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Moving with a slow pace or motion; slow; not swift. And check the tardy flight of time. Sandys. Tardy to vengeance, and with mercy brave. Prior.

The state of being a bastard; illegitimacy.

Base timidity; cowardliness.

Illegitimately; in bastardy. [Archaic] Knolles.

The state of being a bastard; bastardy.

An ordinary with its ends cut off, borne sinister as a mark of bastardy, and containing one fourth in breadth of the bend sinister; -- called also bastard bar. See Bend sinister.

omplished; not equally forward with some other person or thing; dilatory; backward; late; tardy; as, behindhand in studies or in work. In this also [dress] the country are very much behindhand. Addison.

Lame; halting. [R.] "The cripple, tardy-gaited night." Shak.

Slow; tardy; dilatory; causing delay.

Marked by procrastination or delay; tardy; slow; sluggish; -- said of actions or measures. Alva, as usual, brought his dilatory policy to bear upon hiMotley. Dilatory plea (Law), a plea designed to create delay in the trial of a cause, generally founded upon some matter not connected with the merits of the case.…

Coming tardily after or behind; slow; tardy. [Obs.] Came too lag to see him buried. Shak.

Slow in progress; tardy. " No motion so swift or languid." Bentley.

Coming after the time when due, or after the usual or proper time; not early; slow; tardy; long delayed; as, a late spring.

n duty or business; not careful or prompt in fulfilling engagements; negligent; careless; tardy; behindhand; lagging; slack; hence, lacking earnestness or activity; languid; slow. Thou never wast remiss, I bear thee witness. Milton. These nervous, bold; those languid and remiss. Roscommon. Its motion becomes more langu…

at table; also, a set or number of vessels ordinarily used at table; as, the service was tardy and awkward; a service of plate or glass. There was no extraordinary service seen on the board. Hakewill.

Not hasty; not precipitate; acting with deliberation; tardy; inactive. He that is slow to wrath is of great understanding. Prov. xiv. 29.

In a tardy manner; slowly.

The quality or state of being tardy.