slow

Slow , n. A moth. [Obs.]

Rom. of R.

Slow , v. i. To go slower; -- often with up; as, the train slowed up before crossing the bridge.

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.

Slow , adv. Slowly.

Let him have time to mark how slow time goes
In time of sorrow.

Slow (slō), a. [Compar. Slower (?); superl. Slowest.]

[OE. slow, slaw, AS. slāw; akin to OS. slēu blunt, dull, D. sleeuw, slee, sour, OHG. slēo blunt, dull, Icel. slōr, slær, Dan. slöv, Sw. slö. 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.

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.

4. Not hasty; not precipitate; acting with deliberation; tardy; inactive.

He that is slow to wrath is of great understanding.

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.

&fist; 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 (Zoöl.), 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. -- 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.

Slow (slō), obs. imp. of Slee, to slay. Slew. Chaucer.