2

I was searching for the meaning of "時すでに遅し。" but I couldn't find 遅し in the dictionary goo.ne.jp and weblio tells me that it's おそい with 形ク in parenthesis.

Eiríkr Útlendi
  • 37,445
  • 1
  • 72
  • 121
Jirei
  • 2,267
  • 2
  • 14
  • 21

1 Answers1

4

It stands for 形容詞-ク活用【かつよう】. ク活用 is one of the two conjugation types of classical Japanese adjectives. 遅し is the archaic "dictionary" form of modern 遅い. 時すでに遅し is a fixed set phrase that preserves the archaic grammar. It just means "It is/was too late."

See:

naruto
  • 313,860
  • 13
  • 324
  • 625