slender 
I have . . . continued this slender and naked narration 
of my observations. Coryat, Crudities, I. 198. 
Well, come, my kind Ouests, I pray you that you would 
take this little Supper in good Part, though it be but a 
fir niter one. iV. ISailei/, tr. of Colloquies of Erasmus, I. 82. 
How best to help the slender store, 
How mend the dwellings of the poor. 
Tennyson, To the Rev. F. D. Maurice. 
5. Moderate; inconsiderable; trivial. 
There moughtest thou, for but a slender price, 
Advowson thee with some fat benefice. 
Bp. Hall, Satires, II. v. 9. 
A slender degree of patience will enable him to enjoy 
both the humour and the pathos. Scftt. 
6. Not amply supplied. 
The good Ostorius often deign'd 
To grace my slender table. Phillips. 
7. In plionog., the opposite of broad or open. 
Thus, e and I are slender vowels Slender col- 
umn. Same us fasciculus gracilis. See fasciculus. Slen- 
der fasciculi of Burclach. See fasciculi yraciles, under 
.fasciculus. Slender foxtail. See factaa, 2. Slender 
lobe. See lobe. Slender lorls. See loris, 1. Slender 
pug, Eupit/iecia tenuiata, a British moth. = Syn. 3. Fragile, 
flimsy, frail. 4. Scanty, sparing, lean. 
slender-beaked (sleu'der-bekt), a. Having a 
long, narrow rostrum : as, the slender-beaked 
spider-crab, Stenorhynchus tenuirostris. 
slender-billed (slen'der-bild), a. In ornitk., 
having a slender bill ; tenuirostral : specifi- 
cally noting many birds not implying neces- 
sarily that they belong to the old group Tenui- 
rostres. 
Slender-grass (slen'der-gras), n. A grass of 
the genus Leptochloa, in which the spikelets 
are arranged in two rows on one side of a long 
slender rachis, and the spikes in turn are dis- 
posed in a long raceme. There are 12 species, be- 
longing to warm climates ; 3 in the southern United States. 
Of the latter L. mucronata is the common species, a hand- 
some grass with the panicle sometimes 2 feet long, from 
the form of which it is also called feather-grass. 
slenderly (slen'der-li), adr. In a slender man- 
ner or form, (a) Slimly ; slightly. 
Fashioned so slenderly, 
Young and so fair ! 
Hood, Bridge of Sighs. 
He was a youngish, slenderly made man, with a distinct- 
ly good bearing. The Century, XXXI. 60. 
(b) Scantily ; meagerly ; poorly ; slightly. 
Shall I rewarded be so slenderly 
For my affection, most unkind of men ? 
Fletcher, Faithful Shepherdess, i. 2. 
We are slenderly furnished with anecdotes of these men. 
Emerson, Eloquence, 
(ct) Slightingly ; carelessly. 
Their factors . . . look very slenderly to the impotent 
and miserable creatures committed to their charge. 
Uarman, Caveat for Cursetors, p. 46. 
Captaine Smith did intreat and moue them to put in 
practice his old offer, seeing now it was time to vse both 
it and him, how slenderly heretofore both had beene re- 
garded. Quoted in Capt. John Smith's Works, II. 79. 
slenderness (slen'der-nes), n. Slender char- 
acter, quality, or condition. ( ffl ) Slimness ; thin- 
ness ; fineness : as, the slenderness of a hair. (6) Slight- 
ness ; feebleness : as, the slenderness of one's hopes, (c) 
Spareness ; smallness ; meagerness ; inadequacy : as, slen- 
derness of income or supply. 
slender-rayed (slen'der-rad), a. Having slen- 
der rays, as a fish or its fins. The Chiridse are 
sometimes called slender-rayed blennies. 
Slender-tongued (slen'der-tungd), a. In herpet. , 
leptoglossate. 
slentH (slent), v. [Also dial. (Sc.) sclent, sklent, 
sklint, < ME. slenten, slope, glide, < Sw. dial. 
slenta, slanta, a secondary form of slinta (pret. 
slant, pp. sluntit), slide, sUp: see slant."} I. in- 
trant. 1. To slant; slope; glance; glint. 
