delay

See also: Delay

English

Etymology 1

From Middle English delaien, borrowed from Anglo-Norman delaier, Old French deslaier, from des- + Old French laier (“to leave”), a conflation of Old Frankish *lattjan ("to delay, hinder"; from Proto-Germanic *latjaną (“to delay, hinder, stall”), from Proto-Indo-European *leh₁d- (“to leave, leave behind”)), and Old Frankish *laibijan ("to leave"; from Proto-Germanic *laibijaną (“to leave, cause to stay”), from Proto-Indo-European *leyp- (“to remain, continue”)). Doublet of dally.

Akin to Old English latian (“to delay, hesitate”), Old English latu (“a delay, a hindrance”), Old English lǣfan (“to leave”). More at let (to hinder), late, leave.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /dɪˈleɪ/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /dəˈleɪ/, /dɪ-/

• Audio (General American):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -eɪ
• Hyphenation: de‧lay

Noun

delay (countable and uncountable, plural delays)

1. A period of time before an event occurs; the act of delaying; procrastination; lingering inactivity.

   the delay before the echo of a sound

   • 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Acts 25:17:

     Without any delay, on the morrow I sat on the judgment seat.

   • 1848, Thomas Babington Macaulay, The History of England from the Accession of James the Second, volume 1, London: A. and W. Galignani & Co., published 1849, page 522:

     The government ought to be settled without the delay of a day.

   • 2019 October, Ian Walmsley, “Cleaning up”, in Modern Railways, page 42:

     In this article I'm thinking about the big delays, over two hours. While rare, they make the news and help to deter people from future rail travel, both travellers and news viewers.

2. (music) An audio effects unit that introduces a controlled delay.
   • 2014, Dave Hunter, Guitar Amps and Effects For Dummies, page 259:

     The 8-bit sound quality of many early delays did indeed leave a lot to be desired (compare this to the 16-bit digital technology of CDs)

3. (programming, Clojure) Synonym of promise (“object representing delayed result”)
4. (chess) An amount of time provided on each move before one's clock starts to tick; a less common time control than increment.

Synonyms

• (period of time): cunctation, hold-up; see also Thesaurus:delay

Derived terms

• broadcast delay
• call delay
• danger in delay
• delay differential equation
• delay line
• delay slot
• delay tactic
• delay time
• language delay
• multidelay
• predelay
• profanity delay
• rain delay
• round-trip delay time
• Shapiro delay
• tape delay
• time-delay
• time delay

 

Descendants

• → Portuguese: delay

Translations

period of time before an event occurs; act of delaying

• Arabic: تَأْخِير m (taʔḵīr), تَأَخَّر m (taʔaḵḵar)

  Egyptian Arabic: مهلة f (mihla)

• Armenian: ուշացում (hy) (ušacʻum)
• Assamese: পলম (polom), দেৰি (deri)
• Azerbaijani: ləngimə, yubanma, gecikmə, təxir
• Belarusian: затры́мка f (zatrýmka), прыпы́нак m (prypýnak), прамару́джанне n (pramarúdžannje), спазне́нне n (spaznjénnje)
• Bulgarian: отла́гане (bg) n (otlágane), заба́вяне (bg) n (zabávjane), закъсне́ние (bg) n (zakǎsnénie)
• Catalan: retard (ca) m, demora (ca) f, endarreriment m
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 遲延／迟延 (zh) (chíyán), 延遲／延迟 (zh) (yánchí)

• Czech: zpoždění (cs) n
• Dutch: vertraging (nl) f
• Esperanto: prokrasto
• Finnish: viivästys (fi), viive (fi), viipymä, viivästymä, jahkailu (fi) (procrastination), viivyttely (fi) (procrastination), vitkastelu (fi) (procrastination), aikailu (fi) (procrastination), kuhnailu (fi) (procrastination), lykkäys (fi), vitkuttelu (fi) (procrastination)
• French: délai (fr) m, retard (fr) m
• Galician: demora (gl) f, mora (gl) f, retraso m
• Georgian: please add this translation if you can
• German: Verzögerung (de) f, Verspätung (de) f
• Greek:

  Ancient: τριβή f (tribḗ)

