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The i-adjective はやい can refer to being fast or being early, but each of the
meanings has affinity towards separate kanji: 速い (fast) and 早い (early). Yet,
while it's not surprising that the antonyms of both 速い and 早い have the same
pronunciation おそい, both おそい that means "slow" and "late" seems to share the
same kanji: 遅い. Although WWWJDIC and dictionary@goo both include 鈍い as an
alternative kanji for おそい, it does not seem to have affinity towards any of
the two meanings either.

Is this really the case that the same kanji form can refer to both meanings,
or were there separate kanji for each (maybe abolished during the reform or
something)?
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2011-09-08T13:55:23.580
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2011-09-08T14:30:32.507
2011-09-08T14:04:29.087
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kanji homophonic-kanji
Separate kanji for おそい when referring to being late and being slow
大辞泉 shows `鈍い` as well, but I think this is more often `【のろい】`. However, the
same dictionary shows that (this) `のろい` can also mean "slow of speed"; but
I've heard it mostly used as "slow-witted".

As an aside, `鈍い` can be any of `【のろい】`, `【にぶい】`, or `【おそい】`. They all carry
different primary meanings though, so be careful of their usage.

> Is this really the case that the same kanji form can refer to both meanings,
> or were there separate kanji for each (maybe abolished during the reform or
> something)?

Yes, I don't see why not. `高い` is the same type, meaning "high" or
"expensive". And its opposites are very different (`低い` and `安い`, resp.)
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2011-09-08T14:30:32.507
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answer