▪ I. † late, n.1 Obs.
Forms: α. 3–5 late, 4 lat, 5–8 Sc. lait, (6 laitt, laytt). β. 3–5 lote, 4 lot. γ. 2–4 lete, 3 læte.
[a. ON. (1) lát let, letting (as in blóð-lát blood-letting), loss, in pl. manners, sounds; (2) lǽte (only in nom. and acc.) manner, sound; f. root of let v.1]
1. Look; appearance, aspect; outward manner or bearing.
| α c 1200 Ormin 1213 Ȝiff þu..hafesst ȝet, tohh þu be ȝung, Elldernemanness late. a 1225 Ancr. R. 90 ᵹif þu makest..eni luue lates touward unðeauwes. c 1320 Sir Tristr. 2097 It semeþ by his lat As he hir neuer had sene Wiþ siȝt. c 1375 Sc. Leg. Saints ix. (Bartholomaeus) 235 With gret noyse & il-mowtht late. 1375 Barbour Bruce vii. 127 Thai changit contenanss and late. c 1470 Golagros & Gaw. 746 Lufsum of lait. |
| β c 1250 Gen. & Ex. 2328 Wid reweli lote, and sorwe, and wep. 13.. E.E. Allit. P. A. 895 Lyk to himself of lote & hwe. |
| γ c 1175 Lamb. Hom. 69 Habben [we] feir lete and ec skil. c 1200 Trin. Coll. Hom. 79 He makeð lete of þole⁓burdnesse and neðeles ne haueð non. c 1205 Lay. 18543 Ofte he hire loh to & makede hire letes. a 1250 Owl & Night. 35 For þine vule lete. c 1340 Cursor M. 14053 (Trin.) Ihesu þo bihelde hir lete. |
b. pl. Looks, manners, behaviour;
hence, actions, goings-on.
| α c 1205 Lay. 1196 Ofte he custe þat weofed mid wnsume lates. a 1225 Leg. Kath. 105 Þeos lufsume lafdi wið laste⁓lese lates. a 1400 Isumbras 180 So come a lyonne with latys un-mylde. ? a 1400 Morte Arth. 248 Lughe one hyme luffly with lykande lates. a 1400–50 Alexander 3998 Porrus, as a prince suld, persayued þar latis. c 1470 Golagros & Gaw. 160 He wes ladlike of laitis, and light of his fere. 1501 Douglas Pal. Hon. iii. 302 Men that callis ladyis lidder, And licht of laitis. c 1560 A. Scott Poems xxxiv. 84 Auldit rubiatouris To hant the laittis of lawdis. 1590 A. Hume Hymns, etc. (1832) 2 Alace, how lang haue I delayed To leaue the laits of youth? 1728 Ramsay Monk & Miller's Wife. 215 Sic laits appear to us sae awfu', We hardly think your learning lawfu'. |
| β c 1205 Lay. 14321 Freond sæiðe to freonde mid fæire loten hende Leofue freond wæs hail. c 1400 Destr. Troy 10770 Hit were labur to long hir lotis to tell. |
| γ c 1205 Lay. 15661 Vortigerne..þa læuedi aueng mid swiðe uæire læten. a 1300 Cursor M. 3285 Ne was sco not o letes [Fairf. lates] light. |
2. Voice, sound.
| a 1300 Cursor M. 12496 Quen iesus herd þis quaining gret þe late þai thoru þe cite let, He had þar-for wel gret pite. c 1325 Metr. Hom. 123 Hir lufli lat [MS. C. voice] es win gastlye, That Iesus drinkes ful gladlye. 13.. E.E. Allit. P. C. 161 Þe lot of þe wyndes. 13.. Gaw. & Gr. Knt. 1398 Wyth lotez þat were to lowe. a 1400–50 Alexander 4384 Þan we haue liking to lithe þe late of þe foules. |
▪ II. late, a.1 (n.2) (
leɪt)
Forms: 1
læt, (
lat-), 3
let, 3–7
chiefly Sc. and north. lat, (4
latt, 5
laat), 3–
late;
Sc. (
and north.) 4–5
layt, 4–6
lait, 5
layte, 5–7
laite, 6
lett. For the comparative and superlative see
later,
latter, and
latest,
last.
[Com. Teut.: OE. læt = OFris. let, OS. lat, LG. lât (Du. laat), OHG., MHG. laȥ (G. lass), ON. lat-r (Sw. lat, Du. lad), Goth. lats, all in the sense of ‘slow, sluggish, lazy’:—OTeut. *lato-; f. *lat- (:—pre-Teut. *lad-, cf. L. lassus weary = *lad-tus) ablaut-var. of *lēt-: see let v.1] A. adj. 1. Slow, tardy;
dial. slow in progress, tedious. Const.
to with
inf.; also with
gen. or
of. Now
dial.| Beowulf 1529 Eft wæs unræd, nalas elnes læt. c 897 K. ælfred Gregory's Past. xxxviii. 281 Swiðe ᵹeornfull to ᵹehieranne, & swiðe læt to sprecanne. 971 Blickl. Hom. 43 Se mæsse-preost se þe bið to læt þæt he þæt deofol of men adrife. c 1000 Sax. Leechd. II. 238 Be latre meltunge innan. c 1200 Trin. Coll. Hom. 183 To gode þu ware slau & let, & to euele spac & hwat. c 1230 Hali Meid. 37 His wax⁓unge se lat & se slaw his thrifti. a 1300 Cursor M. 17288 + 374 ‘A! foyls’, quod our lord, ‘ful latt are ȝe to traw’. 13.. E.E. Allit. P. B. 1172 Of leaute he watz lat to his lorde hende. a 1375 Joseph Arim. 695 Ioseph..Called him Mordreyns ‘a lat mon’ in trouþe. 1422 tr. Secreta Secret., Priv. Priv. 223 Laat of mevynge, and Slow to take nedys but yf thay bene grete. 1674–91 Ray N.C. Words 42 Lat, late, slow, tedious... Lat week. 1826 Wilbraham Gloss. Cheshire 53 Lat-a-foot, slow in moving. 1887 S. Cheshire Gloss., Lat..(4) tedious. ‘A lat job’. |
2. a. Occurring, coming, or being after the due or customary time; delayed or deferred in time. Const.
