"S" Word Origins

slash

Old French

From late Middle English, of uncertain origin, possibly imitative or from an Old French word meaning "to break in pieces."

slasher

Origin

From slash plus the agent suffix -er.

slashing

Origin

From slash plus -ing.

slat

Origin

From Middle English slatte, sklatte, sklat, sclat, from Old French esclat (“piece broken or split off, shiver, splinter”), from Old French esclater (“to split, burst”), from Frankish *slaitijan (“to split, break”), from Proto-Germanic *slītaną (“to rend, split”). Doublet of slate and éclat.

slate

Old French

From Old French esclate, related to esclater ("to break, shatter"), ultimately from a Germanic root meaning "to split."

slated

Middle English

From Middle English slattyd, equivalent to slate + -ed.

slater

Middle English

From Middle English sclater, formed from slate plus -er.

slattern

Origin

Dating from the 17th century; related to slattering (“slovenly”), from the dialectal verb slatter (“to slop, to spill”).

Slattery

Irish

A dialect adjective related to "slattern" and "slather," describing wet, sloppy conditions; also survives as an Irish surname (Anglicized from Ó Slatara).

slaughter

Old Norse

From Old Norse *slahtr, related to the verb slay — literally the same root that gives "laughter" its ending.

slaughterhouse

Origin

From slaughter plus house.

Slav

Medieval Latin

Traced back through Medieval Latin Sclavus and Byzantine Greek Sklábos to a Slavic root — the same root that, unfortunately, also gave English the word "slave," since captured Slavs were widely enslaved in medieval Europe.

slava

Origin

From the South Slavic word slava, meaning "fame" or "glory" — the same root used in Slavic toasts and blessings wishing someone honor.

slave

Late Latin

From Medieval Latin sclavus ("slave"), from Late Latin Sclavus ("Slav") — a grim legacy of Slavic peoples being forced into slavery in the Middle Ages.

slaver

Middle English

From Middle English slaveren, from Old Norse slafra ("to slaver"), likely imitative in origin; a doublet of "slabber."

slavery

Origin

From slave plus the suffix -ery.

Slavic

Origin

From Slav plus the suffix -ic.

slavonic

Origin

From Medieval Latin Slavonicus, Sclavonicus, from Slavonia, Sclavonia.

slaw

Dutch · 1861

Borrowed around 1861 from Dutch sla, a shortened form of salade ("salad").

slay

Old English

From Old English slean ("to strike, kill"), related to modern German schlagen ("to hit"); the same root behind "slaughter."

slayer

Old English

From Old English slaga, related to the verb slay plus the agent suffix -er.

sleaze

Origin

A back-formation from sleazy, which originally described thin, low-quality cloth.

sleazebag

Origin

From sleaze plus bag.

sleazebucket

Origin

From sleaze + bucket.

sleazehole

Origin

From sleaze + hole.

sleazy

Origin

Of uncertain origin, possibly linked to "Silesia," a region once known for producing thin, low-quality cloth.

sled

Germanic

From Middle Dutch sledde, going back to a Germanic root shared with "sleigh" and "slide" — all describing something that moves by gliding rather than rolling.

sledge

Old English

From Old English sleċġ, "mallet, hammer" — the same Germanic root gave Dutch and Swedish words for a heavy hammer.

sledgehammer

Origin

A compound of "sledge" (a heavy hammer) and "hammer" — essentially "hammer-hammer," emphasising its size.

sleek

German

A later spelling variant of "slick," sharing roots with German schleichen ("to creep, glide").

sleep

Old English

From Old English slǣpan, a very old Germanic verb with cousins in Dutch (slapen) and German (schlafen) that all mean "to sleep."

sleeper

Origin

Formed from "sleep" plus the agent suffix "-er," originally just meaning "one who sleeps."

sleepies

Origin

From sleep + -ies.

sleepless

Old English

From Old English slǣplēas, literally "sleep" plus "-less" ("without").

sleepover

Origin

From "sleep" plus "over," describing staying over for the night.

sleepsack

Origin

From sleep + sack.

sleepwalk

Origin

A straightforward compound of "sleep" and "walk."

sleepwalker

Origin

From "sleepwalk" plus "-er," or "sleep" plus "walker."

sleepy

Old English

From Old English *slǣpiġ, built from "sleep" plus the adjective-forming suffix "-y."

sleepyhead

Origin

From "sleepy" plus "head."

sleet

Old English

From Old English roots related to Old Norse slydda, describing a mix of rain and snow.

sleeve

Old English

From Old English slīefe, ultimately related to Dutch sloof ("apron") — the underlying idea is a covering that fits over something.

sleigh

Germanic

From Dutch slee, ultimately from the same Germanic root as "sled" and "slide" — sleighs and sleds are close cousins.

sleight

Old Norse

From Old Norse slœgð, "cunning" — the same root that gave English "sly."

sleightly

Origin

Inherited from Middle English sleightely; equivalent to sleight + -ly.

sleighty

Origin

Inherited from Middle English sleighty; equivalent to sleight + -y.

slender

Old French

From Old French esclendre ("thin, slender"), traced back to a Germanic root meaning "sliding, slippery" — the same idea behind "slide" and "slither."

sleuth

Origin

A shortening of "sleuthhound," an old word for a bloodhound used to track people.