Of drawiu swerdis sclentyng to and fra. 
Oavin Douglas, tr. of Virgil, p. 226. 
Shoot your arrows at me till your quiver be empty, but 
glance not the least slenling insinuation at his majesty. 
Fuller, Truth Maintained, p. 19. (Latham.) 
2. To jest; bandy jokes. 
One Proteus, a pleasaunt-conceited man, and that could 
slent finely. North, tr. of Plutarch, 744 B. (Nares.) 
II. trans. To cause to turn aslant or aside ; 
ward off; parry. 
slent 1 ! (slent), 11. l< slent 1 , ?.] A jest or witti- 
cism. 
And when Cleopatra found Antonius' jeasts and flents 
to be but grosse. 
North, tr. of Plutarch (1579), 982 B. (Nares.) 
Slent' 2 (slent), v. t. [Perhaps a nasalized form 
of slit ; or else another use of slent 1 .'] To rend ; 
cleave. Halliicell. [Prov. Eng.] 
If one do well observe the quality of the cliffs on both 
shores [of England and France], his eyes will judge that 
they were but one homogeiieal piece of earth at first, and 
that they were slented and shivered asunder by some act 
of violence, as the impetuous waves of the sea. 
Howell, Letters, iv. 19. 
5693 
slid 
4f. A salver, platter, or tray. 
This afternoon, Mr. Harris, the saylemaker, sent me a 
noble present of two large silver candlesticks and snuffers, 
Slentando (slen-tan'do), rtrfr. [It., ppr. of slen- 
l<in; make slow; cf. It'iitando.] In iHiiyir, same 
as Iciitando. 
slepet, v. and . A Middle English form of sleet). and a <*"* * kee P tne n> u P n > wnich indeed is very iiand- 
Slepez (ale-pets'), . [< Russ. slepetsU, lit. 80me - PJW Diary, II. 218. 
blind.] The mole-rat, fipalax typhlus. See cut slice (slis), v. t. ; pret. and pp. sliced, ppr. 
under mole-rat. [< ME. slycen ; < slice, n.] 1. 
slept (slept). Pretorit and past participle of 
sleep, 
sletbag (slet'bag), . [Dan., lit. 'level-back': 
< slet, plain, level, + bag, back : see alight 1 and 
back 1 .'] Same as nordcaper. 
sleuth. 1 !, n. A Middle English form of sloth 1 . 
sleuth 2 (sloth), n. [< ME. deutli. uletcth, sluth, 
sloth, < Icel. sloth, a track or trail as in snow. 
Cf. slot s .~\ A track or trail of man or beast; 
scent. [Old Eng. and Scotch.] 
Tyne the sleuth men gert him ta. 
Barbour, Bruce (E. E. T. S.), vii. 21. 
sleuth-dog (slo'th'dog), n. The sleuth-hound. 
Lang Aicky, in the Souter Moor, 
WT his sleuth-dog sits in his watch right sure. 
Fray of Suport (Child's Ballads, VI. 120). 
Sleuth-hound (sloth'hound), . [Also slutli- 
himud, slothound; < ME. sleuthhund, slewth- 
hund, sluthehttnd; < sleuth^ + hound.] A blood- 
hound. 
Wald vayd a bow-draucht, he suld ger 
Bath the sleuthhund & the ledar. 
[< ME. slycen ; < slice, n.] 1. To cut into slices, 
or relatively broad, thin pieces: as, to xlii'i 
bread, bacon, or an apple. 
The dish was removed and given to another guest, a 
horribly self-reliant creature, who laughed and talked 
while he dexterously sliced the breast and cut off the legs. 
W. Besant, Fifty Years Ago, p. 121. 
2. To remove in the form of a slice: some- 
times with off or out: as, to slice off a piece of 
something. 
Of bread, slyce out fayre morsels to put into your pottage. 
Babees Book (E. E. T. 8.), p. 76. 
Heer 's a knife, 
To save mine honour, shall slice out my life. 