to with
inf., and
for. Frequently in the
impers. phrase
it is (too) late to do something.
| c 1000 Ags. Gosp. Luke i. 21 Þæt folc wæs zachariam ᵹean⁓bidiende & wundredon þæt he on þam temple læt wæs. 1297 R. Glouc. (Rolls) 7824 It was þo to late ynou. c 1375 Sc. Leg. Saints xxix. (Placidas) 2 Lat penance is rycht perolouse. Ibid. xxxviii. (Adrian) 77 Ȝet wil I, þo it lat be, to criste and his treutht tak me. 1560 J. Daus tr. Sleidane's Comm. 113 b, She aunswereth that it is to late nowe to examyne the licence, whiche so longe synce they had allowed. a 1572 Knox Hist. Ref. Wks. 1846 I. 116 Thei begane to suspect, (albeit it was to lett). 1588 Shakes. L.L.L. i. i. 108 So you to studie now it is too late. 1676 Lady Chaworth in 12th Rep. Hist. MSS. Comm. App. v. 33 A great snow with us makes the post so late that [etc.]. 1779–81 Johnson L.P., Prior Wks. III. 144 Of his behaviour in the lighter parts of life, it is too late to get much intelligence. 1816 A. C. Hutchison Pract. Obs. Surg. (1826) 206 ‘Ah Pat, my boy, you are just in time to be too late’. 1855 Macaulay Hist. Eng. xiii. III. 349 Their late repentance might perhaps give them a fair claim to pardon. 1862 Mrs. H. Wood Channings I. iv. 58 The head-master..is waiting for you; marking you all late, of course. 1884 May Crommelin Brown-Eyes x. 102 The cab is at the door; don't be late for the train. |
b. Of plants, fruit, etc.: Flowering or ripening at an advanced season of the year.
| c 1440 Promp. Parv. 288/2 Late frute, sirotinus. 1697 Dryden Virg. Georg. iv. 184 The late Narcissus. 1727–51 Chambers Cycl. s.v. Flower, Autumnal or late Flowers, denotes those of September and October. 1796 C. Marshall Gardening (1813) 405 Sow annuals of all sorts for a late blow. 1837 Macgillivray Withering's Brit. Plants (ed. 4) 332 Late Spider Orchis..Early Spider Orchis. |
c. Of fruit, etc.: Backward in ripening. Of seasons: Prolonged or deferred beyond their due time.
† dial. Of weather: Unseasonable.
| 1631 Milton Sonn., Arriv. Age Twenty-three 3 My late spring no bud or blossom shew'th. 1674–91 Ray N.C. Words s.v. Lat, Lat weather; wet or otherwise unseasonable weather. 1886 Cheshire Gloss., Lat,..(2) backward; ‘A lat spring’. 1887 S. Cheshire Gloss. s.v. Lat, ‘My wuts bin very lat this 'ear’. |
d. With agent-nouns and
vbl. ns. (For the syntactical relation,
cf. early a. 1 a
note.)
late comers in
Fr. Hist. (
transl. of F.
tard-venus), the name given to troops of soldiers, who were disbanded after the treaty of Bretigny (1374) and overran and ravaged France (see
quot. 1869).
late developer: see
developer e.
| c 1430 How Wise Man taught Son 69 in Babees Bk., Of late walking, comeþ debate. 1598 Shakes. Merry W. v. v. 153 This is enough to be the decay of lust and late-walking through the Realme. 1612 Bacon Ess., Custom, For it is true that late learners cannot so well take the plie. 1869 W. Longman Hist. Edw. III, II. iv. 63 A cloud of Lorrainers, Brabanters, and Germans spread themselves over Champagne and the countries of the Upper Meuse, and these called themselves the ‘Tard venus’, or late comers, ‘because they had not as yet much pillaged the kingdom of France’. 1873 Hamerton Intell. Life x. x. 387 The late-risers are rebels and sinners—in this respect—to a man. 1891 Cornh. Mag. Oct. 416 His whole life was spent in raids..upon the Brabanters, late-comers, flayers, [etc.]. 1892 J. S. Fletcher When Chas. I was K. (1896) 18 Then did late-comers, hearing the solitary bell, hurry their movements. |
e. late cut (
Cricket): a cut, but with the actual stroke delayed until after the usual moment. Hence also as
vb. Cf. cut n.2 10 a and
cut v. 31 a.
