tarry

Definition

To delay; to be late or tardy in beginning or doing anything.

Etymology

From Middle English tarien, terien (“to vex, harass, cause to hesitate, delay”), from Old English tirian, tirġan, terġan (“to worry, exasperate, pain, provoke, excite”), from Proto-Germanic *terganą, *targijaną (“to pull, tease, irritate”), from Proto-Indo-European *derHgʰ- (“to pull, tug, irritate”). Cognate with Dutch tergen (“to provoke”), German zergen (“to vex, irritate, provoke”), Norwegian Bokmål terge (“to irritate, provoke”), Russian дёргать (djórgatʹ, “to pull, yank, jerk, pester”). Compare also Walloon tårdjî (“to be late, to be slow, to wait”). Compare typologically Czech meškat, Russian ме́шкать (méškatʹ) (akin to меша́ть (mešátʹ)), копа́ться (kopátʹsja) (akin to копа́ть (kopátʹ)).

Example Sentences

• "I believe with perfect faith in the coming of the Messiah; and even though he may tarry, nonetheless, I wait every day for his coming."
• "For the vision is yet for an appointed time, but at the end it shall speak, and not lie: though it tarry, wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not tarry."
• "But so was Face, crouched before the fire in her banana skins, and so was Mug, smoking a cigarette and saying as he flicked the ash: “Why doth the bridegroom tarry?”"