slow

Etymology

From Middle English slow, slaw, from Old English slāw (“sluggish, inert, slothful, late, tardy, torpid, slow”), from Proto-Germanic *slaiwaz (“blunt, dull, faint, weak, slack”), possibly from Proto-Indo-European *sleyH-u- (“bad”). Cognate with Scots slaw (“slow”), West Frisian sleau (“slow, dull, lazy”), Dutch sleeuw (“blunt, dull”), Low German slee (“dull, sluggish”), German schlehe, schleh (“dull, exhausted, faint”), Danish sløv (“dull, torpid, drowsy”), Swedish slö (“slack, lazy”), Icelandic sljór (“dim-witted, slow”).

adj

1. Taking a long time to move or go a short distance, or to perform an action; not quick in motion; proceeding at a low speed.
   a slow train; a slow computer
   Dotcom mania was slow in coming to higher education, but now it has the venerable industry firmly in its grip. Since the launch early last year of Udacity and Coursera, two Silicon Valley start-ups offering free education through MOOCs, massive open online courses, the ivory towers of academia have been shaken to their foundations. 2013-07-20, “The attack of the MOOCs”, in The Economist, volume 408, number 8845
2. Not happening in a short time; spread over a comparatively long time.
   Similar studies of rats have employed four different intracranial resorbable, slow sustained release systems—surgical foam, a thermal gel depot, a microcapsule or biodegradable polymer beads. 2013 May-June, Charles T. Ambrose, “Alzheimer’s Disease”, in American Scientist, volume 101, number 3, page 200
3. Of reduced intellectual capacity; not quick to comprehend.
   Hey, don't yell at Homer, just because he's a little slow. 1994, Greg Daniels, “Secrets of a Successful Marriage”, in The Simpsons, season 5, episode 22, spoken by Carl (Hank Azaria)
   Experienced classroom teachers are well acquainted with the attention-seeker, the shy girl, the aggressive boy, the poor concentrator, the slow student […] 1960, Dissertation Abstracts, volume 20, page 4007
4. Not hasty; not tending to hurry; acting with deliberation or caution.
   And even after the emotional cast comes off, we need to be slow about getting deeply involved in a relationship again 1999, Brian Paul Kaufman, K. Winston Caine, Prayer, Faith, and Healing: Cure Your Body, Heal Your Mind and Restore Your Soul
5. (of a clock or the like) Behind in time; indicating a time earlier than the true time.
   That clock is slow.
6. Lacking spirit; deficient in liveliness or briskness.
7. (of a period of time) Not busy; lacking activity.
   It was a slow news day, so the editor asked us to make our articles wordier.
   I'm just sitting here with a desk of cards, enjoying a slow afternoon.

verb

1. (transitive) To make (something) run, move, etc. less quickly; to reduce the speed of.
   slow the process
   As he passed though the station, he slowed to yell to the signalman, Frank 'Sailor' Bridges: "Sailor - have you anything between here and Fordham? Where's the mail?" Gimbert knew the mail train was due, and he didn't want to endanger another train with his burning bomb wagon. January 12 2022, Benedict le Vay, “The heroes of Soham...”, in RAIL, number 948, page 42
2. (transitive) To keep from going quickly; to hinder the progress of.
   slow the traffic
3. (intransitive) To become slow; to slacken in speed; to decelerate.
   After about a minute, the creek bed vomited the debris into a gently sloped meadow. Saugstad felt the snow slow and tried to keep her hands in front of her. 2012, John Branch, “Snow Fall : The Avalanche at Tunnel Creek”, in New York Time

noun

1. Someone who is slow; a sluggard.
2. (music) A slow song.

adv

1. Slowly.
   That clock is running slow.
   I want to dance with you nice and slow