| 1887 F. Gale Game of Cricket 263 A splendid bat, back player, and great at a late ‘cut’. 1906 [see square-cut s.v. square a. 15]. 1912 J. B. Hobbs Recovering the Ashes 124 An off ball gave Mr. Trumper a chance to late cut one nicely to the cycle path. 1960 Times 3 June 21/2 He will..late cut another in a way possible to few. 1963 Times 7 June 4/5 Padgett, after a delicate late cut for four.., was bowled off his pads. 1974 Observer 9 June 24/7 When Underwood came on, Gavaskar danced out to drive him straight, then lay back to late cut through the slips. |
f. late-tackle v. trans.: in
Rugby and
Assoc. Football, to tackle (an opponent) illegally, when he is no longer in possession of the ball. Also as
n. So
late-tackling vbl. n.| 1957 Late-tackling [see blatant a. 2 c]. 1960 T. McLean Kings of Rugby xi. 198 Raureti for the second time in the match palpably late-tackled Young. 1962 Times 26 June 3/6 People who have seen the film are now satisfied that he was not late-tackled at Pretoria. 1971 J. B. G. Thomas Roaring Lions vi. 117 McNaughton swung him round to the ground without malice, but it was a late tackle, and Referee Pring..had no alternative but to award a penalty. 1974 Times 22 Nov. 11/1 England got bogged down..against a defence..in which a combination of offside tactics, obstruction and the cynical late tackle played a major role. This is what has come to be expected from visitors to Wembley. |
g. Applied to a woman whose menstrual period has failed to occur at the expected time.
colloq.| 1962 J. Ludwig in R. Weaver Canad. Short Stories (1968) 2nd Ser. 255 Shirley, maybe you're late this month, eh, dollie? 1969 ‘V. Packer’ Don't rely on Gemini (1970) xiv. 119 Penny was two weeks late... There was a very good possibility that she was carrying Neal Dana's child. 1974 D. Fletcher Lovable Man i. 21 Linda realised that she was late... It was impossible to consult her family doctor. |
3. a. Advanced in point of time in the course of the day or night; so
late in the day (also
fig.). (Frequent in the
impers. phrase
it is late = the time is advanced.) Phr.
late hours: hours which encroach on the proper time for sleep; so
late-houred a. Hence
colloq. of persons, in the sense ‘keeping late hours, rising or going to bed late’; so
late bird. Also
late-afternoon,
late-night, used
attrib.| a 1000 Andreas 1210 (Gr.) Nis seo stund latu. 1340 Hampole Pr. Consc. 1433 Now es arly, now es late, Now es day, now es nyght. 1375 Barbour Bruce vii. 236 It wes weill lat of nycht be then. a 1400–50 Alexander 5051 Þar logis he fra þe late niȝt till efte þe liȝt schewis. c 1470 Henry Wallace v. 244 ‘Quhat art thow walkis that gait?’ ‘A trew man, Schyr, thocht my wiagis be layt’. 1513 Douglas æneis vii. i. 34 In silence, al the lait nycht [L. sera sub nocte] rummesand. a 1548 Hall Chron., Hen. VIII, 240 To se..how late it was in the nyght yer the footemen coulde get ouer London brydge. 1634 Milton Comus 179 The rudenesse, and swill'd insolence Of such late Wassailers. 1732 Berkeley Alciphr. ii. §13 Without love, and wine, and play, and late hours we hold life not to be worth living. 1776 Trial of Nundocomar 2/1 It being late, the Court adjourned till the next morning at seven o'clock. 1842 Tennyson Vision of Sin 1, I had a vision when the night was late. 1870 Swinburne Ess. & Stud. 367 The stunted brushwood, the late and pale sky. 1884 Bread Winners 76 Drunkenness, late hours, and botchy work. 1888 E. Bellamy Looking Backward v. 64 If I was inclined to wakefulness nothing would please him better than to bear me company. ‘I am a late bird, myself,’ he said. 1897 Ouida Massarenes xiv, We are all of us very late people. 1898 Daily News 30 June 6/3 His friend was what might be called a late man. The Duke [of Wellington], as everybody knew, was quite the reverse. The appointment was for eight o'clock in the morning... ‘How can you manage to keep it?’ ‘Oh,’ he replied, ‘it's the easiest thing in the world. I shall take it the last thing before going to bed.’ 1908 Daily Chron. 10 Jan. 4/6 The pantomime crowd is a very good crowd after all, late-houred and not without failings, perhaps, but generous..to a fault. 1969 V. C. Clinton-Baddeley Only Matter of Time 9 He had never been a late bird... He was seldom out after twelve. |
| fig. phrase. 1797 Washington Let. Writ. 1892 XIII. 411 It is too late in the day for me to see the result. 1816 Jane Austen Emma I. xvii. 303 It was rather too late in the day to set about being simple-minded and ignorant. 1824 Byron Def. Transf. ii. iii. 155 A sage reflection, But somewhat late i' the day. 1861 C. J. Lever Day's Ride xlvii. in All Year Round 23 Mar. 568/1 Rather late in the day, I take it, to ask who Bob Rogers is! 1912 A. Huxley Let. 16 June (1969) 44 They are also on the point of putting up a war memorial, though none of the people who were in the war want it and it is now a little late in the day. 1965 Listener 16 Dec. 1012/1 Just when the smoke..has cleared..Mr Roger Pemberton [tells]..why he hates the views of Miss Laski... Surely this is a bit late in the day? 1972 P. A. Whitney Listen for Whisperer ii. 22. ‘I've brought her something from my father.’..‘It's a bit late in the day for such a message.’ |
| attrib. 1885 ‘Mark Twain’ in Century Mag. Dec. 202/2 The damp, earthy, late-night smells. 1944 D. Edwards in Austral. Short Stories (1951) 338 The street that glows with late-afternoon sun. 1956 B. Holiday Lady sings Blues (1973) xv. 124 If you're an American citizen and unless you go to bed early these nights, you're liable to see me on the late-late show. 1957 J. Osborne Entertainer iii. 31 He plays the piano in one of these late-night drinking places. 1968 Listner 5 Sept. 306/2 For thousands of young people Peel has the only late-night show worth turning on. 1971 Black Scholar Apr.–May 47/1 Some are sleeping because they're the late late TV show viewers. 1971 P. Purser Holy Father's Navy xxii. 109 We got them on to the late-afternoon plane to Zagreb. 1973 Amer. Speech 1969 XLIV. 277 An unusual example evolved on a late-night television talk show. |
b. late dinner:
esp. in Victorian society, the main evening meal, held later than the children's dinner.
