slaer 
slaert, A Middle English form of slayer. 
slag 1 (slag), w. [< Sw. slagg, dross, dross of 
metal, slag, = G. scMacke, dross, slack, sedi- 
ments (schlackenstein, stone coming from scoria, 
slag), = LG. slakke, scoria; cf. Icel. slagna, 
flow over, be spilt, slag, wet, water penetrat- 
ing walls, slagi, wet, dampness; akin to slack 1 . 
Cf . slack 2 and slacken 2 .'] I. The earthy matter 
separated, in a more or less completely fused 
and vitrified condition, during the reduction 
of a metal from its ore. Slags are the result of the 
combination with one another, and with the fluxes added, 
of the silicious and other mineral substances contained in 
the ore, and they vary greatly in character according to 
the nature of the ores and fluxes used. Blast-furnace 
slags are essentially silicates of lime and alumina, the 
alumina having usually been present in the ore, and the 
lime added (in the form of carbonate of lime) as a flux, or 
as a means of obtaining a slag sufficiently fluid to allow 
of the easy and complete separation from it of the re- 
duced metal. The slag of iron-furnaces is frequently 
called cinder. 
Is burnt-out passion's slag and soot 
Fit soil to strew its dainty seeds on? 
Lowell, Arcadia Rediviva. 
2. The scoria of a volcano. 
The more cellular kind (of lava] is called scoriaceous 
lava ; or, if very openly cellular, volcanic scoria or slag. 
Dana, Manual of Geology (3d ed.), p. 727. 
Foreground black with stones and slags. 
Tennyson, Palace of Art. 
slag 1 (slag), v. i. ; pret. and pp. slagged, ppr. 
slagging. [< slag 1 , n.'} To form a slag, or to 
cohere when heated so as to become a slag- like 
mass. 
slag' 2 (slag), n. [A var. of slack 3 ."] A hollow or 
depression of land. Earll. 
slag-brick (slag'brik), . Brick made from slag. 
slag-car (slag'kiir), n. A two-wheeled iron car 
used to carry slag from a furnace to a dump- 
ing-place. 
slag-furnace (slag'fer"nas), . A furnace for 
the extraction of lead from slags, and from ores 
which contain but very little lead. 
slaggy (slag'i), a. [< slag 1 + -y 1 ."] Pertaining 
to or resembling slag: as, a hard slaggy mass ; 
slaggy lavas. 
slag-hearth (slag'harth), . A rectangular fur- 
nace built of fire-brick and cast-iron, and blown 
by one twyer: it is sometimes used in treating 
the rich slags produced in various lead-smelt- 
ing operations. The Spanish slag-hearth, used 
to some extent in England, is circular, and has 
three twyers. 
slaght-boomt, [Prop. *slaghboom or 'slack- 
boom, repr. MD. slacliboom, D. slat/boom, a bar, 
< slack, slagh, D. slag, a blow (< slaan, strike, = 
E. slay 1 ), + boom, beam: see beam, boonft.] A 
bar or barrier. 
Each end of the high street leading through the Towne 
was secured against Horse with strong slaiiht-boomes which 
our men call Turn-pikes. 
Relation of Action before Cyrencester (1642), p. 4. (Dames.) 
slag-shingle (slag'shing"gl), n. Coarsely bro- 
ken slag, used as ballast for making roads. 
slag-wool (slag'wul), n. Same as silicate^ cotton 
(which see, under cotton 1 ). It is occasionally 
used as a non-conducting material, as in pro- 
tecting steam-pipes. 
slaiet, v- An obsolete form of slay 1 . 
slaigntt, ' Same as slait. 
slain (slan). Past participle of slay 1 Letters 
Of slains, in old Scots law, letters inscribed by the rela- 
tives of a person slain, declaring that they had received an 
assythment or recompense, and containing an application 
to the crown for a pardon to the murderer. 
slaister (slas'ter), . [Prob. ult. (with inter- 
change of sk and st) < Sw. slaska, dash with 
water (slask, wet), = Dan. slaske, dabble, pad- 
dle : seeslashy, andcf. slosli, slush.] 1. Dirty, 
slovenly, or slobbery work; a mess. 
