Hypertext Webster Gateway: "slow"
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)
Slow \Slow\, obs.
imp. of {Slee}, to slay. Slew. --Chaucer.
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)
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.
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)
Slow \Slow\, adv.
Slowly.
Let him have time to mark how slow time goes In time of
sorrow. --Shak.
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)
Slow \Slow\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Slowed}; p. pr. & vb. n.
{Slowing}.]
To render slow; to slacken the speed of; to retard; to delay;
as, to slow a steamer. --Shak.
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)
Slow \Slow\, v. i.
To go slower; -- often with up; as, the train slowed up
before crossing the bridge.
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)
Slow \Slow\, n.
A moth. [Obs.] --Rom. of R.
From WordNet (r) 1.7 (wn)
slow
adj 1: not moving quickly; taking a comparatively long time; "a
slow walker"; "the slow lane of traffic"; "her steps
were slow"; "he was slow in reacting to the news";
"slow but steady growth" [ant: {fast}]
2: (music) at a slow tempo; "the band played a slow waltz"
[ant: {fast}]
3: slow to learn or understand; lacking intellectual acuity;
"so dense he never understands anything I say to him";
"never met anyone quite so dim"; "although dull at
classical learning, at mathematics he was uncommonly
quick"- Thackeray; "dumb officials make some really dumb
decisions"; "he was either normally stupid or being
deliberately obtuse"; "worked with the slow students"
[syn: {dense}, {dim}, {dull}, {dumb}, {obtuse}]
4: (used of timepieces) indicating a time earlier than the
correct time; "the clock is slow" [ant: {fast}]
5: so lacking in interest as to cause mental weariness; "a
boring evening with uninteresting people"; "the deadening
effect of some routine tasks"; "a dull play"; "his
competent but dull performance"; "a ho-hum speaker who
couldn't capture their attention"; "what an irksome task
the writing of long letters is"- Edmund Burke; "tedious
days on the train"; "the tiresome chirping of a cricket"-
Mark Twain; "other people's dreams are dreadfully
wearisome" [syn: {boring}, {deadening}, {dull}, {ho-hum},
{irksome}, {tedious}, {tiresome}, {wearisome}]
6: (of business) not active or brisk; "business is dull (or
slow)"; "a sluggish market" [syn: {dull}, {sluggish}]
adv 1: without speed; "he spoke slowly"; "go easy here--the road is
slippery"; "glaciers move tardily"; (`slow' is
sometimes used informally for `slowly' as in "please
go slow; I want to see the sights") [syn: {slowly}, {easy},
{tardily}] [ant: {quickly}]
2: of timepieces; "the clock is almost an hour slow"; "my watch
is running behind" [syn: {behind}]
v 1: lose velocity; move more slowly; "The car decelerated" [syn:
{decelerate}, {slow down}, {slow up}, {retard}] [ant: {accelerate}]
2: become slow or slower; "Production slowed" [syn: {slow down},
{slow up}, {slack}, {slacken}]
3: cause to proceed more slowly; "The illness slowed him down"
[syn: {slow down}, {slow up}]
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