slean

English

Noun

slean (plural sleans)

1. Alternative spelling of slane

Anagrams

• ANSEL, Ansel, ELANs, Elsan, L'Anse, Nales, Slane, elans, enals, lanes, leans, neals, slane

Old English

Alternative forms

• sla, slan, slæan — Mercian
• sla, slæ — Northumbrian

Etymology

From Proto-West Germanic *slahan.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /slæ͜ɑːn/

Verb

slēan

1. to hit; strike, punch
   • c. 973, Æthelwold's translation of the Rule of Saint Benedict

     Hē sċeal ġeþenċan þæt hit is āwriten, "Þām dysegan ne mæġ man mid wordum ġestīeran," and eft on ōðerre stōwe, "Sleah þīnne sunu mid ġierde, þonne ālīest þū his sāwle fram dēaðe."

     He should remember that it is written, "A fool cannot be corrected with words," and in another place, "Strike your son with a rod, and you will save his soul from death."

   • c. 990, Wessex Gospels, Matthew 26:67-8

     Þā spǣtton hīe on his ansīene and bēoton hine mid heora fȳstum. Sume hine slōgon mid heora brādum handum and cwǣdon, "Sæġe ūs, Crist, hwæt is sē þe þē slōg"?

     Then they spat in his face and beat him with their fists. Some of them slapped him and said, "Tell us, Messiah! Who is it that hit you?"

2. to kill
   • late 10th century, Ælfric, the Old English Hexateuch, Exodus 9:25

     Sē hæġl slōg eall þā þing þe ūte wǣron, ǣġðer ġe menn ġe nīetenu.

     The hail killed everything that was outside, both people and animals.

3. to slaughter (an animal)
   • late 10th century, Ælfric, the Old English Hexateuch, Deuteronomy 28:31

     Man slihþ þīnne oxan beforan þe, and þū his ne ābītst.

     Your ox will be slaughtered in front of you, and you won't get to taste it.

4. (of a snake, insect, or arachnid) to bite or sting
   • c. 992, Ælfric, "On the Greater Litany"

     Sē þrōwend is ǣtren and slihþ mid þām tæġle tō dēaðe.

     The scorpion is venomous and stings things to death with its tail.

5. to pitch (a tent)
6. to mint (coins, money)
7. to move quickly and suddenly

Usage notes

• If it is necessary to specify punching rather than another kind of hitting, the phrase mid fȳste (“with the fist”) may be added: Ġif man ōðerne mid fȳste in nasu slihþ, þrī sċillingas ("If someone punches someone else in the nose, three shillings ") (Law of Æthelberht).

• Considering the phrases þunres sleġe (“clap of thunder”) and līeġetsliht (“lightning strike”), it is likely that lightning and thunder were said to "strike" (slēan), as in Modern English.

Conjugation

Derived terms

• ofslēan

Related terms

• slaga
• sleċġ
• sleġe
• sleġel
• sliht

Descendants

• Middle English: sleen, slayn
  • Scots: slay
  • English: slay