"Are you at the painting trade yet?" said Meg; "an 
unco slaister ye used to make with it lang syne." 
Scott, St. Ronan's Well, ii. 
2. A slobbery mass or mess. 
The wine ! ... if ever we were to get good o 't, it was by 
taking it naked, and no wi' your sugar and your slaisters 
I wish, for ane, I had ne'er kend the sour smack o 't. 
Scott, St. Ronan's Well, xxxii. 
slaister (slas'ter), v. [< slaister, .] I. trans. 
To bedaub. 
II. intrans. 1. To slabber; eat slabberingly 
or in a slovenly manner. 
Hae, there 's a soup parritch for ye ; it will set ye bet- 
ter to be slaistering at them. Scott, Antiquary, x. 
2. To move or work in a slovenly, dirty, or 
puddling manner: as, slaistering through a 
muddy roatl. [Scotch in all uses.] 
slaistery (slas'ter-i), a. and n. [Also slaistry; < 
slaister + -y 1 .] I. a. Slabbering; sloppy; disa- 
greeable: as, slaistery work; slaistery weather. 
5682 
II. . 1. Dirty or slabbery work. 2. The 
mixed refuse of a kitchen. [Scotch in all uses.] 
slait (slat), n. [Formerly also slaiglit; origin 
obscure.] 1. An accustomed run for sheep. 
Aubrey. Hence 2. A place to which a person 
is accustomed. Halliirell. [Prov. Eng.] 
slake 1 (slak), v. ; pret. and pp. slaked, ppr. slak- 
ing, [(a) Slake, intr., ME. slaken, sicken, glakini, 
< AS. sleacian, become slack or remiss (in 
comp. dsleacian); (b) E. dial, slatch, tr., < ME. 
slekken, < AS. sleccan = OS. slekkian, quench, 
extinguish (cf. Icel. slokva, pp. slokinn, slake, 
Sw. slacka, Dan. slukke, quench, allay, slake); 
< alxc, sleac, slack: see slack 1 . Cf. slack 1 , v., 
a doublet of slake 1 .'] I. intrans. If. To become 
slack ; loosen ; slacken ; fall off. 
When the body's strongest sinews slake, 
Then is the soul most active, quick, and gay. 
Sir J. Dailies, Immortal, of Soul, iii. 
2f. To be lax, remiss, or negligent. 
Hit were to long, lest that I sholde slake 
Of thing that bereth more effect and charge. 
Chaucer, Good Women, 1. 619. 
3f. To become less strong, active, energetic, 
severe, intense, or the like; abate; decrease; 
fail; cease. 
Thi sijte and heeryng bigynneth to slake, 
Thee needith helthe and good counsaile. 
Hymns to Virgin, etc. (E. E. T. $.), p. 71. 
When it dreew too the derk & the dale slaked, 
The burd busked too bedde. 
Alisaunder of Macedoine (E. E. T. S.), 1. 714. 
As then his sorrow somewhat 'gan to slake, 
From his full bosom thus he them bespake. 
firayton, Barons' Wars, v. 14. 
4f. To desist ; give over ; fall short. 
They wol not of that flrste purpos slake. 
Chaucer, Clerk's Tale, 1. 705. 
But jeue me grace fro synne to flee, 
And him to loue let me neuere slake. 
Hymns to Virgin, etc. (E. E. T. S.), p. 11. 
5. To become disintegrated and loosened by 
the action of water ; become chemically com- 
bined with water : as, the lime slakes. 
II. trans. 1. To make slacker slow; slow; 
slacken. 
At length he saw the hindmost overtake 
One of those two, and force him turne his face ; 
However loth he were his way to slake. 
Yet mote he algates now abide, and answere make. 
Spenser, F. Q., V. viii. 5. 
2. To make slack or loose ; render less tense, 
firm, or compact; slacken. Specifically 3. 
