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slat⋅er

  [sley-ter]
Use slater in a Sentence
–noun
a person who lays slates, as for roofing.
Origin:
1375–1425; late ME sclater. See slate 1 , -er 1

Sla⋅ter

  [sley-ter]
–noun
Samuel, 1768–1835, U.S. industrialist, born in England.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To slater
pill bug  
n.   In both senses also called slater, wood louse; also called regionally doodlebug.
  1. A small terrestrial isopod crustacean of the genus Armadillidium closely related to the sow bug and having a convex, segmented, flexible body enabling it to curl into a ball when disturbed. In this sense also called roly-poly.
  2. A sow bug.
Usage Note: Many people, especially science teachers, like to make a distinction between pill bugs and sow bugs. According to this usage, a pill bug, or roly-poly, is a terrestrial isopod crustacean whose segmented body gives it the ability to curl up into a ball when disturbed. A sow bug is any of several similar looking creatures that lack this ability. In popular usage, however, the names pill bug and sow bug, along with a number of other popular names, are used to refer to any of these tiny segmented crustaceans that are often mistaken for insects.
slat·er   (slā'tər)   
n.  
  1. One employed to lay slate surfaces, as on roofs.
  2. See pill bug.
  3. See sow bug.
Sla·ter   (slā'tər)   
British-born textile pioneer in America. He oversaw construction of the nation's first successful water-powered cotton mill (1790-1793).
sow bug   (sou)   
n.   In both senses also called slater, wood louse; also called regionally doodlebug.
  1. Any of various small terrestrial isopod crustaceans, chiefly of the genera Oniscus and Porcellio, commonly found under logs or stones and having an oval, segmented body.
  2. A pill bug. See Usage Note at pill bug.

[From its piglike shape.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Slater

Slat"er\, n. One who lays slates, or whose occupation is to slate buildings.

Slater

Slat"er\, n. (Zo["o]l.) Any terrestrial isopod crustacean of the genus Porcellio and allied genera; a sow bug.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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