Tardiness is the habit of being late. Persistent tardiness, penalised for tardiness, tardiness and absence.
It is chiefly American and institutional — schools and employers record tardiness where British English would say lateness. The habit rather than the single event is what the word names. Note tardy, from the Latin tardus, slow, which also gives retard and tardigrade.
1nountardinessThe habit of being late.
“Her constant tardiness annoyed her boss, who always started meetings exactly on time.”
tardiness is a habit of lateness.
Latin
tardīvus
French
tardif
English
tardy
English, today
tardiness
From tardy + -ness. tardy comes from an earlier tardive, from French tardif, from Latin tardīvus, from Latin tardus (“slow”, “sluggish”), of obscure origin.
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA