English
late
Late comes from Middle English late ‘slow, sluggish, reluctant’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *leh₁d- ‘to be tired’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*leh₁d-‘to be tired’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*lh₁d-o-reconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*lataz‘slow’reconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*lat‘slow’reconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150læt‘slow’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500late‘slow’
- Englishearliest quotation 1595same form
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*leh₁d-‘to be tired’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*lh₁d-o-reconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*lataz‘slow’reconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*lat‘slow’reconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150læt‘slow’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500late‘slow’
- Englishearliest quotation 1595same form
Earliest quotation: 1595, The Life and Death of King Richard the Second: “OLd Iohn of Gaunt, time-honoured Lancaſter, Haſt thou according…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *leh₁d- ‘to be tired’
through Proto-Germanic *lataz ‘slow, lazy’
through Old English læt ‘slow’
Today it means
adj Near the end of a period of time.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *leh₁d- / late