Etymograph

English

tardy

Tardy comes from French tardif ‘late, belated’, from Latin tardus ‘slow”, “sluggish’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *terh₂- ‘to cross over, pass through, overcome’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*terh₂-1‘to cross over, pass through, overcome’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*tr̥h₂-d-o-1reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*tardo-1reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEtardus2‘slow”, “sluggish’
  5. Late Latinc. 200–600 CEtardīvus2‘late’
  6. Old Frenchc. 842–1400tardif3
  7. Frenchc. 1600–presenttardif2‘late, belated’
  8. Englishearliest quotation c. 1593tardy2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin tardus
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English tardy
  3. 3 Wiktionary, French tardif
  4. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: c. 1593, William Shakespeare, The Tragedy of Richard the Third: […]: “Be not ta’en tardy by unwise delay.”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*terh₂-Wiktionary, Latin tardus‘to cross over, pass through, overcome’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*tr̥h₂-d-o-Wiktionary, Latin tardusreconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*tardo-Wiktionary, Latin tardusreconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEtardusWiktionary, English tardy‘slow”, “sluggish’
  5. Late Latinc. 200–600 CEtardīvusWiktionary, English tardy‘late’
  6. Old Frenchc. 842–1400tardifWiktionary, French tardif
  7. Frenchc. 1600–presenttardifWiktionary, English tardy‘late, belated’
  8. Englishearliest quotation c. 1593tardyWiktionary, English tardy. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: c. 1593, William Shakespeare, The Tragedy of Richard the Third: […]: “Be not ta’en tardy by unwise delay.”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *terh₂- ‘to cross over, pass through, overcome’

through, enter, trans, thorough, tram, avatar, tranquillity, torus, sarai, 20 more

through Proto-Italic *tardo-

retardant, 7 more

through Latin tardus ‘slow”, “sluggish’

retard, 8 more

Today it means

adj Late; overdue or delayed.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “tardy”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Latin tardus, French tardif. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *terh₂- / tardy

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