English
slow
Slow comes from Old English slāw ‘lazy’, and goes back to Proto-Germanic *slaiwaz.
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*slaiwaz‘blunt’reconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*slaiwreconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150slāw‘lazy’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500slaw
- Englishearliest quotation 1594slow
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*slaiwaz‘blunt’reconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*slaiwreconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150slāw‘lazy’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500slaw
- Englishearliest quotation 1594slow
Earliest quotation: 1594, William Shakespeare, Lucrece (First Quarto): “Let him have time to mark how slow time…”
Every English word from Proto-Germanic *slaiwaz
Today it means
adj Taking a long time to move or go a short distance, or to perform an action; not quick in motion; proceeding at a low speed.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Germanic *slaiwaz / slow