Definition
nounA period of time before an event occurs; the act of delaying; procrastination; lingering inactivity.
nounAn audio effects unit that introduces a controlled delay.
Sentence Examples
I apologize for the delay in sending the agenda.
We should deal with this matter without delay.
Word Origin & History
From Middle English delaien, borrowed from Anglo-Norman delaier, Old French deslaier, from des- + Old French laier (“to leave”), a conflation of Old Frankish *lattjan ("to delay, hinder"; from Proto-Germanic *latjaną (“to delay, hinder, stall”), from Proto-Indo-European *leh₁d- (“to leave, leave behind”)), and Old Frankish *laibijan ("to leave"; from Proto-Germanic *laibijaną (“to leave, cause to stay”), from Proto-Indo-European *leyp- (“to remain, continue”)). Doublet of dally.
Akin to Old English latian (“to delay, hesitate”), Old English latu (“a delay, a hindrance”), Old English lǣfan (“to leave”). More at let (to hinder), late, leave.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"Without any delay, on the morrow I sat on the judgment seat."
— 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Acts 25:17:
"The government ought to be settled without the delay of a day."
— 1848, Thomas Babington Macaulay, The History of England from the Accession of James the Second, volume 1, London: A. and W. Galignani & Co., published 1849, page 522:
"In this article I'm thinking about the big delays, over two hours. While rare, they make the news and help to deter people from future rail travel, both travellers and news viewers."
— 2019 October, Ian Walmsley, “Cleaning up”, in Modern Railways, page 42:
"The 8-bit sound quality of many early delays did indeed leave a lot to be desired (compare this to the 16-bit digital technology of CDs)"
— 2014, Dave Hunter, Guitar Amps and Effects For Dummies, page 259:
"My lord delayeth his coming."
— 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Matthew 24:48: