slashn.1
/slaʃ/, U.S. /slæʃ/ 1. in extended use.1858 T. Carlyle Hist. Friedrich II of Prussia I. v. vii. 614 Capable of rough slashes of sarcasm when he opens his old beard for speech.1867 H. Latham Black & White 3 Listening to the angry slash with which each wave's crest swished like a scourge across the ship.
a. A cutting stroke delivered with an edged weapon or instrument, or with a whip.
ΘΚΠ
society > armed hostility > military equipment > operation and use of weapons > cut of sharp weapon > [noun] > stroke with sharp weapon
draughtc1320
chop1362
reverse1490
slash1576
riverso1595
cuta1616
the world > movement > impact > striking > striking with specific thing > [noun] > blow struck with an object or instrument > with a sharp instrument
chop1362
weffea1400
slash1576
slashing1596
cuta1616
slap1688
streak1725
1576 A. Fleming Panoplie Epist. 297 (margin) Because euery one was ready to cutte his throte as to haue a slash at his fleshe.
1598 A. M. tr. J. Guillemeau Frenche Chirurg. 13 b/2 A great hewe or slashe, by which the eare hangeth by the heade.
1617 F. Moryson Itinerary iii. 26 Sometimes they fight after their fashion, which is a slash or two with the edge of the sword.
1652 C. Cotterell tr. G. de Costes de La Calprenède Cassandra (1676) iii. 43 Cut the straps of his Cask, with a slash of his sword.
1726 J. Swift Gulliver I. ii. i. 27 I observed it had yet some Life, but, with a strong Slash cross the Neck I thoroughly dispatched it.
1817 W. Scott Rob Roy III. xii. 340 He..had only taken this recumbent posture to avoid the slashes, stabs, and pistol-balls, which..were flying in various directions.
1868 E. A. Freeman Hist. Norman Conquest (1877) II. 431 There seemed a prospect of the English crown passing, without slash or blow, to the brow of the Norman.
b. In Cricket, any unorthodox attacking stroke played with a great swing of the bat.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > ball game > cricket > batting > [noun] > types of stroke
long ball1744
nip1752
catch1816
no-hit1827
cut1833
short hit1833
draw1836
drive1836
square hit1837
skylarker1839
skyer1840
skyscraper1842
back-cut1845
bum1845
leg sweep1846
slog1846
square cut1850
driver1851
Harrow drive1851
leg slip1852
poke1853
snick1857
snorter1859
leg stroke1860
smite1861
on-drive1862
bump ball1864
rocketer1864
pull1865
grass trimmer1867
late cut1867
off-drive1867
spoon1871
push1873
push stroke1873
smack1875
Harrow drive1877
pull-stroke1880
leg glance1883
gallery-hit1884
boundary-stroke1887
glide1888
sweep1888
boundary1896
hook1896
leg glide1896
backstroke1897
flick1897
hook stroke1897
cover-drive1898
straight drive1898
square drive1900
edger1905
pull-drive1905
slash1906
placing stroke1907
push drive1912
block shot1915
if-shot1920
placing shot1921
cow-shot1922
mow1925
Chinese cut1937
haymaker1954
hoick1954
perhapser1954
air shot1956
steepler1959
mishook1961
swish1963
chop-
1906 A. E. Knight Compl. Cricketer ii. 78 A slash at the ball, the bat slicing the ball instead of meeting it with the full face.
1948 Sporting Mirror 21 May 7/1 The first shot he made after arriving at the wickets was a glorious ‘slash’ to the boundary.
1977 Daily Express 29 Jan. 35/1 Yajuvendra, never looking the part in his first Test innings, took a full-blooded slash outside off stump at a short one from Willis.
c. figurative. A reduction; a (swingeing) cut. Cf. slash v.1 1d.
ΘΚΠ
society > trade and finance > monetary value > price > fluctuation in price > [noun] > decline in prices > cutting prices > a cut in prices > by large amount
slash1950
1950 N.Y. Times 20 Apr. 2/1 (heading) House group bars overall 50% slash in wartime excises.
1951 Business Week 17 Nov. 158 Consumer durables slash.
1973 Tucson (Arizona) Daily Citizen 22 Aug. 1 This would be the second wave of base slashes in about a year.
1983 Guardian Weekly 6 Mar. 14/1 A 50 per cent slash in the army's budget.
2.
a. A long and deep or severe cut; a gash; a wound of this character.
ΘΚΠ
the world > health and disease > ill health > injury > [noun] > wound > cut
carfa1000
seamc1400
slapc1480
gap?a1500
gash1528
cut1530
scarification?1541
chopping1558
slash1580
slaughter1592
snip1600
hacka1610
sluice1648
the world > existence and causation > creation > destruction > cutting > [noun] > a cut or incision
garse?c1225
chinea1387
slit1398
incisionc1400
slivingc1400
raising?a1425
scotchc1450
racec1500
tranchec1500
kerf?1523
hack1555
slash1580
hew1596
raze1596
incutting1598
slisha1616
scar1653
lancementa1655
slap1688
slip1688
nick1692
streak1725
sneck1768
snick1775
rut1785
sliver1806
overcut1874
1580 C. Hollyband Treasurie French Tong at Taillade He gaue him a slashe or cutte on the legge.
1603 R. Knolles Gen. Hist. Turkes 986 Three great slashes [were] made on his backe, where they began to flea him.
1634 T. Herbert Relation Some Yeares Trauaile 10 In adding to their beauties, they haue two or three slashes in the face.
