A Dictionary of the Older Scottish Tongue (up to 1700)
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First published 2001 (DOST Vol. X).
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.
Tardy, -ie, adj. [e.m.E. tardyue (Caxton), tardy (1530), tardie (1542), OF tardif, pop. L. *tardivus, f. tardus slow.] quasi-adv. a. Behind time, late. b. To take (another) tardy, to take unawares, surprise. —a. 1611 Fife Synod 3.
Everie brother comming tardie to the conferens … sall pay vnforgiven sex s. —b. 1642 Second Discovery of the Northern Scout 14.
They lay upon the lurch … for a revenge and one day … stole into Scotland, thinking to have taken them tardy
