From Old English 'læt' (slow), from PIE *led- (to let go, be slack) — lateness was originally slowness.
Doing something after the expected or usual time; near the end of a period.
From Old English 'læt' meaning 'slow, sluggish, late,' from Proto-Germanic *lataz (slow, lazy), from PIE *led- (to let go, be slack). Being 'late' was originally being 'slow.' Key roots: *led- (PIE: "to let go, be slack").