different between tarry vs hesitate

English

Alternative forms

• tarrow (Scotland)

Etymology 1

From Middle English tarien, terien (“to vex, harass, cause to hesitate, delay”), from Old English tirian, tir?an, ter?an (“to worry, exasperate, pain, provoke, excite”), from Proto-Germanic *tergan?, *targijan? (“to pull, tease, irritate”), from Proto-Indo-European *dereg?- (“to pull, tug, irritate”). Cognate with Dutch tergen (“to provoke”), German zergen (“to vex, irritate, provoke”), Norwegian Bokmål terge (“to irritate, provoke”), Russian ??????? (djórgat?, “to pull, yank, jerk, pluck up”). Compare also Walloon tårdjî (“to be late, to be slow, to wait”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?tæ.?i/, enPR: t?r'?
• Rhymes: -æri

Verb

tarry (third-person singular simple present tarries, present participle tarrying, simple past and past participle tarried) (dated)

1. (intransitive) To delay; to be late or tardy in beginning or doing anything.

   Synonyms: forestall, put off; see also Thesaurus:procrastinate
2. (intransitive) To linger in expectation of something or until something is done or happens.

   Synonym: abide
3. (intransitive) To abide, stay or wait somewhere, especially if longer than planned.

   Synonyms: hang about, hang around, linger, loiter; see also Thesaurus:tarry
4. (intransitive) To stay somewhere temporarily.

   Synonyms: sojourn, stay, stay over, stop, stop over; see also Thesaurus:sojourn
5. (transitive) To wait for; to stay or stop for; to allow to linger.

   Synonyms: await, wait on; see also Thesaurus:wait for

Translations

Noun

tarry (plural tarries)

1. A sojourn.

   Synonyms: stay, stop, stop-over

Translations

Etymology 2

From Middle English terrie, equivalent to tar +? -y.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?t???i/, enPR: tär'?
• Rhymes: -??ri

Adjective

tarry (comparative tarrier, superlative tarriest)

1. Resembling tar.

   Synonym: pitchy

2. Covered with tar.

   Synonyms: bituminized, pitchy

References

• Douglas Harper (2001–2021) , “tarry”, in Online Etymology Dictionary
• Webster's Seventh New Collegiate Dictionary, Springfield, Massachusetts, G.&C. Merriam Co., 1967

English

Alternative forms

• hæsitate (archaic)

Etymology

From Latin haesitatus, past participle ofhaesitare, intensive of haerere (“to hesitate, stick fast;to hang or hold fast”). Compare aghast, gaze, adhere.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?h?z?te?t/

Verb

hesitate (third-person singular simple present hesitates, present participle hesitating, simple past and past participle hesitated)

1. (intransitive) To stop or pause respecting decision or action; to be in suspense or uncertainty as to a determination.
   • September 1, 1742, Alexander Pope, letter to Racine

     I shall not hesitate to declare myself very cordially, in regard to some particulars about which you have desired an answer.

2. (intransitive) To stammer; to falter in speaking.
3. (transitive, poetic, rare) To utter with hesitation or to intimate by a reluctant manner.
   • a. 1724, Alexander Pope, The Ms. at Longleat

     Just hint a fault, and hesitate dislike.

Usage notes

• This is a catenative verb that takes the to infinitive. See Appendix:English catenative verbs

Synonyms

• (to stop respecting decision or action): demur, falter, mammer, scruple, waver; see also Thesaurus:hesitate
• (to falter in speaking): balbucinate, balbutiate, falter, hem, haw, stammer, stutter
• (to utter with hesitation): falter

Derived terms

• hesitant
• hesitation

Translations

Further reading

• hesitate in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
• hesitate in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.
• hesitate at OneLook Dictionary Search

Anagrams

• athetise, hatesite