adjective / adverb
late
Situated toward the more recent end of a period.
The garden fills with bright yellow flowers in late summer.
Etymology
The inherited adjective concerned slowness or delay. Its period sense locates something toward the end, after the earlier stages have passed.
More examples
- She usually reads late into the evening.
- These paintings date from the late nineteenth century.
- His later novels explore life in small towns.
Forms
late · later · latest
lately adverb — Recently or in the near past.