• Hebrew: איחור / אִחוּר (he) m (ikhúr), איכוב / עכוּב m (ikúv)
• Hindi: देर (hi) f (der), विलंब (hi) m (vilamb)
• Hungarian: késedelem (hu), késés (hu)
• Icelandic: töf f
• Indonesian: keterlambatan (id)
• Irish: faillí f
• Italian: ritardo (it) m
• Japanese: 遅れ (ja) (おくれ, okure), 遅延 (ja) (ちえん, chien)
• Kazakh: кідіріс (kıdırıs)
• Khmer: please add this translation if you can
• Korean: 지연(遲延) (ko) (jiyeon), 지체(遲滯) (ko) (jiche)
• Kurdish:

  Central Kurdish: دواخستن (dwaxistin), پاشخستن (paşxistin)

• Latin: mora (la) f
• Macedonian: одложување n (odložuvanje)
• Maltese: dewmien m
• Maori: akutōtanga, roa (mi)
• Mongolian: please add this translation if you can
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: forsinkelse m

• Persian: دِرَنگ (fa) (derang), دیرکَرد (fa) (dirkard)
• Polish: opóźnienie (pl) n,
• Portuguese: atraso (pt), demora (pt) f, mora (pt) f, espera (pt), delay m
• Romanian: întârziere (ro) f
• Russian: заде́ржка (ru) f (zadéržka), промедле́ние (ru) n (promedlénije), опозда́ние (ru) n (opozdánije)
• Scottish Gaelic: dàil f
• Slovak: sklz m, zdržanie n, meškanie n
• Slovene: zamuda f, odlašanje n
• Somali: daahi
• Spanish: retraso (es), demora (es) f
• Swedish: försening (sv) c, fördröjning (sv) c, uppskov (sv) n
• Telugu: ఆలస్యము (te) (ālasyamu)
• Thai: ดีเลย์
• Tigrinya: ደንጐየ (dängʷäyä), ድንጓየ (dəngʷayä), ደንጎየ (dängoyä)
• Turkish: gecikme (tr), rötar (tr)
• Ukrainian: за́тримка f (zátrymka), затри́мка f (zatrýmka), заде́ржка f (zadéržka), га́янка f (hájanka), зволіка́ння n (zvolikánnja), спі́знення n (spíznennja)
• Urdu: دیر f (der)
• Vietnamese: please add this translation if you can
• Yiddish: אָפּלייג m (opleyg)
• Zazaki: rotar c, peymende

Verb

delay (third-person singular simple present delays, present participle delaying, simple past and past participle delayed)

1. (transitive, intransitive) To put off until a later time; to defer.
   • 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Matthew 24:48:

     My lord delayeth his coming.

2. To retard; to stop, detain, or hinder, for a time.

   The mail is delayed by a heavy fall of snow.

   • 1897 December (indicated as 1898), Winston Churchill, chapter X, in The Celebrity: An Episode, New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company; London: Macmillan & Co., Ltd., →OCLC:

     Mr. Cooke had had a sloop yacht built at Far Harbor, the completion of which had been delayed, and which was but just delivered. […] The Maria had a cabin, which was finished in hard wood and yellow plush, and accommodations for keeping things cold.

3. (transitive, obsolete) To allay; to temper.
   • a. 1547, Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey, The faithful Lover declareth his Pains and his uncertain Joys, and with only Hope recomforteth somewhat his woful Heart:

     The watery showers delay the raging wind.

Usage notes

• This is a catenative verb that takes the gerund (-ing). See Appendix:English catenative verbs

Synonyms

• (put off until a later time): adjourn, defer, forslow, penelopize, postpone, put off, put on ice, suspend; See also Thesaurus:procrastinate
• (retard): belate, forslow, get in the way, hold up, impede; See also Thesaurus:hinder
• (allay): calm, moderate, quell; See also Thesaurus:pacify

Derived terms

• delayability
• delayable
• delayal
• delayed critical
• delayed criticality
• delayed ejaculation
• delayed miscarriage
• delayed neutron
• delayed-onset muscle soreness
• delayed onset muscle soreness
• delayed puberty
• delayed sleep phase disorder
• delayer
• delayingly
• delaying tactic
• delayism
• delay no more
• justice delayed is justice denied
• nondelaying
• redelay
• undelaying

 

Translations

to put off until a later time

• Albanian: mbodhis (sq), vonoj (sq)
• Arabic: أَجَّلَ (ar) (ʔajjala), أَبْطَأَ (ʔabṭaʔa) (slow down, hold up)
• Armenian: հետաձգել (hy) (hetajgel), ձգձգել (hy) (jgjgel), ուշացնել (hy) (ušacʻnel)
• Aromanian: amãn, ntãrdedz
• Bulgarian: колебая се (kolebaja se), отла́гам (bg) impf (otlágam), отло́жа pf (otlóža), заба́вям (bg) impf (zabávjam), заба́вя (bg) pf (zabávja)
• Catalan: endarrerir (ca), demorar (ca)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 遲延／迟延 (zh) (chíyán), 延遲／延迟 (zh) (yánchí), 耽誤／耽误 (zh)

