Later

[lei-ter] /ˈlɛɪ tər/

adjective
1.
a comparative of :
Her later years were not happy.
adverb
2.
a comparative of :
The meeting ran later than we expected.
3.
afterward, subsequently, or at a time in the future (sometimes followed by on):
She later said she was sorry. I’ll see you later. Let’s decide about this later on.
[leyt] /leɪt/
adjective, later or latter, latest or last.
1.
occurring, coming, or being after the usual or proper time:
late frosts; a late spring.
2.
continued until after the usual time or hour; protracted:
a late business meeting.
3.
near or at the end of day or well into the night:
a late hour.
4.
belonging to the time just before the present moment; most recent:
a late news bulletin.
5.
immediately preceding the present one; former:
the late attorney general.
6.
recently deceased:
the late Mr. Phipps.
7.
occurring at an advanced stage in life:
a late marriage.
8.
belonging to an advanced period or stage in the history or development of something:
the late phase of feudalism.
adverb, later, latest.
9.
after the usual or proper time, or after delay:
to arrive late.
10.
until after the usual time or hour; until an advanced hour, especially of the night:
to work late.
11.
at or to an advanced time, period, or stage:
The flowers keep their blossoms late in warm climates.
12.
recently but no longer:
a man late of Chicago, now living in Philadelphia.
Idioms
13.
of late, lately; recently:
The days have been getting warmer of late.
/ˈleɪtə/
adjective, adverb
1.
the comparative of late
adverb
2.
afterwards; subsequently
3.
see you later, an expression of farewell
4.
sooner or later, eventually; inevitably
/leɪt/
adjective
1.
occurring or arriving after the correct or expected time: the train was late
2.
(prenominal) occurring, scheduled for, or being at a relatively advanced time: a late marriage
3.
(prenominal) towards or near the end: the late evening
4.
at an advanced time in the evening or at night: it was late
5.
(prenominal) occurring or being just previous to the present time: his late remarks on industry
6.
(prenominal) having died, esp recently: my late grandfather
7.
(prenominal) just preceding the present or existing person or thing; former: the late manager of this firm
8.
of late, recently; lately
adverb
9.
after the correct or expected time: he arrived late
10.
at a relatively advanced age: she married late
11.
recently; lately: as late as yesterday he was selling books
12.
late hours, rising and going to bed later than is usual
13.
late in the day

comparative of late. Meaning “farewell” is from 1954, U.S. slang, short for see you later.
adj.

Old English læt “occurring after the customary or expected time,” originally “slow, sluggish,” from Proto-Germanic *lata- (cf. Old Norse latr “sluggish, lazy,” Middle Dutch, Old Saxon lat, German laß “idle, weary,” Gothic lats “weary, sluggish, lazy,” latjan “to hinder”), from PIE *led- “slow, weary” (cf. Latin lassus “faint, weary, languid, exhausted,” Greek ledein “to be weary”), from root *le- “to let go, slacken” (see let (v.)).

The sense of “deceased” (as in the late Mrs. Smith) is from late 15c., from an adverbial sense of “recently.” Of women’s menstrual periods, attested colloquially from 1962. Related: Lateness. As an adverb, from Old English late.

interjection

A parting salutation: I dug right away what the kick was, so I said, ”Later,” and he split/ Later, baby. Catch you later (1980s+ Teenagers fr black)

Related Terms

see you later* alligator
In addition to the idiom beginning with later