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Unknown origin. From a dialectal word meaning "wetland with small forest". First attested in 1752.[1]
Noun
slyn
An (instance or collection of) youngbroad-leavedtrees or saplings (in particular while growing densely, sometimes in a weed-like fashion). (Is there an English equivalent to this definition?)
De älskande famnar varandra i ett uterum där betingelserna för njutning och lycka är gynnsamma: i ett hävdat lövträdslandskap (inte i granars skugga eller bland vildvuxen sly), i solljuset (dämpat av bladverkens rörliga ridåer) och i en tempererad zon om sommaren (utan giftormar eller blodsugande insekter).
The lovers embrace each other outdoors where the conditions for pleasure and happiness are favorable: in a well-maintained deciduous landscape (not in the shadow of spruces or among overgrown thickets), in the sunlight (softened by the moving curtains of foliage), and in a temperate zone during summer (without poisonous snakes or blood-sucking insects).
2005, Folke Isaksson, “Övergivet torpställe [Abandoned cottage]”, in Osäkra glimtar av ett oförklarligt ljus, page 13:
Några bleka krolliljor spirar bland bråten. För övrigt sönderfall och övergivenhet med inträngande, maktberusad sly och grundvalens grovhuggna stenar på väg att förvandlas till mögel.
Some pale curly lilies sprout among the debris. Otherwise, decay and abandonment with intrusive, power-intoxicated underbrush and the coarse-hewn stones of the foundation on the verge of turning into mold.
2023 August 31, Kary Persson, “Vallarna till Citadellet rensas på sly [The ramparts of the Citadel are being cleared of underbrush]”, in Landskrona Direkt:
De som promenerat längst med vallgravarna i Landskrona de senaste dagarna har bevittnat hur slyet som, på sina ställer växt obehindrat i flera år, tas ner.
Those who have walked along the moats in Landskrona in recent days have witnessed the clearance of the underbrush that, in some places, has grown unchecked for several years.
Usage notes
Should not be confused with:
ris(“brushwood”) which can be severed sly in a bundle.
snår(“thicket; underbrush”) which are formed by a collection of sly and other vegetation.
While there is no defined size, sly tends to be about 1–3 meters tall and about as thick as a human finger.
