n.; pl. Delays [ F. délai, fr. OF. deleer to delay, or fr. L. dilatum, which, though really from a different root, is used in Latin only as a p. p. neut. of differre to carry apart, defer, delay. See Tolerate, and cf. Differ, Delay, v. ] A putting off or deferring; procrastination; lingering inactivity; stop; detention; hindrance. [ 1913 Webster ]

Without any delay, on the morrow I sat on the judgment seat. Acts xxv. 17. [ 1913 Webster ]

The government ought to be settled without the delay of a day. Macaulay. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Delayed p. pr. & vb. n. Delaying. ] [ OF. deleer, delaier, fr. the noun délai, or directly fr. L. dilatare to enlarge, dilate, in LL., to put off. See Delay, n., and cf. Delate, 1st Defer, Dilate. ] 1. To put off; to defer; to procrastinate; to prolong the time of or before. [ 1913 Webster ]

My lord delayeth his coming. Matt. xxiv. 48. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To retard; to stop, detain, or hinder, for a time; to retard the motion, or time of arrival, of; as, the mail is delayed by a heavy fall of snow. [ 1913 Webster ]

Thyrsis! whose artful strains have oft delayed
The huddling brook to hear his madrigal. Milton. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. To allay; to temper. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

The watery showers delay the raging wind. Surrey. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. i. To move slowly; to stop for a time; to linger; to tarry. [ 1913 Webster ]

There seem to be certain bounds to the quickness and slowness of the succession of those ideas, . . . beyond which they can neither delay nor hasten. Locke. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. One who delays; one who lingers. [ 1913 Webster ]

adv. By delays. [ R. ] Tennyson. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. Hindrance. [ Obs. ] Gower. [ 1913 Webster ]