1717 M. Prior Alma ii. 445 Scarr'd with ten thousand comely Blisters,..Distinguish'd Slashes deck the Great.
1829 W. Scott Rob Roy (new ed.) I. Introd. p. xxxiii A slash or two, or a broken head, was easily accommodated.
1890 A. Conan Doyle White Company xxx The Bohemian knight..bleeding from a slash across the forehead.
b. Botany. (See quot. 1866.)
ΚΠ
1866 J. Lindley & T. Moore Treasury Bot. II. 654/1 Lacinia,..a slash. A deep taper-pointed incision.
3.
a. A vertical slit made in a garment in order to expose to view a lining or under garment of a different or contrasting colour.
ΘΚΠ
the world > textiles and clothing > clothing > parts of clothing > [noun] > trimmings or ornamentation > slash or slit
panes1565
slash1615
slashing1882
1615 G. Markham Countrey Contentm. (1633) i. xi. 75 Let your apparel be plain..without any new fashioned slashes, or hanging sleeves, waving loose, like sails about you.
1627 in R. F. Williams Birch's Court & Times Charles I (1848) (modernized text) I. 261 A swain..was suspected..and..searched, and a poisoned knife found in one of his slashes.
1711 R. Steele Spectator No. 109. ⁋5 Observe the small Buttons,..the Slashes about his Clothes.
1831 W. Scott Castle Dangerous i, in Tales of my Landlord 4th Ser. III. 222 The colour of the traveller's doublet was blue, that of his trowsers or pantaloons violet, with slashes which showed a lining of the same colour with the jerkin.
1882 S. F. A. Caulfeild & B. C. Saward Dict. Needlework 451/2 Slashes or Panes, a term used by tailors and dressmakers, to signify a vertical cutting in any article of dress [etc.].
b. attributive with cuff, pocket. Also absol. (see quot. 1839).
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the world > textiles and clothing > clothing > parts of clothing > [adjective] > other
poted1609
bombastical1650
slash1799
raglan1858
jetted1866
bretelle1890
ruched1896
pouched1897
flapless1916
plunged1941
bat-wing1959
scoopy1970
1799 G. Washington Let. in Writings (1893) XIV. 149 To you I submit..whether the coat shall have slash Cuffs (with blue flaps passing through them), and slash pockets.
1839 H. Brandon Dict. Flash or Cant Lang. in W. A. Miles Poverty, Mendicity & Crime 165/1 Slash, outside coat pocket.
1969 Sears, Roebuck Catal. Spring–Summer 47 No-iron reversible jacket... Plaid side has two slash pockets.
1973 W. H. Hallahan Ross Forgery iii. 3 The watchman pushed his hands into the slash pockets of his jacket.
4.
a. An open tract or clearing in a forest, esp. one strewn with debris resulting from felling or logging, high wind, or fire. Cf. slashing n. 4b. North American.
ΚΠ
1825 A. Anderson Diary 30 Aug. in G. Sellar Narr. (1916) vii. 102 We have been here scarce three months and there is a great slash.
1849 J. E. Alexander L'Acadie I. 272 After various difficulties..getting with our horses into ‘slashes’ or parts of the forest cut down..we at last reached the small wooden hostel.
1881 Harper's Mag. Oct. 688/2 They [sc. the dogs]..crawling through the densest slash of burned and fallen timber.
1886 S. W. Mitchell Roland Blake (1895) ii. 16 Both sides were ‘falling’ trees to construct breastworks, abatis and slashes.
1905 Terms Forestry & Logging (Bull. U.S. Dept. Agric., Bureau Forestry, No. 61) 47 Slash, forest land which has been logged off and upon which the limbs and tops remain, or which is deep in débris as the result of fire and wind.
1923 H. E. Williams Spinning Wheels & Homespun 154 Raspberries are found oftenest in what are called ‘slashes’ in the woods, where the older timber has been cut down, and the new has not yet grown up to replace it.
1963 Vancouver Sun 23 Nov. 21/1 The rolling hills along the..rivers are parklike with their copses of fir, tamarack, poplar and willow..left standing in old log slashes or burns.
b. Felled trees and other debris left in a forest after logging or the clearing of a tract, or resulting from high wind or fire. Cf. slashing n. 4c originally and chiefly North American.In modern use, slash denotes the branches and other trimmings cut from trees preparatory to removing the logs from a forest.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > farming > forestry or arboriculture > lumbering > [noun] > felled trees, debris, or tree stumps remaining
stob1321
slash1841
slashing1864
sloven1946
1841 Bytown (Ottawa) Gaz. 17 Feb. 1/3 To end of month clearing up old ‘slash’, which term has previously been defined.
1905 Terms Forestry & Logging (Bull. U.S. Dept. Agric., Bureau Forestry, No. 61) 47 Slash, the débris left after logging, wind, or fire.
