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slain

[sleyn] Example Sentences Origin

slain

[sleyn]
verb
past participle of slay.
un·slain, adjective

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Slain is one of our favorite verbs.
So is kibitz. Does it mean:
to bark; yelp.
chat, to converse
Example Sentences
  • Once those positions were filled, fac­ulty members turned to filling positions once held by their slain colleagues.
  • The public was shocked by the ambush, but there was a notable absence of outward sympathy for the three slain officers.
  • As the ceremony climaxed, several lions were slain and placed in a separate burial pit.
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Dictionary.com Unabridged

slay

[sley] verb, slew, slain, slay·ing, noun
verb (used with object)
1.
to kill by violence.
2.
to destroy; extinguish.
4.
Informal. to impress strongly; overwhelm, especially by humor: Your jokes slay me.
5.
Obsolete. to strike.
verb (used without object)
6.
to kill or murder.
noun

Origin:
before 900; Middle English sleen, slayn, Old English slēan; cognate with Dutch slaan, German schlagen, Old Norse slā, Gothic slahan to strike, beat

slay·a·ble, adjective
slay·er, noun
un·slay·a·ble, adjective


1. murder, slaughter, massacre, butcher, assassinate. 2. annihilate, ruin.

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Collins
World English Dictionary
slain (sleɪn)
 
vb
the past participle of slay

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History

slay
O.E. slean "to smite," also "to kill with a weapon" (class VI strong verb; past tense sloh, slog, pp. slagen), from P.Gmc. *slakhanan, from base *slog- "to hit" (cf. O.N., O.Fris. sla, Dan. slaa, M.Du. slaen, Du. slaan, O.H.G. slahan, Ger. schlagen, Goth. slahan "to strike"), from PIE base from base
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*slak- "to strike" (cf. M.Ir. pp. slactha "struck," slacc "sword"). Modern Ger. cognate schlagen maintains the original sense of "to strike." Meaning "overwhelm with delight" (1340) preserves some of the wider rangeof meanings that the word once had, including also "to strike a spark" (O.E.).

slain
early 13c., from O.E. (ge)slegen, pp. of slean (see slay). The noun meaning "Those who have been slain" is attested from mid-14c.
COLLAPSE
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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Slang Dictionary

slay definition


  1. tv.
    to overwhelm someone with one's performance or other excellence. : These jokes always slay the audience.
Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
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