Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

Slow \Slow\, obs.
   imp. of {Slee}, to slay. Slew. --Chaucer.

Slow \Slow\, a. [Compar. {Slower}; superl. {Slowest}.] [OE.
   slow, slaw, AS. sl[=a]w; akin to OS. sl?u blunt, dull, D.
   sleeuw, slee, sour, OHG. sl?o blunt, dull, Icel. sl?r, sl?r,
   Dan. sl["o]v, Sw. sl["o]. Cf. {Sloe}, and {Sloth}.]
   1. Moving a short space in a relatively long time; not swift;
      not quick in motion; not rapid; moderate; deliberate; as,
      a slow stream; a slow motion.

   2. Not happening in a short time; gradual; late.

            These changes in the heavens, though slow, produced
            Like change on sea and land, sidereal blast.
                                                  --Milton.

   3. Not ready; not prompt or quick; dilatory; sluggish; as,
      slow of speech, and slow of tongue.

            Fixed on defense, the Trojans are not slow To guard
            their shore from an expected foe.     --Dryden.

   4. Not hasty; not precipitate; acting with deliberation;
      tardy; inactive.

            He that is slow to wrath is of great understanding.
                                                  --Prov. xiv.
                                                  29.

   5. Behind in time; indicating a time earlier than the true
      time; as, the clock or watch is slow.

   6. Not advancing or improving rapidly; as, the slow growth of
      arts and sciences.

   7. Heavy in wit; not alert, prompt, or spirited; wearisome;
      dull. [Colloq.] --Dickens. Thackeray.

   Note: Slow is often used in the formation of compounds for
         the most part self-explaining; as, slow-gaited,
         slow-paced, slow-sighted, slow-winged, and the like.

   {Slow coach}, a slow person. See def.7, above. [Colloq.]

   {Slow lemur}, or {Slow loris} (Zo["o]l.), an East Indian
      nocturnal lemurine animal ({Nycticebus tardigradus}) about
      the size of a small cat; -- so called from its slow and
      deliberate movements. It has very large round eyes and is
      without a tail. Called also {bashful Billy}.

   {Slow match}. See under {Match}.

   Syn: Dilatory; late; lingering; tardy; sluggish; dull;
        inactive.

   Usage: {Slow}, {Tardy}, {Dilatory}. Slow is the wider term,
          denoting either a want of rapid motion or inertness of
          intellect. Dilatory signifies a proneness to defer, a
          habit of delaying the performance of what we know must
          be done. Tardy denotes the habit of being behind hand;
          as, tardy in making up one's acounts.

Slow \Slow\, adv.
   Slowly.

         Let him have time to mark how slow time goes In time of
         sorrow.                                  --Shak.

Slow \Slow\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Slowed}; p. pr. & vb. n.
   {Slowing}.]
   To render slow; to slacken the speed of; to retard; to delay;
   as, to slow a steamer. --Shak.

Slow \Slow\, v. i.
   To go slower; -- often with up; as, the train slowed up
   before crossing the bridge.

Slow \Slow\, n.
   A moth. [Obs.] --Rom. of R.

Source : WordNet®

slow
     adj 1: not moving quickly; taking a comparatively long time; "a
            slow walker"; "the slow lane of traffic"; "her steps
            were slow"; "he was slow in reacting to the news";
            "slow but steady growth" [ant: {fast}]
     2: at a slow tempo; "the band played a slow waltz" [ant: {fast}]
     3: slow to learn or understand; lacking intellectual acuity;
        "so dense he never understands anything I say to him";
        "never met anyone quite so dim"; "although dull at
        classical learning, at mathematics he was uncommonly
        quick"- Thackeray; "dumb officials make some really dumb
        decisions"; "he was either normally stupid or being
        deliberately obtuse"; "worked with the slow students"
        [syn: {dense}, {dim}, {dull}, {dumb}, {obtuse}]
     4: (used of timepieces) indicating a time earlier than the
        correct time; "the clock is slow" [ant: {fast}]
     5: so lacking in interest as to cause mental weariness; "a
        boring evening with uninteresting people"; "the deadening
        effect of some routine tasks"; "a dull play"; "his
        competent but dull performance"; "a ho-hum speaker who
        couldn't capture their attention"; "what an irksome task
        the writing of long letters is"- Edmund Burke; "tedious
        days on the train"; "the tiresome chirping of a cricket"-
        Mark Twain; "other people's dreams are dreadfully
        wearisome" [syn: {boring}, {deadening}, {dull}, {ho-hum},
        {irksome}, {tedious}, {tiresome}, {wearisome}]
     6: (of business) not active or brisk; "business is dull (or
        slow)"; "a sluggish market" [syn: {dull}, {sluggish}]

slow
     v 1: lose velocity; move more slowly; "The car decelerated" [syn:
           {decelerate}, {slow down}, {slow up}, {retard}] [ant: {accelerate}]
     2: become slow or slower; "Production slowed" [syn: {slow down},
         {slow up}, {slack}, {slacken}]
     3: cause to proceed more slowly; "The illness slowed him down"
        [syn: {slow down}, {slow up}]

slow
     adv 1: without speed (`slow' is sometimes used informally for
            `slowly'); "he spoke slowly"; "go easy here--the road
            is slippery"; "glaciers move tardily"; "please go slow
            so I can see the sights" [syn: {slowly}, {easy}, {tardily}]
            [ant: {quickly}]
     2: of timepieces; "the clock is almost an hour slow"; "my watch
        is running behind" [syn: {behind}]