| slashed | 1. Marked or cut with a slash or slashes; deeply gashed; especially, having long, narrow openings, as a sleeve or other part of a garment, to show rich lining or under vesture. "A gray jerkin, with scarlet and slashed sleeves." (Sir W. Scott) 2. <botany> Divided into many narrow parts or segments by sharp incisions; laciniate. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |
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| slat | A thin, narrow strip or bar of wood or metal; as, the slats of a window blind. Origin: CF. Slot a bar. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |
| slate | 1. To cover with slate, or with a substance resembling slate; as, to slate a roof; to slate a globe. 2. To register (as on a slate and subject to revision), for an appointment. Origin: Slated; Slating. 1. <chemical> An argillaceous rock which readily splits into thin plates; argillite; argillaceous schist. 2. Any rock or stone having a slaty structure. 3. A prepared piece of such stone. Especially: A thin, flat piece, for roofing or covering houses, etc. A tablet for writing upon. 4. An artificial material, resembling slate, and used for the above purposes. 5. A thin plate of any material; a flake. 6. A list of candidates, prepared for nomination or for election; a list of candidates, or a programme of action, devised beforehand. Adhesive slate, a variety of calcite of silvery white luster and of a slaty structure. Transparent slate, a plate of translucent material, as ground glass, upon which a copy of a picture, placed beneath it, can be made by tracing. Origin: OE. Slat, OF. Esclat a shiver, splinter, F. Eclat, fr. OF. Esclater to shiver, to chip, F. Eclater, fr. OHG. Sliezen to tear, slit, split, fr. Slizan to slit, G. Schleissen. See Slit, and cf. Eclat. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |
| slater | <zoology> Any terrestrial isopod crustacean of the genus Porcellio and allied genera; a sow bug. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |
| slattern | A woman who is negligent of her dress or house; one who is not neat and nice. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |
| slaty | Resembling slate; having the nature, appearance, or properties, of slate; composed of thin parallel plates, capable of being separated by splitting; as, a slaty colour or texture. Slaty cleavage, a variety of gneiss in which the scales of mica or crystals of hornblende, which are usually minute, form thin laminae, rendering the rock easily cleavable. Origin: From Slate. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |
| slaty anaemia | An ash-gray pallor in poisoning from acetanelid or silver (argyria). (05 Mar 2000) |
| slaughter | The act of killing. Specifically: The extensive, violent, bloody, or wanton destruction of life; carnage. "On war and mutual slaughter bent." (Milton) The act of killing cattle or other beasts for market. Synonym: Carnage, massacre, butchery, murder, havoc. Origin: OE. Slautir, slaughter, slaghter, Icel. Slatr slain flesh, modified by OE. Slaught, slaht, slaughter, fr. AS. Sleaht a stroke, blow; both from the root of E. Slay. See Slay, and cf. Onslaught. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |
| slav | <ethnology> One of a race of people occupying a large part of Eastern and Northern Europe, including the Russians, Bulgarians, Roumanians, Servo-Croats, Slovenes, Poles, Czechs, Wends or Sorbs, Slovaks, etc. Alternative forms: Slave, and Sclav. Origin: A word originally meaning, intelligible, and used to contrast the people so called with foreigners who spoke languages unintelligible to the Slavs; akin to OSlav. Slovo a word, slava fame, Skr. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |
| slave | 1. A person who is held in bondage to another; one who is wholly subject to the will of another; one who is held as a chattel; one who has no freedom of action, but whose person and services are wholly under the control of another. " thou our slave, Our captive, at the public mill our drudge?" (Milton) 2. One who has lost the power of resistance; one who surrenders himself to any power whatever; as, a slave to passion, to lust, to strong drink, to ambition. 3. A drudge; one who labors like a slave. 4. An abject person; a wretch. <zoology> Slave ant, any species of ants which is captured and enslaved by another species, especially Formica fusca of Europe and America, which is commonly enslaved by Formica sanguinea. Slave catcher, one who attempted to catch and bring back a fugitive slave to his master. Slave coast, part of the western coast of Africa to which slaves were brought to be sold to foreigners. Slave driver, one who superintends slaves at their work; hence, figuratively, a cruel taskmaster. Slave hunt. A search after persons in order to reduce them to slavery. A search after fugitive slaves, often conducted with bloodhounds. Slave ship, a vessel employed in the slave trade or used for transporting slaves; a slaver. Slave trade, the busines of dealing in slaves, especially of buying them for transportation from their homes to be sold elsewhere. Slave trader, one who traffics in slaves. Synonym: Bond servant, bondman, bondslave, captive, henchman, vassal, dependent, drudge. See Serf. Origin: Cf. F. Esclave, D. Slaaf, Dan. Slave, sclave, Sw. Slaf, all fr. G. Sklave, MHG. Also slave, from the national name of the Slavonians, or Sclavonians (in LL. Slavi or Sclavi), who were frequently made slaves by the Germans. See Slav. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |