sludge
noun
- by-product of sewage treatment
Wiktionary
Pronunciation: /slʌd͡ʒ/
noun
Etymology: From Middle English slugge, sluche (“mud, mire”), probably an alteration of Middle English sliche, slicche ("mud, slush, tar"; whence Modern English slitch), from Old English *sliċ, from Proto-West Germanic *sliki, *slīk, from Proto-Germanic *slikiz, *slīką (“mud, slush”). Cognate with Dutch slijk, German Schlick. Compare also slush.
- Solids separated from suspension in a liquid.
“Floods in northern India, mostly in the small state of Uttarakhand, have wrought disaster on an enormous scale.[…]Rock-filled torrents smashed vehicles and homes, burying victims under rubble and sludge.”
- A residual semi-solid material left from industrial, water treatment, or wastewater treatment processes.
- A sediment of accumulated minerals in a steam boiler.
- A mass of small pieces of ice on the surface of a water body.
- Ellipsis of sludge metal.
- Institutional policies that introduce tedium and inefficiency in processes.
“In the 2008 best seller Nudge, the legal scholar Cass R. Sunstein and the economist Richard H. Thaler marshaled behavioral-science research to show how small tweaks could help us make better choices. An updated version of the book includes a section on what they called “sludge”—tortuous administrative demands, endless wait times, and excessive procedural fuss that impede us in our lives.”
verb
Etymology: From Middle English slugge, sluche (“mud, mire”), probably an alteration of Middle English sliche, slicche ("mud, slush, tar"; whence Modern English slitch), from Old English *sliċ, from Proto-West Germanic *sliki, *slīk, from Proto-Germanic *slikiz, *slīką (“mud, slush”). Cognate with Dutch slijk, German Schlick. Compare also slush.
- To slump or slouch.
- To slop or drip slowly.