To loosen or disintegrate; reduce to powder 
by the action of water : as, to slake lime. Also 
slack. 4f. To let loose; release. 
At pasch of Jewes the custom was 
Ane of prison to slake, 
"Withouten dome to latt him pas 
ffor that hegh test sake. 
MS. Harl. 4196, If. 209 (Cath. Ang., p. 342). 
5. To make slack or inactive ; hence, to quench 
or extinguish, as fire, appease or assuage, as hun- 
ger or thirst, or mollify, as hatred: as, to slake 
one's hunger or thirst ; to slake wrath. 
To slake his hunger and encombre his teeth. 
Chaucer, Good Women, 1. 2006. 
It could not slake mine ire nor ease my heart. 
Shak., 3 Hen. VI., i. 3. 29. 
A wooden bottle of water to slake the thirst in this hot 
climate. Pococke, Description of the East, I. 131. 
Air-slaked lime, lime which has been converted into a 
mixture of hydrate and carbonate by exposure to moist air. 
Slaked lime, or hydrate of lime, quicklime reduced 
to a state of powder by the action of water upon it. In 
the process the lime combines chemically with about one 
third of its weight of water, producing a great evolution 
of heat. 
slake 2 (slak), 11. [< ME. slake, appar. a var. of 
slak, *slakke, < Icel. slakki, a slope on a moun- 
tain's edge: see slack 3 . The word seems to be 
confused in part with slake 3 , and slack 1 , n., 4.] 
1. A channel through a swamp or mud-flat. 
There, by a little slake, Sir Launcelot wounded him sore, 
nigh unto the death. Morte d'Arthure, vi. 6. 
Yarrow Slake, a ruined haven half-filled by the wash of 
sand and soil, which still receives the waters of the Tyne 
at flood, and is left dry at ebb. You have to wind round 
this basin, or slake as it is called, to reach Shields. 
W. Howitt, Visits to Remarkable Places (ed. 1842), p. 140. 
The narrative of adventures by day and by night in a 
gunning punt along the slake* off Holy Island is pervaded 
by the keen salt breezes from the North Sea. 
Athenieum, No. 3203, p. 3J8. 
2. Slime or mud. 
Being dreadfully venom'd by rolling in slake. 
W. Hall, Sketch of Local Hist, of the Fens, quoted in 
[N. and Q., 6th ser., X. 188. 
slake 3 (slak), v. t. ; pret. and pp. slaked, ppr. 
slaking. [Prob. < Icel. sleikja = Sw. slicka = 
Dan. slikke, lick, = late MHG. sleeken, G. sclileck- 
cn, lick, lap, eat ravenously; perhaps akin to, 
slander 
or in some senses confused with, sleek, slick 1 , 
slink 1 .'] To besmear; daub. [Scotch.] 
slake 3 (slak), w. [< slake 3 , r.] A slovenly or 
slabbery daub ; a slight dabbing or bedaubing 
as with something soft and slabbery ; a " lick." 
[Scotch.] 
May be a touch o' a blackit cork, or a slake o' paint. 
Scott, Heart of Mid-Lothian, xvii. 
slake 4 (slak), n. [E. dial, also slauke, sloke, 
K/nke; perhaps connected with state 2 .] A name 
of various species of Algse, chiefly marine and 
of the edible sorts, as Ulra Lactuca, U. latis- 
xiimi, and Porpliyra laciniata: applied also to 
fresh-water species, as Enteromorplta and per- 
haps Conferva. [Prov. Eng.] 
slake-kale (slak'kal), n. Either of the sea- 
weeds Porphyra and Ulvd Lactuca. 
slakeless (slak'les), a. [< slake 1 + -/ess.] In- 
capable of being slaked or quenched ; inextin- 
guishable; insatiable. Byron. 
slake-trough (slak'trof), 11. A water-trough 
used by blacksmiths to cool their tools in forg- 
ing. 
slakin (slak'in), . See slacken 2 . 
slam 1 (slam), r. ; pret. and pp. slammed, ppr. 
damming. [< Sw. dial, slamma = Norw. slem- 
ma, slemba, strike, bang, slam, as a door; cf. 
the freq. form Icel. slamra, slambra = Norw. 
slamra, slam; cf. Sw. slamra, prate, chatter, 
jingle, slammer, a clank, noise; perhaps ult. 
akintostopl.] I. trans. 1. To close with force 
and noise ; shut with violence ; bang. 
