Dilatory
/ˈdɪl.ə.tɔːr.i/noun
Tending to delay or move slowly; causing or characterized by delay.
Did you know?Dilatory comes from Latin *dilatorius*, from *dilatare* meaning “to spread out” or “delay,” and it entered English in the 15th century as a legal and formal term for postponement.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*telə-
“to spread or stretch out”
Latin
Latin
lātus
“broad, wide”
Latin
Latin
dīlātāre
“to spread out, extend, delay”
Late Latin
Latin
dīlātōrius
“causing delay, postponing”
Middle English
English
dilatorie
“tending to delay; slow to act”
Modern English
English
dilatory
“delaying; procrastinating”