1917 F. D. Adams in J. O. Miller New Era in Canada 85 In Quebec and British Columbia, settlers who desire to burn their slash must now obtain permits from the Government forest ranger, who supervises the burning.
1928 Indian Forest Rec. XIII. vii. 3 Comprehensively defined, chir slash includes all débris resulting from operations involving the felling and utilization of chir trees, and also from the destruction of trees of this species by such agencies as wind, snow, fire, lightning, floods, landslips, insects and fungi.
1928 Daily Tel. 9 Oct. 9/7 To require the disposal of logging slash in order to prevent the spread of forest fires. We are adding to our accumulation of dry forest fire-kindling slash the tops and branches of 150,000,000 trees per year.
1952 P. W. Richards Trop. Rain Forest xvii. 379 Soil impoverishment will in turn depend on..the quantity of debris and ‘slash’ left on the ground after clearing.
1965 Wildlife Rev. Mar. 19/2 Cougars travel over long ranges and are found in various ecological types of terrain such as slash, mature forest and second growth.
1980 Search XI. 71/1 Planting of tubed stock on corridors cleared of slash may be another means of establishing eucalypt seedlings.
5. A thin sloping line, thus /; = oblique n. 4, solidus n.1 2. U.S. Also slash-mark.
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > writing > written character > punctuation > [noun] > virgule or oblique
virguler1610
virgula1728
virgule1837
slant-line1954
slash1961
slant1962
oblique1965
1961 Webster's 3rd New Internat. Dict. Eng. Lang.
1964 Amer. Speech 39 103 The number to the right of the slash is the total number of occurrences of that type of clause.
1976 T. Allbeury Only Good German x. 76 Reference SC49 slash two.
1979 C. E. Schorske Fin-de-Siècle Vienna vii. 331 Breaking the phrase with slash marks at unsuspected nodes.
1980 Maledicta 1979 3 206 Although it is true that . , : ; () - [] – ! ? / and * have names—in the case of /, several names: solidus, virgule, slash-mark, diagonal—there is a gap in the naming of #.
Compounds
General attributive.
slash area n.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > farming > forestry or arboriculture > lumbering > [noun] > felled trees, debris, or tree stumps remaining > area of
slash area1971
1971 Islander (Victoria, Brit. Columbia) 30 May 12/3 After about a third of a mile you break out into a slash area where logging operations have been carried out.
slash fire n.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > farming > forestry or arboriculture > lumbering > [noun] > felled trees, debris, or tree stumps remaining > fire which consumes
slash fire1949
the world > matter > properties of materials > temperature > heat > burning > a fire > [noun] > a kind of fire > other fires
moorburn1424
coal firea1450
commonty fire1573
moor-burning1610
stubble-firea1618
wheel-fire1662
night-fire1687
waterball1696
chip fire1795
neal-fire1813
bratchel1815
forge-fire1855
log-fire1878
electrical fire1900
slash fire1949
dumpster fire1957
chip pan fire1960
chip fire1985
1949 Pacific Discovery Jan. 4/1 The river knew well the flashing draft of lightning fires in the grass but not the consuming roar of a slash fire.
1980 Search XI. 69/1 Slash fires result in mobilisation of large amounts of nutrients both during the fire..and subsequently as a result of stimulated biological mineralisation in the soil.
Draft additions June 2003
Originally and chiefly Science Fiction. [After the written form of K/S n.] A subgenre of fiction, originally published in fanzines and now esp. online, in which characters who appear together in popular films or other media are portrayed as having a sexual (esp. homosexual) relationship. Chiefly attributive.
ΚΠ
1984 Not Tonight, Spock! Jan. 1 Recommended Book List..to include gay books, other slash zines, or media zines with good K/S stories.
1988 New Yorker 12 Dec. 38/1 ‘Spock enslaved’ is an erotic zine. It's not really a slash book, but it's part of the same movement.
1993 FRA Rev. May–June 64 There is another chapter on slash, or fanzine stories written with the assumption of a homoerotic relationship between male media characters.
1998 R. J. Coombe Cultural Life of Intellect. Prop. ii. 128 Starsky and Hutch fans worried that public exposure of ‘Slash’ literature would hurt the reputations of stars they regarded with respect and affection.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1911; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
slashn.2
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > drink > [noun] > a drink or draught
shenchc950
drinkc1000
draughtc1200
beveragec1390
napa1450
potation1479–81
potionc1484
slaker?1518
glut1541
pocill1572
adipson1601
go-down1614
slash1614
gulf1674
libation1751
meridian1771
sinda1774
sling1788
mahogany1791
a shove in the mouth1821
nooner1836
quencher1841
refresh1851
slackener1861
squencher1871
refreshener1888
refresher1922
maiden's blush1941
maiden's water1975
1614 W. Hornby Scourge Drunkennes (1859) 18 But if to pledge a slash hee doth refuse They'l take the pot, and throw the drinke in's face.
c1783 in Roxburghe Ballads (1890) VII. 94 Flounders, the younger,..So prim on his stallion and fond of his slash.
2. slang. An act of urination.