| 1838 Mrs. Gaskell Let. 2 Dec. (1966) 38 Mr Bradford coming home to late dinner and so agreeable. 1873 L. Troubridge Life amongst Troubridges (1966) 11 Mrs Quick is the cook... She makes very good things for late dinner but not for our [sc. the children's] dinner. 1885 A. Edwardes Girton Girl I. vi. 136 The dinner-hour at Tintajeux was five, the ‘late dinner’ of Andros Bartrand's youth. 1941 Mrs. Belloc Lowndes I, too, have lived in Arcadia xviii. 350 Even now the presence of a child at late dinner would certainly occasion surprise, to almost any guest of that child's parents. |
4. Belonging to an advanced stage in a period, the development of something, the history of a science, language, etc. Also
occas. in partitive concord, the late portion of (a period, season).
spec. late-Victorian adj.;
late blight, a disease of potatoes caused by the fungus
Phytophthora infestans;
= potato blight (
potato n. 7);
late wood, a denser section of the annual ring of a tree, formed late in the growing season.
| c 1380 Wyclif Wks. (1879) 332 What meued þis late popes to make furst þis lawe..and god meued not crist ne hise vikers to sue it. 1583 Fulke Defence iii. 114 The late pettie Prelates of the seconde Nicene Councell. 1777 Sir W. Jones Turkish Ode x. Poems 93 Late gloomy winter chill'd the sullen air. 1781 Cowper Retirement 31 Looked for at so late a day, In the last scene of such a senseless play. 1784 ― Tiroc. 143 E'en in transitory life's late day. 1842 Prichard Nat. Hist. Man 141 The Chaldee of the late Scriptures of the Old Testament. 1849–52 Rock Ch. of Fathers III. i. 194 note, The ‘Dome’, or last judgment, is shown in late but beautiful Flemish stained glass at Fairford. 1868 W. K. Parker Shoulder-girdle & Sternum Vertebr. 185 The ossification of the sternum in the Hemipods is very late, as compared with the Fowl. 1888 Sweet Hist. Eng. Sounds §609. 164 The late Latin hymn metres. Ibid. §756. 200, 1800–1850 Early Living English. 1850–1900 Late Living English. 1905 28th Ann. Rep. Connecticut Agric. Exper. Station 379 Spraying will be of greater value, especially if early blight has been injurious or the late blight appears before the end of their season. 1909 B. M. Duggar Fungous Diseases of Plants x. 165 The late blight and rot of the potato is so generally known that frequently this malady is simply called the ‘potato disease’. 1913 W. J. Locke Stella Maris iii. 26 Risca's room was transformed from late-Victorian solidity into early-Georgian elegance. 1918 E. J. Butler Fungi & Dis. in Plants viii. 277 The potato disease known as ‘blight’, ‘late blight’ or ‘Irish blight’ first attracted general attention in Europe in 1845. 1920 Beerbohm And Even Now 3 A tired suit of Late Victorian pattern. 1929 T. Thomson tr. Büsgen's Struct. & Life Forest Trees vi. 178 The difference between early and late wood consists in the former appearing more porous and open than the latter and often differently coloured. 1933 F. D. Heald Man. Plant Dis. (ed. 2) xvi. 419 The late-blight attacks and kills the tops of the potato plant and invades the tubers, causing either a dry or a wet rot. 1955 Sci. News Let. 11 June 381/1 In an effort to find clues that might help clear up the mystery surrounding late blight..plant pathologists..have surveyed the world. 1969 J. Mander Static Soc. vi. 175 Teasingly sexless in the late-Victorian manner. 1972 Sci. Amer. May 92/1 Effect of smog on a Jeffrey pine that was growing in a forest near Los Angeles may be indicated by the narrowed rings and a reduced amount of latewood in the last nine years of the tree's life. 1975 Nature 10 Apr. 507/1 Whatever the cause, there is no indication that the width of the subsequent latewood was significantly altered. |
5. a. Of a person: That was alive not long ago, but is not now; recently deceased.
| 1490 Caxton Eneydos vi. 28 Her swete and late amyable husbonde. a 1548 Hall Chron., Hen. IV, 10 b, The homecide of Thomas his uncle late duke of Glocester. 1570 Buchanan Admonitioun Wks. (S.T.S.) 22 Ye murthour of ye lait King Henry. 1662 Stillingfl. Orig. Sacr. ii. vii. §7 The late learned Rabbi Manasse Ben Israel. 1727 De Foe Syst. Magic i. iii. (1840) 84 Our late friend Jonathan. 1794 Mrs. Radcliffe Myst. Udolpho xxv, I did nothing but dream I saw my late lady's ghost. 1838 Lytton Alice 23, I always call the late Lord Vargrave my father. 1884 Times (weekly ed.) 5 Sept. 1/1 The remains of the late Lord Ampthill. |
b. That was recently (what is implied by the
n.) but is not now. [
App. developed from the use of
late adv. 4 b.]