Heywood, Woman Killed with Kindness. 
3. To cut; divide. 
Princes and tyrants slice the earth among them. 
Burnet. 
Our sharp bow sliced the blue depths. 
W. H. Russell, Diary in India, I. 55. 
[In the following passage the word is used interjectional- 
ly, with no clear meaning. 
Slice, I say ! pauca, pauca : slice! that 's my humour. 
Shale., M. W. of W., i. 1. 134.] 
in the form of a thin slice 
of wood, which aids the 
removal of the type from 
Slice-galley. 
Barbour, Bruce (E. E. T. S.), vii. JO. 
Kleuth-huund thou knowest, and gray, and all the hounds, slice-bar (slls'bar), n. Same as slice, 3 (a). 
Tennyson, Gareth and Lynette. slice-galley (shs'gal'i), n. In printing, a gal- 
slevet, M. A Middle English form of sleeve*-. lev with a false bottom, 
slew 1 (slo). Preterit of slay 1 . 
slew' 2 . A spelling of slue 1 , slue 2 , slough 1 . 
slew 3 (slo), . [Perhaps a mistaken singular - - 
of sluice, assumed to be a plural: see sluice.] tne gal le y to the stone. 
A swift tideway; an eddy. slicer (Mnftr), . [< slice 
slewer (slo'er), n. See sluer. 
slewtht. A Middle English form of sloth*-, 
sleuth?. 
sley 1 !. An obsolete spelling of sly. 
sley' 2 w. See slay?. 
sleythet, . A Middle English form of sleiglit. 
slibbert (slib'er), a. A variant of slipper 1 . 
slicchet, it. A Middle English form of sleech. 
slice (slis), n. [Early mod. E. also slise, sclice, 
sclise, sklise; < ME. slice, slyce, sclice, sclyce, 
sklyce, selyse, < OF. esclicc (Walloon sklice), a 
shiver, splinter, broken piece of wood, < esclicer, 
esclicier, esclichier, slice, slit, < OHG. slizan, 
sclizan, MHG. slizen, G. schleissen, slice, slit, = 
AS. slitan, > E. slit 1 : see slifl. Cf. slash 1 , slats, 
slate 1 , from the same source.] 1. A thin broad 
piece cut off from something : as, a slice of bread 
or of bacon : often used figuratively. 
We do acknowledge you a careful curate, 
And one that seldom troubles us with sermons ; 
A short slice of a reading serves us, sir. 
Fletcher, Spanish Curate, iii. 2. glicfcen (slik'n), a. [< slick*- + -e3.] Same 
She cuts cake in rapid succession of slices. a s sleek FProv Eng 1 
W.M. Baker, New Timothy, p. 128. s li cken sided (sli'k'n-li'ded), a. [< slickenside-s 
2f. A shiver ; a splinter. + -ed[2.] In mining, having slickensides ; char- 
They braken speres to sclyces. acterized by slickensides. 
King AliMunder, 1. 3833. (Steat.) Grey inco herent clay, slickensided, and with many rhi- 
3. Something thin and broad. Specifically (o) A zomes and roots of Psilophyton. 
long-handled instrument used for removing clinkers and Dawson, Geol. Hist. Plants, p. 105. 
the like between furnace-bars. Also called slice-bar, (b) ni; rt v-,_i j / vi / -j \ 7 r / T 7 
A spatula, or broad pliable knife with a rounded end, used Slickensides (silk n-sidz), n. pi. [< slteken + 
lasters or for similar purposes. sides, pi. of Side 1 .] In mining, polished a 
r 1 ."] One who 
or that which slices. Specifically - (a) In gem-cut- 
ting, same as slMing-mUl, 2. (b) Same as slice, S(e). 
slicing-machine (sli'sing-ma-shen*), n. In 
ceram., a form of pug-mill with an upright axis 
revolving in a cylinder. Knives are fixed to the 
walls of the cylinder, and others are carried by the axis 
and revolve between those of the cylinder. The blades 
are set spirally, and force the clay, which is masticated 
during its progress through the machine, to pass out of an 
aperture at the bottom. 
