Forms: α. 5 tardyve, 6 tardife. β. 6 tardye, -dee, 6–7 tardie, (7 tar’de), 6– tardy. [a. F. tardif, -ive (12th c. in Littré) = Sp. tardio, It. tardivo:—pop.L. type *tardīvus, f. tardus slow: see -IVE. In the β forms the ending -ive is reduced to -ie, -ye, -y: see -IVE, par. 3.]
1. Slow: in various senses. a. Slow in motion, action, or occurrence; making little progress in a comparatively long time; of slow nature, sluggish.
α. 1483. Caxton, Gold. Leg., 23 b/2. We ought to gyue thankynges to the dyuyne dyspensacion, for the tardyue creaunce of holy faders to us necessarye.
c. 1580[?]. T. Hacket, Treas. Amadis de Gaule, 155. Trusting that … ye wil not be tardife in so good a worke.
1600. F. Walker, trans. Sp. Mandeville, 59. The chollerick man is commonly hasty and heedelesse … and the flegmatick more slowe and tardife.
β. 1590. Shaks., Com. Err., II. i. 44. Say, is your tardie master now at hand? Ibid. (1594) Rich. III., II. i. 89. Some tardie Cripple bare the Countermand.
1713. Young, Last Day, III. 176. I faint, my tardy blood forgets to flow.
1751. Johnson, Rambler, No. 169, ¶ 1. Thus the firmest timber is of tardy growth.
1866. G. Macdonald, Ann. Q. Neighb., xxviii. To watch the gradual and tardy awakening of the intellect.
b. Not acting, coming, or happening until after the proper, expected, or desired time; late, behind-hand; delaying, or delayed; dilatory; sometimes, delaying through unwillingness, reluctant, ‘slow’ (to some action, or to do something).
1667. Milton, P. L., X. 853. On the ground Outstretcht he lay,… oft Curs’d his Creation, Death as oft accus’d Of tardie execution.
1742. West, Lett., in Gray’s Poems (1775), 147. O join with mine thy tuneful lay, And invocate the tardy May.
1749. Johnson, Van. Hum. Wishes, 160. See nations slowly wise, and meanly just, To buried merit raise the tardy bust.
a. 1822. Shelley, Chas. I., II. 355. Oh be our feet still tardy to shed blood.
1849. Macaulay, Hist. Eng., ii. I. 191. Then, at length, tardy justice was done to the memory of Oliver.
1908. Betw. Trent & Ancholme, 47. When a girl used to think her admirer rather tardy in asking for the wedding day.
† 2. Phr. To take (also rarely catch, find) a person tardy: to overtake (? orig. on account of slowness of advance); to surprise; to come upon unprepared or unawares; hence, to detect, ‘catch’ in a crime, fault, error, etc.: often merely synonymous with TAKE v. 8. Obs.
1530. Palsgr., 554/1. s.v. Forage, As we went a foragynge the laste daye, we were almoste taken tardy of a bande of horse men.
1542. Udall, Erasm. Apoph., 253. He tooke her tardie with a plaine lye.
1579. Fulke, Refut. Rastel, 725. I haue taken him tardye alreadie in falsifying the scripture.
1594. Shaks., Rich. III., IV. i. 52. Be not ta’ne tardie by vnwise delay.
1601. Dent, Pathw. Heaven, 355. So shall the comming of the sonne of man to iudgement, take the world tardy and unprepared.
1620. Rowlands, Night Raven, 16. A Drunkard, (whom the cup did tardy catch).
1640. Brathwait, Boulster Lect., 94. Who, being found tardy, said he was troubled with a Spirit.
1677. Conn. Col. Rec. (1852), II. 499. Pawbequenuck … being found tardy of inticeing the surrenderers to depart from the English … was sent to prison.
1690. C. Nesse, O. & N. Test., I. 306. To sing morning hymns … from which exercise this angel must not be taken tardy, much less be absent.
† b. ellipt. for ‘taken tardy’: Detected in a fault, caught tripping. Obs.
1591. R. Turnbull, Exp. Jas., 150 b. Adulterie, a grieuous euill,… yet David (the man of God) was tardie therein.
a. 1643. J. Shute, Judgement & Mercy (1645), 118. Montanus, in whose heresie Tertullian (though else a good man) was tardie.
1705. trans. Bosman’s Guinea, 358. A Negroe, who had been tardy with one of the King’s Wives.
1706. Phillips (ed. 6), Tardy,… also guilty, found tripping, or in a Fault.
3. quasi-adv. Behind time, late. Phr. to come tardy off, to fall short, to be done or carried out inadequately (obs. or arch.: cf. COME v. 61 i).
1586. Warner, Alb. Eng., II. xiii. (1589), 54. When Troy was ouer stoute,… and tardie lookt aboute.
1592. Shaks., Rom. & Jul., II. vi. 15. Too swift arriues as tardie as too slow.
1718. Hickes & Nelson, J. Kettlewell, I. vi. 23. He never … incurred the least Censure, as by Neglect of … Prayers, or coming Tardy to them.
a. 1836. Leverett, Lexicon Lat.-Eng., Pref. In such a case, the work is better overdone than come tardy off.
4. Comb., as tardy-coming, -gaited, -moving, -rising adjs.
1599. Shaks., Hen. V., IV. Prol. 20. The confident and ouerlustie French, Doe … chide the creepple-tardy-gated Night, Who … doth limpe So tediously away.
1719. Young, Busiris, 63. How like the dyal’s tardy moving Shade!
1757. Dyer, Fleece, I. Poems (1761), 82. Thither crowds Each greedy wretch for tardy-rising wealth, Which comes too late.
1835. T. C. Grattan, Agnes de Mansfeldt, II. viii. 224. His greatest impatience now was for the tardy-coming night, when he might himself unobservedly rush forth in search.