ΘΚΠ
the world > life > the body > organs of excretion > defecation or urination > urinary system > [noun] > urination
pissinga1398
urine1561
urination1599
staling1601
miction1663
urining1668
piss?1837
piddle1870
micturating1879
pee1880
pee-wee1909
wet1925
peeing1929
leak1934
Jimmy Riddle1937
wee-wee1937
tinkle1939
run-off1944
slash1950
No. 11965
wee1968
widdle1969
gypsy's kiss1971
Jimmy1971
whizz1971
gypsy's1972
void1980
wazz1994
1950 P. Tempest Lag's Lexicon 192 Slash, to go for a, to visit the urinal.
1953 Chambers's Jrnl. June 325/1 ‘I'm leaving my turret for a moment. I want a slash.’ ‘Okay, kid, you know where to find it?’ ‘I should do. I've had to empty them often enough!’
1977 N. J. Crisp Odd Job Man i. 5 He decided to risk a quick slash, which..he needed.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1911; most recently modified version published online June 2018).
slashn.3
/slaʃ/, U.S. /slæʃ/ U.S.
Swampy ground; a swamp.
ΘΚΠ
the world > the earth > land > landscape > marsh, bog, or swamp > [noun]
marsheOE
fenc888
sladec893
moorOE
mossOE
marshlandlOE
lay-fena1225
lay-mirea1225
moor-fenc1275
flosha1300
strother?a1300
marish1327
carrc1330
waterlanda1382
gaseync1400
quaba1425
paludec1425
mersec1440
sumpa1450
palus?1473
wash1483
morass1489
oozea1500
bog?a1513
danka1522
fell1538
soga1552
Camarine1576
gog1583
swale1584
sink1594
haga1600
mere1609
flata1616
swamp1624
pocosin1634
frogland1651
slash1652
poldera1669
savannah1671
pond-land1686
red bog1686
swang1691
slack1719
flowa1740
wetland1743
purgatory1760
curragh1780
squall1784
marais1793
vlei1793
muskeg1806
bog-pit1820
prairie1820
fenhood1834
pakihi1851
terai1852
sponge1856
takyr1864
boglet1869
sinkhole1885
grimpen1902
sphagnum bog1911
blanket bog1939
string bog1959
1652 in N. M. Nugent Cavaliers & Pioneers (1934) I. 239/2 Neer a wett slash, running N.N.W. to an Easternmost branch of Richard Cr.
1717 Prince George County (Virginia) Deed Bk. 202 in Amer. Speech (1940) 15 393/1 A white Oake Standing in a round Slash.
1799 G. Washington Writings (1893) XIV. 232 Excepting the ground now in and designed for lucerne, south of the slash by the Barn.
?1838 P. H. Gosse Jrnl. in E. Gosse Life P. H. Gosse (1890) 106 The first quarter of a mile lay through a very rough slash.
a1859 in J. R. Bartlett Dict. Americanisms (at cited word) Between this and Edenton there are many whortleberry slashes.
1890 Cent. Mag. June 221/2 The camp was in a cypress slash. You could cut the miasma with a knife.
1897 Geogr. Jrnl. 9 538 There are many successive ridges of shingle running in varying directions, and often with narrow strips of marsh enclosed between successive ridges. Such bands of marsh have been given the very appropriate name of ‘slashes’ in New Jersey.
1903 Dial. Notes 2 330 [S.E. Missouri] Slash, wet bottom land. A slash differs from a slough in having no perceptible channel.
1966 Publ. Amer. Dial. Soc. xlvi. 29 Slash, a swamp.— ‘It was in that slash down on the river.’
Compounds
slash-pine n. a pine growing in a slash or low-lying coastal region, esp. Pinus caribæa, the principal native pine of south-eastern North America; also, the wood of this tree.
ΘΚΠ
the world > plants > particular plants > trees and shrubs > conifers > [noun] > pines and allies
pine treeeOE
pineOE
pine-nut treec1330
pineapplec1390
pineapple treea1398
mountain pine1597
pine1597
mountain pine1601
frankincense1611
rosin flower?1611
black pine1683
Scotch pine1706
yellow pine1709
Jersey pine1743
loblolly pine1760
mugoa1768
Scots pine1774
Scotch fir1777
arrow plant1779
scrub pine1791
Georgia pine1796
old field pine1797
tamarack1805
grey pine1810
pond pine1810
New Jersey pine1818
loblolly1819
Corsican pine1824
celery-top pine1827
toatoa1831
heavy-wooded pine1836
nut pine1845
celery pine1851
celery-topped pine1851
sugar-pine1853
western white pine1857
Jeffrey1858
Korean pine1858
lodge-pole pine1859
jack pine1863
whitebark pine1864
twisted pine1866
Monterey pine1868
tanekaha1875
chir1882
slash-pine1882
celery-leaved pine1883
knee-pine1884
knobcone pine1884
matsu1884
meadow pine1884
Alaska pine1890
limber pine1901
bristlecone pine1908
o-matsu1916
insignis1920
radiata1953
society > occupation and work > materials > raw material > wood > wood of specific trees > [noun] > pine > types of
bog fir1770
ocote1787
Georgia pine1796
Labrador pine1803
pumpkin pine1809
Banksian pine1831
bog-pine1842
tamarack pine1843
tamarack1864
Baltic pine1866
Norway pine1866
slash-pine1882
Queensland kauri1889
krummholz1908
fat-wood1909
1882 F. B. Hough Elem. Forestry 328 Varieties [of Pinus taeda] are known in North Carolina as ‘Swamp Pine’, ‘Slash Pine’.
