- Slow
- Slow Slow (sl[=o]), a. [Compar. {Slower} (sl[=o]"[~e]r);
superl. {Slowest}.] [OE. slow, slaw, AS. sl[=a]w; akin to OS.
sl[=e]u blunt, dull, D. sleeuw, slee, sour, OHG. sl[=e]o
blunt, dull, Icel. sl[=o]r, sl[ae]r, Dan. sl["o]v, Sw.
sl["o]. Cf. {Sloe}, and {Sloth}.]
1. Moving a short space in a relatively long time; not swift;
not quick in motion; not rapid; moderate; deliberate; as,
a slow stream; a slow motion.
[1913 Webster]
2. Not happening in a short time; gradual; late. [1913 Webster]
These changes in the heavens, though slow, produced Like change on sea and land, sidereal blast. --Milton. [1913 Webster]
3. Not ready; not prompt or quick; dilatory; sluggish; as, slow of speech, and slow of tongue. [1913 Webster]
Fixed on defense, the Trojans are not slow To guard their shore from an expected foe. --Dryden. [1913 Webster]
4. Not hasty; not precipitate; acting with deliberation; tardy; inactive. [1913 Webster]
He that is slow to wrath is of great understanding. --Prov. xiv. 29. [1913 Webster]
5. Behind in time; indicating a time earlier than the true time; as, the clock or watch is slow. [1913 Webster]
6. Not advancing or improving rapidly; as, the slow growth of arts and sciences. [1913 Webster]
7. Heavy in wit; not alert, prompt, or spirited; wearisome; dull. [Colloq.] --Dickens. Thackeray. [1913 Webster]
Note: Slow is often used in the formation of compounds for the most part self-explaining; as, slow-gaited, slow-paced, slow-sighted, slow-winged, and the like. [1913 Webster]
{Slow coach}, a slow person. See def.7, above. [Colloq.]
{Slow lemur}, or {Slow loris} (Zo["o]l.), an East Indian nocturnal lemurine animal ({Nycticebus tardigradus}) about the size of a small cat; -- so called from its slow and deliberate movements. It has very large round eyes and is without a tail. Called also {bashful Billy}.
{Slow match}. See under {Match}. [1913 Webster]
Syn: Dilatory; late; lingering; tardy; sluggish; dull; inactive.
Usage: {Slow}, {Tardy}, {Dilatory}. Slow is the wider term, denoting either a want of rapid motion or inertness of intellect. Dilatory signifies a proneness to defer, a habit of delaying the performance of what we know must be done. Tardy denotes the habit of being behind hand; as, tardy in making up one's acounts. [1913 Webster]
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English. 2000.
