belated
/bəˈleɪtɪd/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.02 in modern English
10
Scrabble Score
7
Letters
3
Syllables
6
Unique Chars
Meaning
adj
Affected or overtaken by the lateness of the time; hence, synonym of benighted (“overtaken by night; caught out by oncoming night before reaching one's destination”).
adj
Later in relation to the proper time which something should have happened; specifically, delayed beyond the proper time.
adj
Slow to learn or to adopt a trend; hence, lacking education or sophistication; benighted, unenlightened, unsophisticated.
verb
simple past and past participle of belate.
Example Sentences
- "[…] Faerie Elves, / VVhoſe midnight Revels, by a Forreſt ſide / Or Fountain ſome belated Peaſant ſees, / Or dreams he ſees, […]"
- "At first the steps of a few belated villagers, or the sound of voices from the village, lightened our vigil, but one by one these interruptions died away, and an absolute stillness fell upon us, save for the chimes of the distant church, which told us of the progress of the night, […]"
- "A belated happy birthday to you!"
- "Henceforth vve are to ſtear by another ſort of Authors; neer enough to the things they vvrite, as in thir ovvn Countrie, if that vvould ſerve; in time not much belated, ſome of equal age; […]"
- "This day, for the firſt time, vve hear of the proofs. But vvhen vvere theſe proofs offered? In vvhat cauſe? VVho vvere the parties? VVho inſpected? VVho conteſted this belated account? Let us ſee ſomething to oppoſe to the body of record vvhich appears againſt them."
- "You may guess, then, how great was my relief when our belated baggage-train was descried against the sky-line, as it slowly wended its way along the purple edge of the precipice toward the staircase by which we had already descended."
Etymology
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *h₁ep-der. Proto-Indo-European *h₁épsder. Proto-Indo-European *h₁épider. Proto-Indo-European *h₁pi Proto-Germanic *bider. Proto-Germanic *bi- Proto-West Germanic *bi- Old English be- Middle English bi- English be- English late English belate Old English -ed Proto-Indo-European *-h₂ Proto-Indo-European *-éh₂ Proto-Indo-European *-tós Proto-Indo-European *-eh₂tos Proto-Germanic *-ōdaz Old English -od Middle English -ed English -ed English belated From belate (verb) + -ed (suffix forming adjectives, and past tense and past participle forms of regular verbs).
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /bəˈleɪtɪd/
- British English: /bɪˈleɪtɪd/
Inflected Forms
more belated (comparative)
most belated (superlative)