| a 1548 Hall Chron., Hen. IV, 19 b, [He] maried Jane Duches of Britaine late wife to Jhon duke of Britaine. Ibid., Hen. VIII, 240 At the late Freers walle all men alyghted savyng the Kyng. 1689 Wood Life 7 Nov., A late Roman Catholic schoolmaster..hath embraced his former persuasion, viz. protestancy. 1766 Goldsm. Vic. W. xxv, Our late dwelling. 1820 W. Irving Sketch Bk. I. 48 All the splendid furniture of his late residence. 1842 Macaulay Ess., Fred. Gt. (1887) 717 He conceived himself secure from the power of his late master. |
6. Recent in date; that has recently happened or occurred; recently made, performed, completed; of recent times; belonging to a recent period. Now
Obs. of persons, and chiefly in
phr. of late years; also
late model, a recent model of a motor vehicle (
usu., with hyphen,
attrib.);
the late unpleasantness (
U.S.), the American Civil War (see
unpleasantness).
| 1513 More in Grafton Chron. (1568) II. 803 All things were in late dayes so covertly demeaned. 1560 J. Daus tr. Sleidane's Comm. 168 b, The kynge..was than scarcely amended of a late disease. 1573 Satir. Poems Reform. xl. 210 Of lat ȝeiris. 1599 Shakes. Hen. V, ii. ii. 61 Who are the late Commissioners? 1667 Milton P.L. v. 113 Ill matching words and deeds long past or late. 1685 Baxter Paraphr. N.T., 1 Tim. iii. 6 Not a late young Convert. 1711 Budgell Spect. No. 161 ¶1 My late going into the Country has encreased the Number of my Correspondents. 1817 Coleridge Biogr. Lit. 103 The late war, was a war produced by the Morning Post. 1838 Macaulay Let. to Napier in Trevelyan Life (1876) II. vii. 10 His late articles, particularly the long one in the April number, have very high merit. 1849 ― Hist. Eng. vi. II. 104 During the late reign Johnson had published a book entitled Julian the Apostate. 1893 W. P. Courtney in Academy 13 May 412/3 The public appetite for the consumption of memoirs has been wonderfully sharpened of late years. 1917 G. Ade Let. 26 Apr. (1973) 63 Our own majestic work of art..has more late-model cars parked around it. 1973 R. Busby Pattern of Violence i. 15 They had found a late-model Ford Cortina XL unmistakably tooled up for violent crime. |
7. colloq. Having to do with persons or things that arrive late.
late mark, a mark indicating that a scholar is late for school; so
late book, a book to contain such marks.
late fee, an increased fee paid in order to secure the dispatch of a letter posted after the advertised time of collection (earlier
late-letter fee).
| 1862 Mrs. H. Wood Channings I. xv. 237 They escaped the ‘late’ mark. 1864 Brit. Postal Guide Jan. 16 Upon payment of a late fee of fourpence. 1889 Skrine Mem. E. Thring i. 9 Excluded wretches..entered, and..wrote their names in the late-book. |
B. absol. or quasi-n. † 1. Lateness, tardiness.
Obs. rare.
| a 1400 Destr. Troy 9679 The store was full stith, þen stynt þai for late. Ibid. 10913 All left þai for late & lackyng of Sun. |
2. of late: during a comparatively short time extending to the present; recently, lately.
| c 1470 Henry Wallace v. 757 Sen I off laitt now come owt off the west In this cuntre. 1500–20 Dunbar Poems xiv. 46 Sa mony jugeis and lordis now maid of lait. a 1533 Ld. Berners Huon li. 172 Of late I haue lost my goode lorde and mayster. 1611 Bible John xi. 8 Master, the Iewes of late sought to stone thee, and goest thou thither againe? 1644 Evelyn Mem. (1857) I. 121 Till of late that some of the stones were carried away to repair the city walls. 1716 Addison Freeholder No. 32 ¶2 Great Numbers of them [women] have of late eloped from their Allegiance. 1827 H. Steuart Planter's G. (1828) 14 Since the Ladies of late have become students of Chemistry. 1845 Stephen Comm. Laws Eng. (1874) II. 744 In modern times, and particularly of late, various alterations have been introduced. |
Add:
[A.] [3.] [a.] late-day attrib. phr.: designating semi-formal clothing suitable for late afternoon or early evening wear.
| 1968 Guardian 26 July 1/3 Late-day clothes were topless, with the bare bosom showing through just one thin layer of ultra-sheer black mousseline. 1978 Detroit Free Press 5 Mar. (Spring Fashion Suppl.) 4/4 Spring flowers..are worth looking into—in the form of a shirt or a skirt or a late-day dress—to pick up a flagging, winter-worn spirit. |
c. Of or pertaining to the sale of alcohol to the public after normal licensing hours;
spec. as
late licence.
| [1816 N. Conant in Min. Evid. Sel. Comm. Commons Police 25 If such houses are kept open at late hours..the present laws would reach them.] 1924 M. Arlen Green Hat iv. 115 It was a ‘late night’ at the Loyalty, which meant that you could drink wine until they took it from you. 1972 M. Gilbert Body of Girl xix. 170 There's two pubs and one drink shop with a late licence. 1990 Face June 101/2 British pubs and clubs usually face great difficulty securing a late licence on anything approaching a regular basis because of fears that longer hours will mean increased drunken mayhem. |
[4.] b. Archaeol. and
Geol. Usu. with capital initial. Designating a final phase or stage of a specified period, culture, etc.
