different between slack vs laggard

English

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /slæk/
• Rhymes: -æk

Etymology 1

From Middle English slak, from Old English slæc (“slack”), from Proto-Germanic *slakaz. For sense of coal dust, compare slag.

Noun

slack (countable and uncountable, plural slacks)

1. (uncountable) The part of anything that hangs loose, having no strain upon it.

2. (countable) A tidal marsh or shallow that periodically fills and drains.
3. (uncountable, psychotherapy) Unconditional listening attention given by client to patient.
   • 1979, Richard Dean Rosen, Psychobabble (page 93)

     The counselor is directed to give his client "free attention," or "slack," performing a kind of vigil, a version of Carl Rogers's "unconditional positive regard."

   • 1983, Harvey Jackins, The Reclaiming of Power (page 14)

     We have apparently been doing this all our lives, since we were first distressed. This collection of ancient habits seems to be "energized" by the presence, or even the promise, of "slack" or free attention from any person in the situation […]

Synonyms

• (tidal marsh): slough

Translations

Adjective

slack (comparative slacker, superlative slackest)

1. (normally said of a rope) Lax; not tense; not firmly extended.

2. Weak; not holding fast.

3. Moderate in some capacity.
   1. Moderately warm.

   2. Moderate in speed.

4. lacking diligence or care; not earnest or eager.
5. Not active, successful, or violent.
6. Excess; surplus to requirements.

7. (slang, Caribbean, Jamaican) vulgar; sexually explicit, especially in dancehall music.
8. (linguistics) Lax.

Synonyms

• (not violent, rapid, or pressing): slow, moderate, easy

Derived terms

• slacken
• slack-jawed
• slackness

Translations

Adverb

slack (not comparable)

1. Slackly.

Translations

Etymology 2

From Middle English slakken, slaken, from Old English slacian, from Proto-Germanic *slak?n? (“to slack, slacken”).

Verb

slack (third-person singular simple present slacks, present participle slacking, simple past and past participle slacked)

1. To slacken.

   • In this business of growing rich, poor men […] should slack their pace.

2. (obsolete) To mitigate; to reduce the strength of.
3. To lose cohesion or solidity by a chemical combination with water; to slake.

Derived terms

• slack off

Translations

Etymology 3

Either from the adjective in Etymology 1 or the verb in Etymology 2.

Noun

slack (plural slacks)

1. (rail transport) A temporary speed restriction where track maintenance or engineering work is being carried out at a particular place.

Etymology 4

From Middle English slak, from Old Norse slakki (“a slope”). Cognate with Icelandic slakki, Norwegian slakke.

Noun

slack (plural slacks)

1. (countable) A valley, or small, shallow dell.

Etymology 5

Probably from German Schlacke (“dross, slag”). Doublet of slag.

Noun

slack (uncountable)

1. (mining) Small coal; coal dust.
   • 1905, Colliery Engineer (volume 25, page 107)

     One of the important improvements of recent years has been attained by mixing the peat pulp as it passes through the grinding machine, with other inflammable materials, such as bituminous coal dust, or slack […]

Synonyms

• culm

Derived terms

• nutty slack

Anagrams

• calks, kcals, lacks

English

Etymology

From lag +? -ard.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /?læ??d/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /?læ??d/
• Rhymes: -æ??(?)d

Adjective

laggard (comparative more laggard, superlative most laggard)

1. Lagging behind; taking more time than the others in a group.
   • 1752, Francis Gentleman and Ben Jonson, Sejanus, A Tragedy, Act 5, Scene 1, page 54–55:

     But come let's wing our Steps with utmost Speed,
     The swiftest Haste is laggard to the Deed.

   • 1912, E. Pauline Johnson, “The Song My Paddle Sings” in Flint and Feather, ^[1]

     O! drowsy wind of the drowsy west,

     Sleep, sleep,

     By your mountain steep,

     Or down where the prairie grasses sweep!

     Now fold in slumber your laggard wings,

     For soft is the song my paddle sings.

   • 1931, William Faulkner, Sanctuary, Vintage 1993, p. 66:

     Between blinks Tommy saw Temple in the path, her body slender and motionless for a moment as though waiting for some laggard part to catch up.

   • 2016, Emma Gilleece, “Take the spat out of spatial,” Village, 30 November, 2016,^[2]

     A particularly robust intervention will be required if Ireland’s disbalance between Dublin’s primacy and its laggard provincial cities, is to be addressed.

2. (animal husbandry) Not growing as quickly as the rest of the flock or herd.

   The laggard broilers are euthanized and incinerated.

Translations

Noun

laggard (plural laggards)

1. One who lags behind; one who takes more time than is necessary or than the others in a group.
   • 1733, William Havard, Scanderbeg: A Tragedy, London: J. Watts, Act II, Scene 4, p. 17,^[3]

     Blushing I look upon my poor Resolves,

     A Laggard in the Race, and faintly striving

     To follow Excellence that soars so high.

   • 1840, James Fenimore Cooper, The Pathfinder, or The Inland Sea, Chapter 20,^[4]

     “Late come, late served, Mabel,” said her uncle, between mouthfuls of broiled salmon; […] “late come, late served; it is a good rule, and keeps laggards up to their work.” ¶ “I am no laggard, Uncle; for I have been stirring nearly an hour, and exploring our island.”

   • 1891, Rudyard Kipling, Letters of Marque, New York & Boston: H.M. Caldwell, 1899, Chapter 12, p. 141,^[5]

     The State line, with the comparatively new branch to the Pachbadra salt-pits, pays handsomely, and is exactly suited to the needs of its users. True, there is a certain haziness as to the hour of starting, but this allows laggards more time, and fills the packed carriages to overflowing.

   • 1901, H. G. Wells, The First Men in the Moon, Chapter 8,^[6]

     It rose as one watched it; if one looked away from it for a minute and then back, its outline had changed; it thrust out blunt congested branches until in a little time it rose a coralline shape of many feet in height. Compared with such a growth the terrestrial puff-ball, which will sometimes swell a foot in diameter in a single night, would be a hopeless laggard.

   • 1977, “What Ever Became of ‘Geniuses’?” Time, 19 December, 1977,^[7]

     It was 72 years ago when a French psychologist named Alfred Binet first devised a test that attempted to measure a child's intelligence. Seeking a way to distinguish truly retarded students from laggards with hidden ability, Binet developed a series of exercises involving completion of pictures and the assembling of objects, as well as problems in math, vocabulary and reasoning.

   • 2010, Rita Trichur, “Expanded international trade key to driving innovation in Ontario: report,” Toronto Star, 21 September, 2010,^[8]

     Canada and Ontario must bolster international trade with both the European Union and emerging economies like China in order shake our reputation as innovation laggards, says a new report.

Synonyms

• See also Thesaurus:idler

Translations