Slow \Slow\, a. [Compar. Slower; superl. Slowest.]
[OE.
slow, slaw, AS. sl[=a]w; akin to OS. sl?u blunt, dull, D.
sleeuw, slee, sour, OHG. sl?o blunt, dull, Icel. sl?r, sl?r,
Dan. sl["o]v, Sw. sl["o]. Cf. Sloe, and Sloth.]
1. Moving a short space in a relatively long time; not swift;
not quick in motion; not rapid; moderate; deliberate; as,
a slow stream; a slow motion.
2. Not happening in a short time; gradual; late.
These changes in the heavens, though slow, produced
Like change on sea and land, sidereal blast.
--Milton.
3. Not ready; not prompt or quick; dilatory; sluggish; as,
slow of speech, and slow of tongue.
Fixed on defense, the Trojans are not slow To guard
their shore from an expected foe. --Dryden.
4. Not hasty; not precipitate; acting with deliberation;
tardy; inactive.
He that is slow to wrath is of great understanding.
--Prov. xiv.
29.
5. Behind in time; indicating a time earlier than the true
time; as, the clock or watch is slow.
6. Not advancing or improving rapidly; as, the slow growth of
arts and sciences.
7. Heavy in wit; not alert, prompt, or spirited; wearisome;
dull. [Colloq.]
--Dickens. Thackeray.
Note: Slow is often used in the formation of compounds for
the most part self-explaining; as, slow-gaited,
slow-paced, slow-sighted, slow-winged, and the like.
Slow coach, a slow person. See def.7, above. [Colloq.]
Slow lemur, or Slow loris (Zo["o]l.), an East Indian
nocturnal lemurine animal (Nycticebus tardigradus) about
the size of a small cat; -- so called from its slow and
deliberate movements. It has very large round eyes and is
without a tail. Called also bashful Billy.
Slow match. See under Match.
Syn: Dilatory; late; lingering; tardy; sluggish; dull;
inactive.
Usage: Slow, Tardy, Dilatory. Slow is the wider term,
denoting either a want of rapid motion or inertness of
intellect. Dilatory signifies a proneness to defer, a
habit of delaying the performance of what we know must
be done. Tardy denotes the habit of being behind hand;
as, tardy in making up one's acounts.
Source: Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)
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