evaded by the submarine. 1948 R. Graves Coll. Poems, 1914–1947 240 Under your Milky Way And slow-revolving Bear. 1954 J. R. R. Tolkien Fellowship of Ring 212 A long slow-climbing slope. 1954 A. G. L. Hellyer Encycl. Garden Work 18/2 Basic slag is a relatively slow-acting fertilizer. a 1957 R. Campbell tr. Rimbaud's Drunken Boat in Coll. Poems (1960) III. 18 Where with slow-pulsing and delirious fires,..ferments the crimson bitterness of love. 1958 J. W. Freebody Telegraphy iv. 85/1 For slow operating or slow releasing relays three lengths of slug are employed. 1958 Pharmacol. Rev. X. 419 Two entirely different groups of slow reacting substances have been established; one..consists of polypeptides, the other one of lipid-soluble acids. 1964 L. MacNeice Astrol. ii. 66 With slow-running planets the transits are the things to look for. 1970 Passmore & Robson Compan. Med. Stud. II. xxiv. 3/2 Histamine, the slow reacting substance (SRS-A) and bradykinin may be the most important agents involved in the pathogenesis of human bronchial asthma. 1975 New Phytologist LXXIV. 367 In alpine regions of Africa, there are trends from erect pachycaul plants towards stout slow-growing plant forms. |
b. With
pa. pples., as
slow-breathed,
slow-developed, etc.;
slow-drawn,
slow-run,
slow-spoken.
| 1727–46 Thomson Summer 1646 Yonder slow-extinguish'd clouds. 1798 Miss H. M. Williams Tour Switz. I. 21 Responsive to the solemn, slow-breathed chant. 1821 Scott Kenilw. xli, Some slow-spoken, long-breathed brother of the congregation? 1849 Rock Ch. Our Fathers II. 495 The sullen splash of slow-drawn oars. 1891 Daily News 14 Feb. 3/4 In a slow-run race he was defeated by Sheridan. 1896 Kipling Seven Seas 53 To the grist of the slow⁓ground ages. Ibid. 65 Each man drew his watchful breath slow taken 'tween the teeth. 1910 W. de la Mare Three Mulla-Mulgars xi. 153 Between his slow-drawled, shakety notes of deep and shrill Nod listened for the least stir in the forest. 1914 Kipling For All We have & Are 3 Comfort, content, delight, The ages' slow-bought gain. 1916 A. Huxley Burning Wheel 39 While on the windy down⁓land..The slow-driven sun beheld us. 1944 Blunden Shells by Stream 43 Your eyes..Enfold the slow-bloomed scenes. 1949 ― After Bombing 34 All other lightning Might be as honey or kind balms slow-melted. |
▪ V. slow obs. form of
pa. tense of
slay v.
1▪ VI. slow, v. (
sləʊ)
Also 6
slowe.
[f. slow a. Cf. OE. sláwian to be or become slow, and the compound forsláwian forslow v.] I. trans. † 1. To lose (time) by delay; to put off.
Obs.—1| ? 1522 in Ellis Orig. Lett. Ser. ii. I. 223 Assoone as God shall sende weder any thing mete for men to goo to the see, I shall slowe no tyme. |
† 2. To be slack or tardy in performing (business).
Obs.—1| 1586 Hooker Hist. Irel. in Holinshed II. 142/2 The lord deputie, not slacking, nor slowing his businesse, followed out of hand the foresaid rebels. |
3. a. To delay, check, retard; to make slower in some respect. Also with
down.
| 1557 N.T. (Genevan) Luke xii. 45 My master sloweth his commyng. 1578 Banister Hist. Man v. 67 The meat is left destitute of concoction, and distribution therof in the body slowed. 1624 T. Heywood Gunaik. ii. 117 Their speed may bee slackned though not stay'd, and their pace slowed though not quite stopt. 1645 in Carte Ormonde (1735) III. 399, I doubt..that this will be neglected, or so far slowed that the season will be lost. 1867 Duke of Argyll Reign of Law iii. 146 A bird can, of course, allow itself to fall backwards by merely slowing the action of its wings. 1875 H. C. Wood Therap. (1879) 138 Digitalis is capable of slowing the beat of the isolated heart of the frog. 1896 Allbutt's Syst. Med. I. 123 The arterial current becomes therefore relatively slowed. 1971 Engineering Apr. 34/1 Most neutron radiography has been carried out using slowed-down thermal neutrons. 1976 ‘J. Ross’ I know what it's like to Die xxiv. 151 A creeping slowed-down vision with a dreamlike clarity. |
b. To reduce the working rate or speed of (an engine); to ease. Also with
down.
| 1839 R. S. Robinson Naut. Steam Eng. 138 The engine should always, except in case of absolute necessity, be slowed or eased, before it is stopped. 1859 Merc. Mar. Mag. (1860) VII. 46 By slowing her engines, she can stop and take soundings. 1890 Clark Russell Marriage at Sea xiv, The engines were ‘slowed down’,..and a minute later the revolutions of the propeller ceased. |
c. To cause (a vessel, vehicle, or train) gradually to slacken in speed. Also with
down or
up.
| 1864 Webster s.v., To slow a steamer. 1889 Boy's Own Paper 16 Nov. 103/1 The ship was now slowed, for we could not cross the bar that night. 1899 Expositor Jan. 55 We do not want men..to..slow the advancing chariot by hanging on listlessly behind. |
II. intr. 4. a. To slacken in speed; to move or go more slowly.
| 1594 R. Carew Tasso (1881) 33 To the King she came, Nor for he angry seemes, one step she slowes. a 1653 G. Daniel Idyll v. 118 The world Slow'th, Readie to take the Fillup of a Hand Must cure her Dropsie. 1870 Daily News 28 Dec., They came on very steadily for about a quarter of a mile, then they slowed, and finally halted. 1894 Law Times' Rep. LXXI. 102/2 The Diana also..slowed, so as to permit the tug to pass her. |
b. With
advs., as
down,
up.
| 1881 Cent. Mag. XXIII. 184 Slowing up, the..Cunarder..drew towards us. 1885 W. D. Howells Silas Lapham (1891) I. 61 He brought the mare down to a walk, and then slowed up almost to a stop. 1891 Cornhill Mag. Jan. 15 He slowed down into a shambling walk. |
c. Of a railway train: To move with slackening speed
into a station, etc.
| 1877 Black Green Past. xxi, He caught sight of her just as the train was slowing into the station. 1881 Times 28 Feb. 11/4 A Watford up train..was slowing into Dalston, where it was to stop. |
† 5. To suffer delay; to be deferred.
Obs.—1| 1602 Dolman La Primaud. Fr. Acad. (1618) iii. 750 The wicked..may thinke that their condemnation sloweth. |
6. To become slower, less active or vigorous, etc. Also with
down.
| 1879 Lumberman's Gaz. 23 Aug., The chances were that the boom company would be obliged to slow down for a few days. 1891 S. Mostyn Curatica 161 The oscillation quickened—to slow again, however. 1904 Field 6 Feb. 202/3 The game slowed down a little after Hobbins had scored once more. |
Hence
ˈslowing ppl. a.| 1890 Humphry Old Age 5 A smaller supply of fuel.., not enough to choke the slowing fires. |