1884 C. S. Sargent Rep. Forests N. Amer. 516 The slash pine (Pinus Cubensis) of the Florida coast.
1934 Sun (Baltimore) 7 Dec. 3/2 Dr. Herty recently made newsprint from slash and other southern pine.
1949 Clarke County Democrat (Grove Hill, Alabama) 28 July 1/3 Both have plots on which they have set out slash pine seedlings.
1974 Calhoun Times (St. Matthews, S. Carolina) 18 Apr. 2/1 Loblolly and slash pines are most susceptible [to rust galls].
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1911; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
slashn.4
/slaʃ/, U.S. /slæʃ/ local.
(See quots.)
ΘΚΠ
the world > the earth > minerals > mineral sources > [noun] > hollows containing minerals
purse1604
slash1839
pocket1848
1839 R. I. Murchison Silurian Syst. 376 Besides ‘sloughs’ there occur in Broadhaven and elsewhere, small but very deep troughs of finely fractured culm, which are called ‘slashes’. These (as far as my knowledge goes) are peculiar to Pembrokeshire.
1854 R. I. Murchison Siluria xi. 275 The coal..has been for the most part shivered into small fragments, and is frequently accumulated in small troughs or hollows, the ‘slashes’ of the miners.
1916 T. C. Cantrill et al. Geol. S. Wales Coalfield xii. xii. 116 It is probable that the circular or elliptical pockets of coal known as ‘slatches’ or ‘slashes’ are the remains of short closed synclinal masses of coal abnormally swollen out by the squeezing-down of the two sides of the syncline.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1911; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
slashv.1
/slaʃ/, U.S. /slæʃ/ 1. reflexive.1652 P. Heylyn Cosmographie iv. i. sig. Kkkk4 Most hideously to slash themselves in all parts of their bodies.
a. transitive. To cut or wound with a sweep or stroke of a sharp weapon or instrument; to gash, †hew.
ΘΚΠ
the world > health and disease > ill health > injury > injure [verb (reflexive)] > cut
slash1382
the world > existence and causation > creation > destruction > cutting > cut [verb (transitive)]
snithec725
carvec1000
cutc1275
slitc1275
hag1294
ritc1300
chop1362
slash1382
cut and carvea1398
flash?a1400
flish?a1400
slenda1400
race?a1425
raise?a1425
razea1425
scotch?c1425
ochec1440
slitec1450
ranch?a1525
scorchc1550
scalp1552
mincea1560
rash?1565
beslash1581
fent1589
engrave1590
nick1592
snip1593
carbonado1596
rescide1598
skice1600
entail1601
chip1609
wriggle1612
insecate1623
carbonate1629
carbonade1634
insecta1652
flick1676
sneg1718
snick1728
slot1747
sneck1817
tame1847
bite-
the world > health and disease > ill health > injury > injure [verb (transitive)] > wound > cut
wound?c1225
cutc1275
entamec1330
slash1382
grushc1420
begash1555
gash1562
entrench1590
society > armed hostility > military equipment > operation and use of weapons > cut of sharp weapon > cut or penetrate (of weapon) [verb (transitive)] > strike with sharp weapon
chop1362
slash1382
strikec1390
rutc1540
1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) 1 Kings v. 18 (Bodl. 959) The grete stones..which þe masownys of Salamon..han slascht [altered to ouerscorchyd].
1587 G. Turberville Tragicall Tales f. 22v Slashing the Lady with his fauchion fell.
1596 T. Nashe Haue with you to Saffron-Walden sig. M3v Hewd and slasht he had beene as small as chippings, if he had not played ducke Fryer.
1606 J. Sylvester tr. G. de S. Du Bartas Deuine Weekes & Wks. (new ed.) ii. iii. 77 Alas! some of vs shall with Scythes be slasht.
1685 C. Cotton tr. M. de Montaigne Ess. (1877) I. 14 Where all their confederates and neighbours..cut and slashed their fore heads in token of sorrow.
1717 Lady M. W. Montagu Let. 17 May (1965) I. 357 Some slash'd their arms with sharp knives, makeing the blood spout out.
1791 W. Cowper tr. Homer Iliad in Iliad & Odyssey I. ii. 518 The thighs with fire consumed, they..slash'd the remnant, pierced it with spits [etc.].
1850 H. T. Cheever Whale & his Captors v. 85 The mincer, with a two-handled knife, slashes it nearly through into thin slices.
1881 W. Besant & J. Rice Chaplain of Fleet III. xviii. 84 There are few things a woman..would not do to save two friends from hacking and slashing each other.
b. To cut off or out with a sweeping or sharp stroke.
ΚΠ
a1592 R. Greene Comicall Hist. Alphonsus (1599) ii. sig. C4 Therefore Fabius stand not lingring, But presently slash off his trayterous head.
