English → Latin
“dilatory” in Latin
tardusslow, sluggish; tardy; late, lingeringlentussticky, tenacious; slow, sluggish; flexible, pliantcessōto stop, desist, halt, cease; to be lacking or wanting; to delay, hold back, tarrydīlātōto spread out, extend, dilatepraesertimespecially, particularly
The English word dilatory itself goes back to Latin differō, through dīlātōrius.
Riddle & Arnold A Copious and Critical English–Latin Lexicon, 1864
dilatory
tardus, lentus [SYN. in SLOW]: negligens (from carelessness). To be a dilatory correspondent, cessatorem esse in litteris (Cic.): a dilatory creature indeed! lentum sane negotium! (Cic.; of one who is slow in paying money that is due.) Dilatory in matters of business, tardus in negotiis gerendis. A dilatory person, cessator: dilator (Hor.). Not that I am often dilatory, especially, etc., non quo cessator esse solerem, praesertim (e.g., in litteris, Cic.). ☞ Cunctator is used in this sense by caelius ap. Cic., Fam., 8, 10, 3; nosti Marcellum, quam tardus et parum efficax; itemque Servus, quam cunctator; but it is often used in a good sense, nearly = cautus.
Quick answer
- What is the Latin word for dilatory?
- The usual Latin words for “dilatory” are tardus, lentus, cessō; also dīlātō, praesertim. The right choice depends on the sense; see the distinctions below.
Entry from J. E. Riddle & T. K. Arnold, A Copious and Critical English–Latin Lexicon (rev. C. Anthon, New York: Harper, 1864), digitised by Fergus J. P. Walsh, CC BY-SA 4.0; Latin markup adapted by latindictionary.co.