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Origin and history of slow

slow(adj.)

Middle English slou, from Old English slaw "inactive by nature, sluggish, torpid, lazy, tardy in taking action," also "not clever, dull, not quick in comprehension," from Proto-Germanic *slæwaz (source also of Old Saxon sleu "blunt, dull," Middle Dutch slee, Dutch sleeuw "sour, tart, blunt," Old High German sleo "blunt, dull," Old Norse sljor, Danish sløv, Swedish slö "blunt, dull").

The meaning "taking a long time to develop, not happening in a short time" is attested from c. 1200; that of "not quick to move physically, taking a long time to move or go a short distance" is by mid-14c. The meaning "dull, tedious" is from 1841. Of clocks, from 1690s.

As an adverb c. 1500. As a noun from c.122, "the slothful, sluggards." The slows "imaginary disease to account for lethargy" is from 1843. Slow-paced "moving or advancing slowly" is from 1590s. Slow-motion (adj.) in cinematography is by 1929.

slow(v.)

1550s, "delay, make slower;" 1590s, "go slower, become slow, slacken in speed," from slow (adj.). Related: Slowed; slowing. Old English had slawian (intransitive) "to be or become slow, be sluggish," but the modern use appears to be a 16c. re-formation.

also from 1550s

Entries linking to slow

sloth(n.)

late 12c., slouthe, "indolence, sluggishness, neglect of responsibilities," formed from Middle English slou, slowe (see slow (adj.)) + abstract formative -th (2).

It displaced earlier sleuthe, from Old English slæwþ, Kentish slewð, "sloth, indolence." The modern form might also be the old word conformed to the vowel in the adjective. The modern sense of "slowness, tardiness" is attested from mid-14c. As one of the deadly sins, it translates Latin accidia. A sloth-salve (c. 1400) was a (figurative) remedy for indolence.

The slow-moving South American mammal was first so called 1610s, a translation of Portuguese preguiça "slowness, slothfulness," from Latin pigritia "laziness" (compare Spanish perezosa "slothful," also "the sloth").

slowdown(n.)

also slow-down, 1892, "act of going more slowly," from the verbal phrase; see slow (v.) + down (adv.). To slow up "slow down speed" is attested by 1881.

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Trends of slow

adapted from books.google.com/ngrams/ with a 7-year moving average; ngrams are probably unreliable.

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fast

Old English fæst "firmly fixed, steadfast, constant; secure; enclosed, watertight; strong, fortified," probably from Proto-Germanic *fastu- "firm, fast" (source also of Old Frisian fest, Old Norse fastr, Dutch vast, German fest), from PIE root *past- "firm, solid" (source of Sans

late

Old English læt "occurring after the customary or expected time," originally "slow, sluggish, slack, lax, negligent," from...Saxon lat, Dutch laat, German laß "idle, weary," Gothic lats "weary, sluggish, lazy," latjan "to hinder"), from PIE *led- "slow...

athetosis

"condition in which the extremities perform slow, involuntary motions" (a form of childhood cerebral palsy), 1871, with -...

slack

, not tight or taut;" from Old English slæc "remiss, lax, characterized by lack of energy, sluggish, indolent, languid; slow...Slack and slow was a Middle English alliterative pairing....

relent

relenten, Anglo-French relenter, "to melt, soften in substance, dissolve," ultimately from re- in some sense + Latin lentus "slow...

easy

c. 1200, "at ease, having ease, free from bodily discomfort and anxiety," from Old French aisie "comfortable, at ease, rich, well-off" (Modern French aisé), past participle of aisier "to put at ease," from aise (see ease (n.)). Sense of "not difficult, requiring no great labor or

clog

early 14c., clogge "a lump of wood," origin unknown. Also used in Middle English of large pieces of jewelry and large testicles. Compare Norwegian klugu "knotty log of wood." Meaning "anything that impedes action" is from 1520s, via the notion of "block or mass constituting an en

delay

c. 1300, delaien, "to put off, postpone;" late 14c., "to put off or hinder for a time," from Old French delaiier, from de- "away, from" (see de-) + laier "leave, let." This is perhaps a variant of Old French laissier, from Latin laxare "slacken, undo" (see lax). But Watkins has i

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