1625 S. Purchas Pilgrimes ii. 1724 Their owne flesh..they slash off in morsels.
1821 W. Scott Kenilworth II. vii. 186 I will slash the eyes out of his head with my poniard.
1837 T. Carlyle French Revol. I. v. vii. 274 Already one poor Invalide has his right hand slashed off him.
c. To clear (land) of vegetation, to cut (trees or undergrowth) down, esp. preparatory to burning off the resulting slash. Chiefly North American.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > farming > cultivation or tillage > reclamation > reclaim [verb (transitive)] > clear land
redeeOE
ridlOE
grubc1374
stub1464
clot1483
shrub1553
clear1634
cure1719
stump1796
spade1819
slash1821
underbrush1824
to clean up1839
underbush1886
screef1913
1821 T. McCulloch Stepsure Lett. (1960) 20 He had slashed down a large piece of wood; and now he determined to raise a crop.
1849 C. Hursthouse Acct. Settlement New Plymouth vii. 93 The cane-like fern stalks..should be cut at once,..and the ‘Tutu’ slashed down with a bill-hook.
1857 O. W. Wight Quinland I. i. ii. 33 We then..began cutting down the forest to make a clearing... During the summer we ‘slashed’ about forty acres.
1889 W. H. Withrow Our own Country: Canada 362 The native forest had been ‘slashed’ in that particular locality.
1931 Beaver Sept. 276 Five acres of virgin land were slashed.
1962 A. Fry Ranch on Cariboo 66 Sometimes we built fence or slashed brush to extend the yard.
d. figurative. To reduce (something) severely in size or quantity. Frequently used with reference to prices, payments, etc.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > quantity > decrease or reduction in quantity, amount, or degree > reduce in quantity, amount, or degree [verb (transitive)] > reduce severely
slash1906
scythe1970
society > trade and finance > monetary value > price > fluctuation in price > [verb (transitive)] > lower (price) > by large amount
slash1906
1906 Washington Post 29 Apr. 6 A disposition was manifested in the Senate Committee to slash the salaries of members of the commission.
1910 Springfield (Mass.) Weekly Republican 8 Dec. 8 It is not a pleasant thing to slash a presidential message to this extent.
1931 Evening Standard 4 Aug. 10/1 The big department stores have not merely reduced their prices; they have ‘slashed’ them.
1958 Listener 13 Nov. 777/2 After that I stuck to one garage and slashed expenditure by 50 per cent. at a single stroke.
1976 Daily Mirror 16 July 1/1 Labour held their seat in yesterday's vital Thurrock by-election. But their majority was slashed.
2. figurative.1596 T. Nashe Haue with you to Saffron-Walden sig. M3v He would needs..hewe and slash with his Hexameters.1865 T. Carlyle Hist. Friedrich II of Prussia V. xix. vii. 566 The Austrians..will not go, till well slashed into, and torn out by sheer beating.
a. intransitive. To deliver or aim cutting blows (also const. at); to make gashes or deep wounds.
ΘΚΠ
the world > existence and causation > creation > destruction > cutting > cut [verb (intransitive)]
carve?c1225
rivec1275
shearc1275
cutc1400
racea1413
incise?1541
slash1548
slive1558
hackle1577
haggle1577
slice1606
snipa1680
chip1844
bite1849
society > armed hostility > military equipment > operation and use of weapons > cut of sharp weapon > strike with sharp weapon [verb (intransitive)]
hewc993
strike1340
slash1548
the world > health and disease > ill health > injury > injure [verb (intransitive)] > wound > cut
slash1548
gasha1694
sword1863
the world > movement > impact > striking > striking with specific thing > strike with specific thing [verb (intransitive)] > with something pliant
slash1548
switch1612
1548 W. Patten Exped. Scotl. H iv Euen so..was Syr Arthur Darcy slasht at with swoordes, and..hurt vppon the weddyng fynger of hys righte hande.
1590 E. Spenser Faerie Queene ii. ix. sig. V5 The knights..Broke their rude troupes,..Hewing and slashing at their idle shades.
1616 J. Lane Contin. Squire's Tale viii. 261 Swoordes flew out, most feircelie hissinge, percinge, cuttinge, slasshinge.
1678 S. Butler Hudibras: Third Pt. iii. i. 21 Knights..when they slash, and cut to pieces, Do all with civilest addresses.
1709 T. Hearne Remarks & Coll. (1886) II. 317 Ye Spatæ were us'd both to push and slash.
1794 A. Radcliffe Myst. of Udolpho III. vi. 141 The enemy..will fall to, cutting and slashing, till he makes them all rise up dead men.
1846 W. S. Landor Citation & Exam. Shakespere in Wks. II. 291 Then did he slit them with his thumbnail, and then did he pare and slash away at them again.
1880 ‘M. Twain’ Tramp Abroad 44 In the fights..these lads hacked and slashed with the same tremendous spirit.
b. To strike violently or at random; to lay about one with heavy blows; to move rapidly and violently, etc. Also with down, out. Also in cricket, to play a vigorous attacking stroke. Occasionally transitive (in quot. with bowler as object).