| 1880, etc. [see *late-glacial a.]. 1905 R. Munro Archæol. & False Antiquities i. 13 We have positive evidence of the existence of objects of the ‘Late Celtic’ civilisation in the lake village of Glastonbury. 1930 V. G. Childe Bronze Age vi. 192 The Late Bronze Age was an epoch of turmoil and migration. 1977 G. Clark World Prehist. (ed. 3) x. 439 The final emergence of urban as distinct from ceremonial centres defined the Late Intermediate phase of Andean prehistory. 1985 Antiquaries Jrnl. LXV. 286 The interior of the enclosure was sealed beneath alluvial clay in Late Iron Age times. 1993 Playboy Jan. 140/3 The inequality of women and men in this poor world goes back at least to the late Neolithic Period. |
c. Of a writer, composer, etc., or his or her works: (produced) relatively near the end of his or her career. Also
late-period.
| 1879 F. J. Furnivall Chaucer's Minor Poetry 419 This late poem [Envoy to Scogan] composed of two Terns and an Envoy. 1928 H. H. Furness Tragedie of Coriolanus p.vii, The Tragedie of Coriolanus is classed among the late plays. 1951 Music Rev. XII. 52 The division of his work by Fétis, Lenz, and many later critics into three periods has led to a regrettable tendency to speak of early, middle and late Beethoven as though they were practically three different composers. 1970 ‘R. Crawford’ Kiss Boss Goodbye i. iv. 28 A late-period Gaugin..is presumably recorded somewhere. 1988 Sunday Express Mag. 3 Apr. 13/3 You venture into ‘late Strauss’, Janacek and Britten. |
(Formerly
s.v. late a.
1 2 d.) Add:
2. transf. One who or that which arrives late; also, a recent arrival, a newcomer.
| 1872 'G. Eliot' Middlemarch II. iii. xxvii. 81 ‘What a late comer you are!’ she said, as they shook hands. ‘Mamma had given you up a little while ago.’ 1892 J. S. Fletcher When Chas. I was King I. ii. 35 Then did late-comers, hearing the solitary bell, hurry their movements. 1912 T. Hardy Far from Madding Crowd (rev. ed.) xxxii. 247 In her topographical ignorance as a latecomer to the place, she misreckoned the distance. 1923 Observer 4 Mar. 11/5 Latecomers will not be admitted until the curtain has fallen after the first act. 1942 R.A.F. Jrnl. 13 June 14 There are no late-comers on parade. 1951 J. B. Priestley Festival at Farbridge iii. ii. 453 An anxious latecomer making the quietest possible entrance. 1978 Jrnl. R. Soc. Arts CXXVI. 701/2 The drawing collection of the Chicago Art Institute was a late-comer amongst the rich art collections of the ‘windy city’. 1991 Bicycle Guide Sept. 54/1 If Herbold sounds convinced, it could be because he is no latecomer to the suspension scene. |
▸
late bloomer n. (a) a plant which flowers relatively late, typically in late summer or early autumn;
(b) a person who displays talent, develops skills or interests, or achieves success at a relatively late stage in life;
cf. early bloomer n. (a) at
early adj. and
n. Additions
| 1871 Bull. Torrey Bot. Club 2 2 The blossoms of the Cabbage, Shepherd's-Purse, and Chick-weed... It will be noticed that all these *late bloomers are foreigners. 1921 C. Spearman Abilities of Man 367 If once, then, a child of eleven years or so has had his relative amount of g measured in a really accurate manner, the hope of teachers and parents that he will ever rise to a much higher standing as a late-bloomer would seem to be illusory. 1986 M. Atwood & R. Weaver Oxf. Bk. Canad. Short Stories (1988) p. xviii, In the 1950s Ethel Wilson—a marvellous older writer, a true late-bloomer—was presiding in Vancouver. |
▪ III. † late, a.2 Obs. rare—1.
[ad. L. lāt-us broad.] Broad, wide.
| 1657 Tomlinson Renou's Disp. 297 Leaves..long, late, mucronated, hispid. |
▪ IV. late, adv. (
leɪt)
Forms: 1
late; the rest as in
late a.
1 [OE. late = OHG. laȥ, laȥȥo slowly, lazily (comp. laȥȥôr); f. læt, lat- late a.1] † 1. Slowly. (Only
OE.)
| c 1000 Sax. Leechd. II. 196 Late mylt gæten flæsc. c 1050 Voc. in Wr.-Wülcker 430/15 Lento, late. |
2. a. After the proper or usual time; at an advanced or deferred period; after delay; at a late stage or season.