slick 1 (slik), a., n., v., and adv. See sleek. 
slick' 2 (slik), . [= P. schlich, < G. schlich = 
LG. slick, pounded and washed ore; cf. LG. 
slick, dirt, mud, mire ; D. slijk, G. schlick, MHG. 
slich, grease, mire : see sleech, slick 1 .] In metal., 
ore in a state of fine subdivision: as sometimes 
used, nearly synonymous with slimes. The term 
is rarely employed, except in books describing German 
processes of smelting, and then as the equivalent of the 
German schlich, and often in that spelling. 
Slick-chisel (slik'chiz // el), M. A wide-bitted 
chisel used to pare the sides of mortises and 
tenons. 
for spreading plasti 
Slyce, instrument, spat a, spatula. Prompt. Pan., p. 459. 
The workman with his slice then spreads the charge 
over the bed, so as to thoroughly expose every portion to 
the action of the flames, and shuts down the door. 
Spans' Encyc. Ma,nu/., I. 291. 
(c) In printing: (1) A small spade-shaped iron tool with 
which printing-ink is taken out of a tub and conveyed to 
an ink-trough or -fountain. (2) The slid- 
ing bottom of a slice-galley, (d) A bar 
used by whalers to strip fish with, (e) A 
tapering piece of plank driven between 
the timbers of a ship before planking. 
Also called slicer. (/) A wedge driven un- 
der the keel of a ship when launching, (g) 
A bar with a chisel or spear-headed end, 
used for stripping off the sheathing or 
planking of ships. (A) A utensil for turn- 
ing over meat in the frying-pan and for 
similar purposes. The form is like that 
of a trowel, the blade being three or four 
inches wide, twice as long, and often slice (c)(i). 
pierced with holes. Also called turn-over. 
Then back he came to Nympton Rectory and wedded 
that same cook-maid, who now was turning our ham so 
cleverly with the egg-slice. 
and 
striated surfaces of the rock, often seen on the 
walls of fissure-veins, and the result of motion, 
under immense pressure, of parts of the coun- 
try-rock, or of the mass of the vein itself. Well- 
developed slickensides are most frequently seen in con- 
nection with mineral veins, but the sides of joints in non- 
metalliferous rocks occasionally exhibit this kind of stria- 
tion. Slickensided surfaces are frequently coated with a 
thin film of pyrites, galena, hematite, or some other min- 
eral, which may be polished so as to reflect the light like 
a mirror (whence the French name miroirs). 
Nearly akin to this jointed character are the slideen- 
sides, or polished and striated surfaces, which, sometimes 
of iron pyrites, but more usually of copper pyrites, often 
cover the faces of the walls of lodes. 
Henwood, Metalliferous Deposits of Cornwall and Devon, 
[p. 181. 
Slickensiding (slik ' n - si ' ding), n. [< slicken- 
side-s + -ing."] The formation of slickensides. 
In every case I think these bodies must have had a solid 
nucleus of some sort, as the severe pressure implied in 
slickensiding is quite incompatible with a mere "fluid- 
cavity," even supposing this to have existed. 
Dawson, Geol. Hist. Plants, p. 35. 
R. D. Blackmore, Maid of Sker, Ixviji. ... .. ,. 
(0 A broad, thin knife, usually of silver, for dividing and !}JS k , e F. # lckm t g ' ? t tc ' *=ee sleeker, etc. 
serving fish at table. Also called fishslice. Slid (slid). Preterit and past participle of slide. 
We pick out [in the shop-windows] the spoons and forks 'slidi,interj. An old exclamation, apparently 
J -~ i, butter-knives, and sugar-tongs we should both an abbreviation of Goa/S lid (eye). Compare 
we could both afford it ; and really we go away 'slife. 
prefer if v 
as if we had got them ! Dickens, David CopperfTeld, Ixi". 
0') A bakers' shovel or peel. 
'Slid, I hope he laughs not at me. 
B. Jonson, Every Man in his Humour, i. 2. 