ΘΚΠ
the world > movement > impact > striking > strike or deliver blows [verb (intransitive)] > strike out
flingc1380
bursta1450
to lash out1567
belay1598
outlash1611
slash1689
to throw out1772
to let out1840
to hit out1856
sock1856
the world > movement > rate of motion > swiftness > swift movement in specific manner > move swiftly in specific manner [verb (intransitive)] > move swiftly and violently
driveeOE
fallOE
reseOE
routOE
rashOE
swip?c1225
weothec1275
startlec1300
lushc1330
swapc1386
brusha1400
spurna1400
buschc1400
frushc1400
rushc1405
rushle1553
rouse1582
hurl1609
powder1632
slash1689
stave1819
tilt1831
bulge1834
smash1835
storm1837
stream1847
ripsnort1932
slam1973
the world > relative properties > wholeness > mutual relation of parts to whole > separation > separation or detachment > detach [verb (transitive)] > cut off > with a sweeping stroke
to smite offa1225
off-swipc1275
to strike offc1485
wipe1596
slash1689
to sweep off1707
the world > movement > impact > striking > striking with specific thing > strike with specific thing [verb (transitive)] > with the foot > downwards > trample > specific crops or grass
triflea1642
slash1689
stubble1897
society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > ball game > cricket > batting > bat [verb (intransitive)] > types of stroke
chop1776
mow1844
crump1850
poke1851
cut1857
swipe1857
glance1898
glide1899
cart1903
nibble1926
on-drive1930
slash1955
cover-drive1960
push1963
society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > ball game > cricket > batting > bat [verb (transitive)] > hit > hit with specific stroke
take1578
stop1744
nip1752
block1772
drive1773
cut1816
draw1816
tip1816
poke1836
spoon1836
mow1844
to put up1845
smother1845
sky1849
crump1850
to pick up1851
pull1851
skyrocket1851
swipe1851
to put down1860
to get away1868
smite1868
snick1871
lift1874
crack1882
smack1882
off-drive1888
snip1890
leg1892
push1893
hook1896
flick1897
on-drive1897
chop1898
glance1898
straight drive1898
cart1903
edge1904
tonk1910
sweep1920
mishook1934
middle1954
square-drive1954
tickle1963
square-cut1976
slash1977
splice1982
paddle1986
1689 R. Milward Selden's Table-talk 43 They that do drudgery-work, slash, and puff, and swear.
1819 Sporting Mag. 4 236 Boshell came up rather distressed,..and endeavoured to slash out.
1880 ‘M. Twain’ Tramp Abroad 159 We..came slashing down with the mad current into the narrow passage between the dykes.
1901 Scotsman 10 Sept. 7/3 Williamson..slashed to the enclosure.
1955 Times 15 July 3/3 At 252 Insole was caught in the gully slashing at Titmus.
1974 Plain Dealer (Cleveland, Ohio) 26 Oct. 7– d/7 Tailback Mike Newman slashed across from two yards out to cut Westlake's margin to 7-6 with 8:42 left.
1977 C. Martin-Jenkins MCC in India iii. 51 Viswanath slashed, snicked and was caught by Knott.
1977 World of Cricket Monthly June 87/1 The self-appointed England exile slashed Sarfraz for two boundaries in the first over.
3. transitive. To cut slits in (a garment) and so expose to view an under-garment or a lining of a contrasting colour; to vary with another material or colour in this way.
ΘΚΠ
the world > textiles and clothing > clothing > tailoring or making clothes > tailor or make clothes [verb (transitive)] > slash or pounce
slitter?a1366
jag?a1400
slattera1400
pouncec1410
race?a1439
slash1698
1698 J. Fryer New Acct. E.-India & Persia 9 A Coat slasht to hang back to shew their Sleeves.
1820 W. Scott Monastery II. iv. 146 A carnation-velvet doublet, slashed and puffed out with cloth of silver.
1834 T. Carlyle Sartor Resartus i. vii. 17/2 Those enormous habiliments, that were..slashed and galooned.
1898 Stratford-on-Avon Herald 11 Feb. A morning dress was made with..cuff sleeves to match, slashed with bright colour.
4. To cut with a scourge or whip; to lash, whip, thrash severely.
ΘΚΠ
society > authority > punishment > corporal punishment > administer corporal punishment [verb (transitive)] > whip or scourge
swingc725
scourc1386
whipc1386
lash1398
bescourgea1400
swaipa1400
flail14..
belash1458
stripec1460
leash1503
flagelle1551
swingea1556
breech1573
lace1599
flagellate1623
slash1631
chawbuck1682
innocentize1708
swepe1710
belace1736
screenge1787
yedder1818
stock-whip1852
rawhide1858
1631 B. Jonson Bartholmew Fayre iv. v. 64 in Wks. II You know where you were taw'd lately, both lash'd, and slash'd you were in Bridewell.
1688 R. Holme Acad. Armory iii. 266/1 Here I stand, with whip in hand To slash all those that do oppose Good Husbandry.
1710 Medley No. 12 These the Emperor order'd to be daily beaten and slash'd in the Market-place with cudgels, whips, and scourges.
