delay

delay
I. noun Date: 13th century 1. a. the act of delaying ; the state of being delayed <
get started without delay
>
b. an instance of being delayed 2. the time during which something is delayed <
a delay of 30 minutes
>
II. verb Etymology: Middle English, from Anglo-French delaier, from de- + laier to leave, from lai-, present and future stem of lesser, laisser to leave, from Latin laxare to slacken, from laxus loose — more at slack Date: 14th century transitive verb 1. put off, postpone <
delay a departure
>
2. to stop, detain, or hinder for a time <
the mails were delayed by heavy snows
>
3. to cause to be slower or to occur more slowly than normal <
delay a child's development
>
intransitive verb to move or act slowly; also to cause delay • delayer noun Synonyms: delay, retard, slow, slacken, detain mean to cause to be late or behind in movement or progress. delay implies a holding back, usually by interference, from completion or arrival <
bad weather delayed our arrival
>
. retard suggests reduction of speed without actual stopping <
language barriers retarded their progress
>
. slow and slacken also imply a reduction of speed, slow often suggesting deliberate intention <
medication slowed the patient's heart rate
>
, slacken an easing up or relaxing of power or effort <
on hot days runners slacken their pace
>
. detain implies a holding back beyond a reasonable or appointed time <
unexpected business had detained her
>
. Synonyms: delay, procrastinate, lag, loiter, dawdle, dally mean to move or act slowly so as to fall behind. delay usually implies a putting off (as a beginning or departure) <
we cannot delay any longer
>
. procrastinate implies blameworthy delay especially through laziness or apathy <
procrastinates about making decisions
>
. lag implies failure to maintain a speed set by others <
lagging behind in technology
>
. loiter and dawdle imply delay while in progress, especially in walking, but dawdle more clearly suggests an aimless wasting of time <
loitered at several store windows
>
<
children dawdling on their way home from school
>
. dally suggests delay through trifling or vacillation when promptness is necessary <
stop dallying and get to work
>
.

New Collegiate Dictionary. 2001.

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  • delay — I noun cunctatio, cunctation, dalliance, deceleration, deferment, demurral, detainment, detention, dilatoriness, impediment, intermission, interruption, lag, lateness, cessatio, mora, moratorium, pause, postponement, procrastination, prolongation …   Law dictionary

  • delay — Delay, Dilatio, Mora, Procrastinatio, Spatium. Delais ordinaires et ordonnez par la Loy, Legitimi dies. Un delay et terme de vingt jours donné par la Loy à ceux qui estoient convaincus par instrument, ou par leur confession, de debvoir quelque… …   Thresor de la langue françoyse

  • Delay — Saltar a navegación, búsqueda Pedal de delay. Delay (inglés: retraso) es un efecto de sonido que consiste en la multiplicación y retraso modulado de una señal sonora. Una vez procesada la señal se mezcla con la original. El resultado es el… …   Wikipedia Español

  • DELAY (J.) — Jean DELAY 1907 1987 De sa naissance à Bayonne le 14 novembre 1907 jusqu’à la fresque sans égale achevée avec sa tétralogie généalogique Avant mémoire , en passant par l’Académie de médecine et l’Académie francaise, chaque moment de la vie de… …   Encyclopédie Universelle

  • delay — vb 1 Delay, retard, slow, slacken, detain are not always close synonyms, but they carry the same basic meaning: to cause someone or something to be behind in his or its schedule or usual rate of movement or progress. Delay implies the operation,… …   New Dictionary of Synonyms

  • delay — DELAY. s. m. Retardement, remise. Long delay. demander un delay. obtenir un delay. donner quelque delay. prendre du delay. sans delay. sans aucun delay. sans plus de delay. deux ou trois jours de delay. pour tout delay …   Dictionnaire de l'Académie française

  • Delay — (engl. Verzögerung) steht für: mehrere Begriffe in der Telekommunikation, siehe Verzögerung (Telekommunikation) eine Verzögerung von Schall, siehe Delay (Musik) einen Effekt aus dem Bereich der audivisuell unterstützenden Veranstaltungstechnik… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Delay — De*lay , n.; pl. {Delays}. [F. d[ e]lai, fr. OF. deleer to delay, or fr. L. dilatum, which, though really from a different root, is used in Latin only as a p. p. neut. of differre to carry apart, defer, delay. See {Tolerate}, and cf. {Differ},… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Delay — De*lay , v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Delayed}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Delaying}.] [OF. deleer, delaier, fr. the noun d[ e]lai, or directly fr. L. dilatare to enlarge, dilate, in LL., to put off. See {Delay}, n., and cf. {Delate}, 1st {Defer}, {Dilate}.] 1. To …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Delay — De*lay , v. i. To move slowly; to stop for a time; to linger; to tarry. [1913 Webster] There seem to be certain bounds to the quickness and slowness of the succession of those ideas, . . . beyond which they can neither delay nor hasten. Locke.… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Delay — (inglés: retraso) Efecto de sonido que consiste en la multiplicación y retraso modulado de una señal sonora. Una vez procesada la señal se mezcla con la original. El resultado es el clásico efecto de eco sonoro. En cualquier módulo de delay… …   Enciclopedia Universal

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