bradley-carter's definitions
a-tard /ˈeɪ.tɑ rd/ (nonce form; informal, text-register)
Form. Clipped from auto-tardāre by reduction of the combining form auto- to a- in rapid chat usage.
Etymon.
auto- < Greek αὐτός (autós) “self, same” (modern combining form “self-”).
tardāre (Latin, 1st conj. infinitive) < tardus, -a, -um “slow, late.” Principal parts: tardō, tardāre, tardāvī, tardātum “to slow, delay, hinder.”
Gloss. “self-delay,” “self-hindering,” “to be slow by one’s own doing.”
Sense. Used as a self-applied marker of delayed response or sluggish timing, especially in conversational sequencing (for example, being slow to disengage from a call or slow to react to a prompt).
Form. Clipped from auto-tardāre by reduction of the combining form auto- to a- in rapid chat usage.
Etymon.
auto- < Greek αὐτός (autós) “self, same” (modern combining form “self-”).
tardāre (Latin, 1st conj. infinitive) < tardus, -a, -um “slow, late.” Principal parts: tardō, tardāre, tardāvī, tardātum “to slow, delay, hinder.”
Gloss. “self-delay,” “self-hindering,” “to be slow by one’s own doing.”
Sense. Used as a self-applied marker of delayed response or sluggish timing, especially in conversational sequencing (for example, being slow to disengage from a call or slow to react to a prompt).
by bradley-carter December 23, 2025
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