Hello, you have come here looking for the meaning of the word
slither. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word
slither, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say
slither in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word
slither you have here. The definition of the word
slither will help you to be more precise and correct when speaking or writing your texts. Knowing the definition of
slither, as well as those of other words, enriches your vocabulary and provides you with more and better linguistic resources.
English
Etymology
From Middle English slitheren, alteration of slideren (“to slither, creep”), from Old English slidrian (“to slip, slide, slither”), from Proto-West Germanic *slidrōn (“to slide, slither”), from Proto-Indo-European *sleydʰ- (“to slip”), equivalent to slide + -er (frequentative suffix). Cognate with Dutch slidderen (“to slip, wriggle, slither”), German schlittern (“to slither, skid”). More at slide.
Pronunciation
Verb
slither (third-person singular simple present slithers, present participle slithering, simple past and past participle slithered)
- (intransitive) To move about smoothly and from side to side.
2023 October 12, HarryBlank, “Fire in the Hole”, in SCP Foundation, archived from the original on 22 May 2024:She also had a map of the building, not that it was very large, and she'd memorized the layout. The guard station would be right around the corner, and there ought to be a counter about the height of a half-wall looking out over the corridor with only a bulletin board on the opposite wall. She crouched down, and slithered left.
- (intransitive) To slide.
2003, J. Flash, An American Savage:I bent down and with both hands I scooped up as much of this pissshit as I could. The green and brown clump felt like Jello as it dripped down all over my clothes. It was slithering through inbetween my fingers.
Derived terms
Translations
to move smoothly from side to side
to slide
— see also slide
Adjective
slither
- (archaic) slithery; slippery
Noun
slither (uncountable)
- A limestone rubble.
- (nonstandard, see usage notes) A sliver.
Usage notes
The use of slither to mean sliver, which is prevalent especially in Britain (where th-fronting is becoming more and more prevalent), is considered by many to be an error, though at least one major dictionary merely labels it "informal" .
See also
Anagrams