Mr. Muzzle opened one-half of the carriage gate, to ad- 
mit the sedan, . . . and immediately slammed it in the 
faces of the mob. Dickens, Pickwick, xxv. 
2. To push violently or rudely; beat; cuff. 
[Prov. Eng.] 3. To throw violently and with 
a loud, sudden noise : as, to slam a book down 
upon the table. 4. In card-playing, to beat by 
winning all the tricks in a hand or game. 
II. intrans. To move or close violently and 
with noise ; strike violently and noisily against 
something. 
The door is slamming behind me every moment, and 
people are constantly going out and in. 
Macaulay, in Trevelyan, I. 266. 
The wind suddenly arose, the doors and shutters of the 
half-uninhabited monastery slammed and grated upon 
their hinges. Jt. Curzon, Monast. in the Levant, p. 195. 
slam 1 (slam), n. [< slam 1 , P.] 1 . A violent and 
noisy collision or bang, as when a door is sud- 
denly shut by the wind, or by a vehement push : 
as, the shutters were closed with a slam. 2. 
The winning of all the tricks in a hand at whist, 
or in a game of euchre. 3. The refuse of alum- 
works. 
slam'-'t (slam), . [Origin obscure.] An old 
game at cards. 
Ruffe, slam, trump, noddy, whisk, hole, Bant, new-cut, 
Unto the keeping of foure knaves he'l put. 
John Taylor, Works (1630). (Hares. ) 
At Post and Paire, or Slam, Tom Tuck would play 
This Christmas, but his want wherwith says nay. 
Herrick, Upon Tuck. 
slam 3 (slam), n. [Cf . D. slomp = G. sclilampe, a 
slattern (schlampen, be dirty or slovenly) ; prob. 
a nasalized form, < D. slap = G. schlaff = Dan. 
slap = Sw. slapp, lax, loose, lazy. Cf. slamkin.~] 
An ill-shaped, shambling fellow. 
Miss Hoyden. I don't like my lord's shapes, nurse. 
Nurse. Why in good truly, as a body may say, he is but 
a slam. Vanbrugh, The Relapse, v. 5. 
slam-bang (slam'bang'), adv. and a. Same as 
slap-bang. 
slamkin (slam'kin), . [Alsoslammerkin; Sc. 
slammikin, also slannnacks; appar. < slain 3 + 
-kin."] 1. A slatternly woman; a slut. [Prov. 
Eng.] 2. A loose morning-gown worn by 
women about the middle of the eighteenth cen- 
tury. It was trimmed with cuffs and ruffles of 
lace. 
slan (slan), n. A dialectal plural of sloe. Also 
slans. 
slander (slan'der), n. [Early mod. E. alsostawn- 
der, slaundre; < ME. slaunder, sclaunder, sclan- 
dre, sclaundre, sklaundre, sclondre, < OF. esclan- 
dre, esclaundre, with interloping I (cf . si- often 
scl- in ME.) for older escandre, escandle, escan- 
dele, scandele = Pr. escandol = Sp. escdndalo = 
Pg. escandalo = It. scandalo, < LL. scandalum, 
offense, reproach, scandal: see scandal, of which 
slander is thus a doublet.] If. A cause of stum- 
bling or offense ; a stumbling-block ; offense. 
Mannes sone shal sende his angels, and ther shulden 
gedre of his rewme alle sclaundris, and hem that don wick- 
idnesse. Wyclif, Mat. xiii. 41. 
2f. Reproach ; disgrace ; shame ; scandal. 
