pozdjími

Poždími is a Czech word that appears in literature and everyday speech primarily in its grammatical form as the instrumental plural of the adjective поздní, meaning “late” or “tardy.” The form is used to indicate the means or company by which something is performed or occurs, and in literary contexts it can emphasize a sense of delay or postponement for a collection of people or objects. For instance, a sentence such as "Už se vrátili poznížemi" (They returned late) employs the instrumental plural to highlight the manner or timing of their return.

The word originates from the Proto-Slavic root *pozьde, related to the notion of time and delay. It shares cognates across the South Slavic languages, such as Serbian and Croatian поздним (pozdnim), and it aligns with the Latin concept of tardus, meaning late. In normative Czech usage, поздних залични forms (*poždi*) are integrated into both spoken and written registers, but variant spellings without diacritics are uncommon and rarely appear in formal texts.

Poždími is unfrequented compared to the base adjective поздní and is generally restricted to contexts where grammatical precision is required. Its scarce appearance in dictionaries reflects its specific instrumental usage. As such, students of Czech grammar often encounter it in advanced linguistic exercises that focus on case forms and their application in narrative prose.