slates

[sleyt] Origin

slate

1[sleyt] noun, verb, slat·ed, slat·ing.
noun
1.
a fine-grained rock formed by the metamorphosis of clay, shale, etc., that tends to split along parallel cleavage planes, usually at an angle to the planes of stratification.
2.
a thin piece or plate of this rock or a similar material, used especially for roofing or as a writing surface.
3.
a dull, dark bluish gray.
4.
a list of candidates, officers, etc., to be considered for nomination, appointment, election, or the like.
verb (used with object)
5.
to cover with or as with slate.
6.
to write or set down for nomination or appointment: the district leader slated for city judge.
7.
to plan or designate (something) for a particular place and time; schedule: The premiere was slated for January.
8.
to censure or criticize harshly or violently; scold.
9.
to punish severely.

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Slates is always a great word to know.
So is ort. Does it mean:
a printed punctuation mark (‽), available only in some typefaces, designed to combine the question mark (?) and the exclamation point (!), indicating a mixture of query and interjection, as after a rhetorical question.
a scrap or morsel of food left at a meal.
10.
clean slate, an unsullied record; a record marked by creditable conduct: to start over with a clean slate.

Origin:
1300–50; Middle English sclate < Middle French esclate, feminine of esclat piece split off; see slat1
Dictionary.com Unabridged

slate

2[sleyt]
verb (used with object), slat·ed, slat·ing. British.
to sic or set a dog on (a person or animal).

Origin:
1300–50; Middle English slayten < Old Norse *sleita; cognate with Old English slǣtan
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History

slate
c.1340, from O.Fr. esclate, fem. of esclat "split piece, splinter" (Fr. éclat, see slat), so called because the rock splits easily into thin plates. As a color, first recorded 1882. Sense of "a writing tablet" (made of slate), first recorded c.1391, led to that of "list
EXPAND
of candidates," first recorded 1842. The verb meaning "propose, schedule" is recorded from 1883; sense of "nominate" is attested from 1804. Clean slate (1868) originally referred to scores chalked up in a tavern.
COLLAPSE
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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American Heritage
Science Dictionary
slate   (slāt)  Pronunciation Key 
A fine-grained metamorphic rock that forms when shale undergoes metamorphosis. Slate splits into thin layers with smooth surfaces. It ranges in color from gray to black or from red to green, depending on the minerals contained in the shale from which it formed.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2002. Published by Houghton Mifflin. All rights reserved.
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