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Webster 1913 Edition

Tarry

Tar′ry

,
Adj.
[From
Tar
,
Noun.
]
Consisting of, or covered with, tar; like tar.

Tar′ry

,
Verb.
I.
[
imp. & p. p.
Tarried
;
p. pr. & vb. n.
Tarrying
.]
[OE.
tarien
to irritate (see
Tarre
); but with a change of sense probably due to confusion with OE.
targen
to delay, OF.
targier
, fr. (assumed) LL.
tardicare
, fr. L.
tardare
to make slow, to tarry, fr.
tardus
slow. Cf.
Tardy
.]
1.
To stay or remain behind; to wait.
Tarry
ye for us, until we come again.
Ex. xxiv. 14.
2.
To delay; to put off going or coming; to loiter.
Come down unto me,
tarry
not.
Gen. xic. 9.
One
tarried
here, there hurried one.
Emerson.
3.
To stay; to abide; to continue; to lodge.
Tarry
all night, and wash your feet.
Gen. xix. 2.
Syn. – To abide; continue; lodge; await; loiter.

Tar′ry

,
Verb.
T.
1.
To delay; to defer; to put off.
[Obs.]
Tarry
us here no longer than to-morrow.
Chaucer.
2.
To wait for; to stay or stop for.
[Archaic]
He that will have a cake out of the wheat must needs
tarry
the grinding.
Shakespeare
He plodded on, . . .
tarrying
no further question.
Sir W. Scott.

Tar′ry

,
Noun.
Stay; stop; delay.
[Obs.]
E. Lodge.

Webster 1828 Edition

Tarry

TAR'RY

,
Verb.
I.
[L. taurus, a bull.]
1.
To stay; to abide; to continue; to lodge.
Tarry all night and wash your feet. Gen.19.
2.
To stay behind. Ex.12.
3.
To stay in expectation; to wait.
Tarry ye here for us, till we come again to you. Ex.24.
4.
To delay; to put off going or coming; to defer.
Come down to me, tarry not. Gen.45.
5.
To remain; to stay.
He that telleth lies, shall not tarry in my sight. Ps.101.

TAR'RY

,
Verb.
T.
To wait for.
I cannot tarry dinner. [Not in use.]

Definition 2024

tarry

tarry

English

Alternative forms

  • tarrow (Scotland)

Pronunciation

  • enPR: tăr'ē, IPA(key): /ˈtæ.ɹi/
  • Rhymes: -æri

Verb

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

  1. (intransitive) To delay; to be late or tardy in beginning or doing anything.
    It is true that the Messiah will come, though he may tarry. (Hitchens quoting translated Maimonides)
  2. (intransitive) To linger in expectation of something or until something is done or happens.
  3. (intransitive) To abide, stay or wait somewhere, especially if longer than planned.
  4. (intransitive) To stay somewhere temporarily; to sojourn.
  5. (transitive) To wait for; to stay or stop for; to allow to linger.
    • Shakespeare
      He that will have a cake out of the wheat must needs tarry the grinding.
    • Sir Walter Scott
      He plodded on, […] tarrying no further question.
Synonyms
Translations

Noun

tarry ‎(plural tarries)

  1. A sojourn.
Synonyms
Translations

Etymology 2

tar +‎ -y

Pronunciation

  • enPR: tär'ē, IPA(key): /ˈtɑːri/
  • Rhymes: -ɑːri

Adjective

tarry ‎(comparative tarrier, superlative tarriest)

  1. Resembling tar.
  2. Covered with tar.
Synonyms

References

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

Etymology

From Middle English tarien, terien ‎(“to vex, harass, cause to hesitate, delay”), from Old English tirian, tirġan, terġan ‎(“to worry, exasperate, pain, provoke, excite”), from Proto-Germanic *terganą, *targijaną ‎(“to pull, tease, irritate”), from Proto-Indo-European *deregʰ- ‎(“to pull, tug, irritate”). Cognate with Walloon tårdjî ‎(“to be late, to be slow, to wait”), Dutch tergen ‎(“to provoke”), German zergen ‎(“to vex, irritate, provoke”), Russian дергать ‎(dergatʹ, “to pull, yank, jerk, pluck up”).

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