Tardiest

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. The individual who shows the most delay in arrival or action is recognized as the latest
2. A person or object distinguished by the highest level of lateness in terms of time or sequence is labeled as such
3. Describes someone or something that arrives or happens later than all others

Etymology: "Tardiest" is the superlative of "tardy," so it is best understood through its base word. The adjective "tardy" traces back to Latin "tardus," meaning "slow" or "sluggish," a word whose own origins are obscure. Latin gave rise to "tardivus," meaning "slow" or "late" in the sense of coming after the expected time, and this passed into French as "tardif." English then borrowed it as "tardive," which later shortened to "tardy." The sense of "slow" in the Latin root has largely narrowed in English to "late," so the superlative describes someone who is most behind schedule. The word's core idea is the gap between when something should happen and when it actually does.

Synonyms: latest, slowest, delayed, belated, behind

Antonyms: earliest, promptest, quickest