• Danish: forsinke, udsætte (da), opsætte
• Dutch: uitstellen (nl), verdagen (nl)
• Esperanto: prokrasti
• Finnish: viivyttää (fi), viivästyttää, viivästää, lykätä (fi), myöhäistää (fi), siirtää tuonnemmaksi, siirtää myöhemmäksi, siirtää eteenpäin
• French: retarder (fr)
• Georgian: please add this translation if you can
• German: aufschieben (de), unterbrechen (de), sich verspäten (de), verschieben (de), vertagen (de), verzögern (de), zögern (de)
• Greek: αναβάλλω (el) (anavállo)

  Ancient: ἀναβάλλω (anabállō)

• Hebrew: לעכב (le'akev)
• Hungarian: elhalaszt (hu), elnapol (hu), elodáz (hu), felfüggeszt (hu), halaszt (hu)
• Icelandic: seinka (is)
• Ido: tardigar (io)
• Italian: differire (it), rimandare (it)
• Japanese: 遅延させる (ja) (ちえんさせる, chien saseru), 遅らせる (ja) (おくらせる, okuraseru)
• Khmer: please add this translation if you can
• Kurdish:

  Central Kurdish: دوای ئەخات (dway exat)

• Latin: cunctor, demoror, moror
• Malay: tangguhkan
• Maori: whakaakutō, takaware, whakatōmuri
• Mongolian: please add this translation if you can
• Norman: r'tèrgi
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: utsette (no)

  Nynorsk: utsetja

• Old English: ieldan, gælan, lettan, elcian
• Pashto: ځنډ m (źanḍ)
• Polish: opóźniać (pl) impf, opóźnić (pl) pf
• Portuguese: atrasar (pt), adiar (pt), protelar (pt), postergar (pt), retardar (pt)
• Quechua: apatatay
• Romanian: întârzia (ro), amâna (ro)
• Russian: откла́дывать (ru) impf (otkládyvatʹ), отложи́ть (ru) pf (otložítʹ), заде́рживать (ru) impf (zadérživatʹ), задержа́ть (ru) pf (zaderžátʹ)
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: колебати се, одга́ђати impf, одго̀дити pf

  Roman: kolebati se (sh), odgáđati (sh) impf, odgòditi (sh) pf

• Spanish: atrasar (es), demorar (es), retrasar (es)
• Swedish: skjuta upp (sv), senarelägga (sv), fördröja (sv)
• Thai: รอรี, รีรอ, ลังเล (th) (lang-lee), ชักช้า (th) (chák-cháa)
• Turkish: ertelemek (tr)
• Ukrainian: відклада́ти impf (vidkladáty), відкла́сти pf (vidklásty)
• Vietnamese: hoãn (vi), trì hoãn (vi)
• Yiddish: אָפּלייגן (opleygn)
• Zazaki: terkneyen, terkneyen

Etymology 2

From Middle English delaien, from Old French delaiier, a variant of delaissier.

Verb

delay (third-person singular simple present delays, present participle delaying, simple past and past participle delayed)

1. (obsolete) To dilute, temper.
2. (obsolete) To assuage, quench, allay.
   • 1590, Edmund Spenser, “Book III, Canto XII”, in The Faerie Queene. […], London: […] [John Wolfe] for William Ponsonbie, →OCLC:

     Those dreadfull flames she also found delayd / And quenched quite like a consumed torch […].

Further reading

• “delay”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
• “delay”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911, →OCLC.

Anagrams

• Dayle, layed, Adley, Dealy, ladye, Leday, leady, Daley, dealy

Maranao

Noun

delay

1. Job's tears

References

• A Maranao Dictionary, by Howard P. McKaughan and Batua A. Macaraya

Portuguese

Etymology

Unadapted borrowing from English delay.

Pronunciation

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /de.ˈlej/

Noun

delay m (plural delays)

1. (posh, except in technical contexts) delay (period of time before an event being initiated and actually occurring)

   Synonym: atraso

2. (audio engineering) delay (effect that produces echo-like repetitions in sound)
3. (audio engineering) delay (unit that produces a delay effect)