slate
noun
- fine-grained, foliated, homogeneous, weakly metamorphic rock
- thin piece of flat material used as a medium for writing
adjective
No English definition recorded for this entry.
L27101 on Wikidata ↗verb
- schedule, designate
Wiktionary
Pronunciation: /sleɪt/ / /slet/
adj
Etymology: The noun is derived from Middle English sclate, slat, slate (“type of rock; roofing slate; writing slate”), from Old French esclate, a feminine form of esclat (“broken piece, shard”) (modern French éclat), from Old French esclater (“to break, shatter”), from Frankish *slaitijan (“to split, break”), from Proto-Germanic *slaitijaną, the causative of *slītaną (“to cut up, split”); further etymology unknown (see the Proto-Germanic entry for a discussion). Doublet of éclat and slat. The adjective and verb are derived from the noun.
- Having the bluish-grey colour of slate (noun etymology 1, noun sense 4).
name
Etymology: Metonymic occupational surname for a slater.
- A surname.
“Kelly Slate packs a mirror in the back of a truck after her home was flooded in Planada on Wednesday, January 11.”
noun
Etymology: Possibly borrowed from Scots slait, slate (“dirty, slovenly, or objectionable person”), further etymology unknown.
- A dirty or slovenly person.
“Had aff [hold off], quoth ſhe, ye filthy Slate, / Ye ſtink o' Leeks, O figh!”
verb
Etymology: From Middle English slaiten, slat, slate (“to set (a dog) on an animal”), from Old Norse *sleita, possibly related to Proto-Germanic *slītaną (“to tear apart”), further etymology unknown.
- To set (one or more dogs) on a person or animal; to sic.
- To set one or more dogs on (a person or animal).