— belatedly , adv. — belatedness , n.
/bi lay"tid/ , adj.
1. coming or being after the customary, useful, or expected time: belated birthday greetings.
2. late, delayed, or detained: We started the meeting without the belated representative.
3. Archaic. obsolete; old-fashioned; out-of-date: a belated view of world politics.
4. Archaic. overtaken by darkness or night.
[ 1610-20; belate to delay (BE- + LATE) + -ED 2 ]