1823 W. Scott Quentin Durward III. x. 265 Drag him to the market-place!—slash him with bridle-reins and dog-whips!
1896 A. J. C. Hare Story of my Life I. iii. 173 He was very hot-tempered, and slashed our hands with a ruler.
5. To rebuke or assail cuttingly; to criticize severely or mercilessly. Also absol.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > contempt > disapproval > criticism > criticize [verb (transitive)] > severely
to be sharp upon1561
crossbite1571
scarify1582
canvass1590
maul1592
slasha1652
fib1665
to be severe on (or upon)1672
scalp1676
to pull to (or in) pieces1703
roast1710
to cut up1762
tomahawk1815
to blow sky-high1819
row1826
excoriate1833
scourge1835
target1837
slate1848
scathe1852
to take apart1880
soak1892
pan1908
burn1914
slam1916
sandbag1919
to put the blast on (someone)1929
to tear down1938
clobber1944
handbag1952
rip1961
monster1976
a1652 A. Wilson Hist. Great Brit. (1653) Proem, sig. A3v History must not cauterise, and slash with Malice, those Noble Parts.
1659 D. Pell Πελαγος Ep. Ded. sig. a5v Because you have Authority..to cut the comb of that, which this Book so sharply slashes, and reproves in the Sea.
a1734 R. North Examen (1740) ii. iv. §55 If we would see him in his Altitudes, we must go back to the House of Commons... There he cuts and slashes at another Rate.
1771 T. Gray Let. 26 Jan. in Corr. (1971) III. 1158 I do not think myself bound to defend the character of even the best of Kings. pray slash them, & spare not.
1830 E. Bulwer-Lytton Paul Clifford I. v. 89 Criticism is a great science..and it may be divided into three branches; viz.— ‘to tickle, to slash, and to plaster’.
6. To crack (a whip); to bring down in a slashing manner.
ΘΚΠ
the world > movement > motion in a certain direction > downward motion > causing to come or go down > cause to come or go down [verb (transitive)] > vigorously or severely
slash1660
the world > physical sensation > hearing and noise > degree, kind, or quality of sound > sharp or hard sound > [verb (transitive)] > crack or snap > a whip
yarka1566
slash1660
smack1699
flank1830
spank1835
the world > movement > impact > striking > striking with specific thing > strike with specific thing [verb (transitive)] > strike with an object > with something pliant
yarka1529
jerk1550
whissa1578
cut1607
scutch1611
slash1660
lashc1694
whip1699
switch1832
1660 H. More Explan. Grand Myst. Godliness vi. ii. 220 She slash'd a whip which she had in her hand; the cracks thereof were..loud and dreadful.
1695 R. Blackmore Prince Arthur ix. 254 He slash'd his breaded Whip.
1852 H. B. Stowe Uncle Tom's Cabin I. iii. 34 Slashing his whip so near the horse that the creature was frightened.
1899 A. Werner Captain of Locusts 113 She brought her switch down on the old grey's flank; and then..slashed it sharply across her own shoulders.
7. To beat, tread down.
ΚΠ
1841 G. Catlin Lett. N. Amer. Indians II. xxxiii. 18 Where the travelling herds have slashed down the high grass.
8. Used adverbially to denote action or sound.
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > hearing and noise > degree, kind, or quality of sound > continuous or protracted sound > sibilant sound > [adverb] > rushing sibilant sound > slash
slash1689
1689 R. Milward Selden's Table-talk 33 A Whip that cry'd Slash.
1839 John Bull 11 Aug. Here, said he, and slash went the knife.
Compounds
slash-hook n. = slasher n. 2b.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > farming > forestry or arboriculture > [noun] > bill hook
wood-billc725
billc1000
falsartc1380
wood-hookc1440
falchion1483
forest-bill1488
bush-scythe1552
brush-bill1588
cutting-bill1601
bill-hook1611
hook-bill1613
bush-bill1631
hack1846
snagger1847
slasher1858
bush-hook1860
slash-hook1891
1891 R. Wallace Rural Econ. Austral. & N.Z. xv. 231 Vines, creepers, supplejacks, and small saplings..require to be carefully cut by slash-hooks.
1920 B. Cronin Timber Wolves ix. 161 Salter picked up a slash-hook and beckoned to Heritage.
1927 Blackwood's Mag. Oct. 466/1 Getting our axes and slash-hooks unlimbered, we cut out a route of our own as we went along.
1930 E. Blunden Poems 188 Some harsh slash-hook Slit my skull and poured out all the fountains of my senses.
1942 Archit. Rev. 91 51/1 Scythes, slash-hooks, fagging-hooks, hay-knives or turnip-knives.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1911; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
slashv.2
/slaʃ/, U.S. /slæʃ/ slang.
intransitive. To urinate.
ΘΚΠ
the world > life > the body > organs of excretion > defecation or urination > urinary system > urinate [verb (intransitive)]
migheeOE
pissc1300
to make water?a1475
stale1530
leak1598
urinate1599
minge1606
urine1607
water1631
stroana1730
to pass water1738
to pump ship1759
piddle1784
to make one's burn1788
pittle1801
pee1825
micturate1842
tiddlea1852
leck1922
wet1925
whizz1929
wee-wee1930
wee1934
widdle1934
to go (make) wee-wee1937
tinkle1943
void1947
to take a leak1969
potty1972
slash1973
wazz1984
1973 M. Amis Rachel Papers 189 If you can slash in my bed (I thought) don't tell me you can't suck my cock.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1986; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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