belatedness

adjective

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 obsolete; old-fashioned; out-of-date: a belated view of world politics.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.

adjective

1. late or too latebelated greetings

adj.

1610s, “overtaken by night,” past participle adjective from belate “to make late, detain,” from be- + late. Sense of “coming past due, behind date” is from 1660s. Related: Belatedly.