| a 1000 O.E. Chron. an. 867 (Parker MS.) Late on ᵹeare. c 1000 Juliana 444 Ic þæt sylf ᵹecneow to late micles. a 1200 Moral Ode 128 Wel late he latheð uuel werc þe ne mei hit don ne mare. c 1200 Ormin 753 Þatt teȝȝ swa late mihhtenn child I mikell elde streonenn. c 1320 Sir Tristr. 695 Fair his tale bi gan Rohand, þei he com late. c 1375 Sc. Leg. Saints xviii. (Egipciane) 1483 Þocht at I lat turne me to þe, dere laydy, ȝet þu succure me. c 1386 Chaucer Pars. T. ¶300 Whan he comth by thilke encheson to late to chirche. 1483 Cath. Angl. 209/2 Late ripe, serotinus, tardus. 1560 J. Daus tr. Sleidane's Comm. 13 Then shal we bewaile our bondage all to late. 1598 Shakes. Merry W. ii. ii. 328 Better three houres too soone, then a mynute too late. a 1657 Sir W. Mure Misc. Poems i. 127 In tyme tak heid then, least too lait thou mourne. 1766 Goldsm. Vic. W. ii, But not till too late I discovered that he was violently attached to the contrary opinion. 1862 Thackeray Philip xxxv, Philip had come late to dinner. |
| transf. 1897 W. C. Hazlitt 4 Gen. Lit. Fam. II. 155 Byron said, her costume began too late, and ended too soon. |
| Proverb. c 1386 Chaucer Can. Yeom. Prol. & T. 857 For bet than never is late. c 1425 Lydg. Assembly of Gods 1204 He seyde Vyce to forsake ys bettyr late then neuer. 1529 More Suppl. Soulys Wks. 336/2 Sith that late is better then neuer. 1708 Ockley Saracens (1848) 222 Whilst he was murdering the unhappy Aleppians, Kaled (better late than never) came to their relief. 1852 C. M. Yonge Two Guardians xviii. 364 She obtained from Agnes some admiration for Caroline's conduct, though in somewhat of the ‘better late than never style’. 1876 G. H. Lewes Let. 10 Jan. in Geo. Eliot Lett. VI. (1956) 211, I think that in the next number at any rate a bill might be inserted with effect—better late than never! 1950 G. Greene Third Man ix. 77 Oh, Mr. Dexter, we have been so anxious, but better late than never. 1954 A. Huxley Let. 16 Sept. (1969) 711, I am sorry your holiday will have to be postponed so long; but better late than never. |
b. Coupled with
early, (
† ere),
soon, (
† rathe).
| c 1200 Ormin 6242 Beon ar & late o ȝunkerr weorrc. a 1225 Ancr. R. 338 Oðer ich hit do ungledliche oðer to er oðer to leate. a 1310 in Wright Lyric P. xxxvi. 99 Er ant late y be thy foo. c 1340 Cursor M. 1318 (Trin.) Fison, gison, tigre, & eufrate Al erþe þese weten erly & late. 1362 Langl. P. Pl. A. x. 13 Dobet..serueþ þat ladi lelly boþe late and raþe. c 1425 [see ere A 1]. 1430–40 Lydg. Bochas iii. i. (1554) 69 b, Glad Pouert, late nother sone, With thy riches hath nothing to done. 1578, 1795 [see ere A 1]. 1818 Byron Ch. Har. iv. clxxi, A weight..which crushes soon or late. |
3. Of the time of day: At or till a late hour.
| c 1400 Lanfranc's Cirurg. 189 Herwiþ þou schalt anoynte hir face at euen late. c 1475 Rauf Coilȝear 40 Euill lykand was the King it nichtit him sa lait. 1500–20 Dunbar Poems lvii. 8 Sum lait at evin bringis in the moreis. 1540 Bible (Great) Ps. cxxvii. 2 It is but loste laboure that ye haste to ryse up early, and so late take reste [1611 to sit vp late]. 1613 Purchas Pilgrimage (1614) 210 They continue singing till late in the night. 1697 Dryden Virg. Georg. iv. 197 Late returning home he supp'd at Ease. 1698 Fryer Acc. E. India & P. 74 It is dangerous to walk late for fear of falling into the Hands of those..Rascals. 1716 Addison Freeholder No. 22 ¶3 We sat pretty late over our punch. 1794 Mrs. Radcliffe Myst. Udolpho xv, After supper, her aunt sat late. 1837 Dickens Pickw. xxxvii, I was up very late last night. |
4. a. Recently, of late, lately; in recent times; not long since; but now;
† not long (
ago,
before). Now only
poet.| c 1330 R. Brunne Chron. (1810) 149 He regnes after him, and late had þe coroune. c 1340 Cursor M. 7917 (Trin.) Twey men were late in londe A pore and a riche wononde. 1362 Langl. P. Pl. A. iii. 105 Ichaue a Kniht hette Conscience com late from bi-ȝonde. 1377 Ibid. B. xvi. 249, I herde seyne late Of a barne þat [etc.]. c 1400 Destr. Troy 4887 Noght leng sithen but late. 1470–85 Malory Arthur xiv. viii, She asked hym yf he had ete ony mete late. Nay madame truly I ete no mete nyghe this thre dayes. 1490 Caxton Eneydos Prol. 1 A lytyl booke in frenshe, whiche late was translated oute of latyn. 1513 More in Grafton Chron. (1568) II. 767 The great obloquy that he was in so late before. 1530 Palsgr. 143 Naguayres, lately or late a go. 1592 Shakes. Ven. & Ad. 1131 Their vertue lost, wherein they late exceld. 1665 Manley Grotius' Low C. Warres 625 The Castle..which he had late before rendred to the people of Cleves. 1677 W. Mountagu in Buccleuch MSS. (Hist. MSS. Comm.) I. 325 The sickness late upon her. 1769 Sir W. Jones Pal. Fortune Poems (1777) 17 The bower, which late outshone the rosy morn. 1812 Byron Ch. Har. To Ianthe i, Those climes where I have late been straying. 1820 Keats St. Agnes xii, He had a fever late. 1883 R. W. Dixon Mano i. viii. 20 Gazing the sky which late thou seemedst to shun. |
b. Not long since (but not now); recently (but no longer). (
Cf. late a. 5 b.)
| 1474 Caxton Chesse 57 John the monke late cardynal of Rome. 1491 Act 7 Hen. VII, c. 15 John Mountagu late Erle of Sarum. 1512 Act 4 Hen. VIII, c. 10 The Domynyons..that late were to Edwarde Courteney. 1590 Spenser F.Q. iii. iii. 42 Late king, now captive; late lord, now forlorne. 1593 Shakes. Rich. II, ii. i. 282 His brother Archbishop, late of Canterbury. 1605 ― Ham. ii. ii. 530 A clout about that head, Where late the Diadem stood. 1669 (title) The mute Christian under the Smarting Rod..By Thomas Brooks late Preacher of the Word at St. Margarets New Fish-street, London. 1706 Lond. Gaz. No. 4249/4 John Barton, late of London, Clothdrawer. 1852 Thackeray Esmond i. xiv, As Esmond crossed over to his own room, late the chaplain's. |
† 5. Behind the others; in the rear.
rare.
| 1697 Dryden Virg. Georg. iii. 708 Where..thou seest a single Sheep..Listlessly to crop the tender Grass, Or late to lag behind. |
6. Relatively near the end of a historical period or of the history of a nation, etc.
| 1849 Macaulay Hist. Eng. i. I. 22 Some faint traces of the institution of villenage were detected by the curious so late as the days of the Stuarts. |
7. Comb. When qualifying a following
ppl. adj., the word, like most other
advs., is commonly hyphened, forming innumerable quasi-compounds, as (sense 2)
late-begun,
late-blowing,
late-born,
late-coming,
late-flowering,
late-lamented,
late-lingering,
late-protracted, etc.; (sense 4)
late-betrayed,
late-built,
late-coined,
late-come,
late-disturbed,
late-embarked,
late-filled,
late-found,
late-imprisoned,
late-kissed,
late-lost,
late-met,
late-raised,
late-sacked,
late-taken,
late-transformed, etc.
adjs.| 1933 Mind XLII. 279 The physiological and psychological processes which cause it to be given may be as complex and as *late-acquired as you please. |
| 1651 Jer. Taylor Serm. for Year i. vi. 75 A..*late-begun repentance. |
| 1591 Shakes. 1 Hen. VI, iii. ii. 82 As sure as in this *late betrayed Towne, Great Cordelions Heart was buryed. |
| a 1800 Cowper Winter Nosegay iii, The charms of the *late-blowing rose. |
| 1881 M. Arnold Westminster Abb. 8 Hither he came, *late-born and long-desired. |
| 1709 Lond. Gaz. No. 4535/3 An excellent *late-built dwelling House. |
| 1613 T. Godwin Rom. Antiq. (1625) 29 Novi, id est, *late-coyned Nobles or vpstarts. |
| 1639 Fuller Holy War ii. xxix. (1647) 81 The *late-come Pilgrims. |
| 1626 Bacon Sylva §421 A *Late-Comming Fruit. |
| 1923 Blunden To Nature 10 *Late-departing yelps the fox. 1932 ― Halfway House 72, I have contrived that some most secret treasures Shall lie an age untouched, and *late-discovered Shall be the source of hope and peace. |
| 1596 Shakes. 1 Hen. IV, ii. iii. 62 Like bubbles in a *late-disturbed Streame. |
| 1592 ― Ven. & Ad. cxxxvi, As one on shore Gazing upon a *late-embarked friend. |
| 1923 D. H. Lawrence Birds, Beasts & Flowers 57 About your feet spontaneous aconite..and purple husband-tyranny Enveloping your *late-enfranchised plains. |
| 1884 W. C. Smith Kildrostan 43 At the head of a *late filled Grave. |
| 1814 Wordsw. White Doe Ryl. iv. 86 *Late-flowering woodbine. 1855 Motley Dutch Rep. (1861) I. 12 That noble Language which her late-flowering literature has rendered so illustrious. |
| 1559 W. Cuningham Cosmogr. Glasse 169 The *late founde Ilandes. 1883 R. W. Dixon Mano i. iv. 8 Whilst our late found advantage all is ceased. |
| 1937 Blunden Elegy 30 Child of *late-gone gale. |
| 1906 Westm. Gaz. 16 Oct. 10/1 Only a few stragglers—most of them birds with their *late-hatched broods—are left. |
| 1725 Pope Odyss. x. 488 Around them throng With leaps and bounds their *late-imprison'd young. |
| 1599 Marston Sco. Villanie ii. vi, Mato..with his *late kist-hand my booke doth grace. |
| 1819 Shelley Prometh. Unb. i. 608 An early-chosen, *late-lamented home. |
| 1865 G. M. Hopkins Poems (1948) 36 That yield That I may win with *late-learnt skill uncouth. |
| 1859 Ld. Lytton Wanderer (ed. 2) 297 The maid, *Late-lingering in her lover's arm. |
| 1850 Tennyson In Mem. xiii. 2 A *late-lost form that sleep reveals. |
| 1936 Auden Look, Stranger! 29 On their behalf guard all the more This *late-maturing Northern shore. |
| 1631 Chapman Cæsar & Pompey Plays 1873 III. 152 In our *late-met Senate. |
| 1790 H. More Relig. Fash. World (1791) 211 The frequent and *late-protracted ball. |
| 1711 Light to Blind in 10th Rep. Hist. MSS. Comm. App. v. 126 Many regiments of his *late raysed army. |
| 1593 Shakes. Lucr. ccxlix, Who like a *late-sacked island vastly stood. |
| a 1586 Sidney Arcadia i. (1622) 42 Remembering that it was *late-taken loue, which had wrought this new course. |
| 1725 Pope Odyss. x. 532 Mean-while the Goddess, with indulgent cares And social joys, the *late-transform'd repairs. |
▪ V. late var. lait;
obs. f. lath; see
let v.