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slice

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slice

[slahys] noun, verb, sliced, slic⋅ing.
–noun
1. a thin, flat piece cut from something: a slice of bread.
2. a part, portion, or share: a slice of land.
3. any of various implements with a thin, broad blade or part, as for turning food in a frying pan, serving fish at the table, or taking up printing ink; spatula.
4. Sports.
a. the path described by a ball, as in baseball or golf, that curves in a direction corresponding to the side from which it was struck.
b. a ball describing such a path.
5. Tennis. a stroke executed by hitting down on the ball with an underhand motion and thus creating backspin.
–verb (used with object)
6. to cut into slices; divide into parts.
7. to cut through or cleave with or as if with a knife: The ship sliced the sea.
8. to cut off or remove as a slice or slices (sometimes fol. by off, away, from, etc.).
9. to remove by means of a slice, slice bar, or similar implement.
10. Sports. to hit (a ball) so as to result in a slice.
–verb (used without object)
11. to slice something.
12. to admit of being sliced.
13. Sports.
a. (of a player) to slice the ball.
b. (of a ball) to describe a slice in flight.

Origin:
1300–50; (n.) ME s(c)lice < OF esclice, n. deriv. of esclicer to split up < Frankish *slitjan, akin to OE slītan, ON slīta, D slījten (see slit ); (v.) late ME sklicen < OF esclicer


slice⋅a⋅ble, adjective
slic⋅ing⋅ly, adverb
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To slice
slice   (slīs)   
n.  
    1. A thin broad piece cut from a larger object: ate a slice of cheese; examined a slice of the diseased lung.

    2. An often wedge-shaped piece cut from a larger, usually circular object: ordered a slice of pie; shared a slice of pizza.

    3. A knife with a broad, thin, flexible blade, used for cutting and serving food.

    4. A similar implement for spreading printing ink.

    5. The course of a ball that curves in the direction of the dominant hand of the player propelling it, as to the right of a right-handed player.

    6. A stroke that causes a ball to follow such a course: a golfer with a bad slice.

    7. A ball propelled on such a course.

    8. A stroke, as in tennis, in which the ball is struck with a downward motion with the open face of the racket in order to impart backspin.

  1. A portion or share: a slice of the profits.

    1. A knife with a broad, thin, flexible blade, used for cutting and serving food.

    2. A similar implement for spreading printing ink.

    3. The course of a ball that curves in the direction of the dominant hand of the player propelling it, as to the right of a right-handed player.

    4. A stroke that causes a ball to follow such a course: a golfer with a bad slice.

    5. A ball propelled on such a course.

    6. A stroke, as in tennis, in which the ball is struck with a downward motion with the open face of the racket in order to impart backspin.

  2. Sports

    1. The course of a ball that curves in the direction of the dominant hand of the player propelling it, as to the right of a right-handed player.

    2. A stroke that causes a ball to follow such a course: a golfer with a bad slice.

    3. A ball propelled on such a course.

    4. A stroke, as in tennis, in which the ball is struck with a downward motion with the open face of the racket in order to impart backspin.

v.   sliced, slic·ing, slic·es

v.   tr.
  1. To cut or divide into slices: slice a loaf of bread.

  2. To cut from a larger piece: slice off a piece of salami.

  3. To cut through or across with or as if with a knife: The harvester sliced the field.

  4. To divide into portions or shares; parcel out.

  5. To spread, work at, or clear away with a bladed tool such as a slice bar.

  6. Sports To hit (a ball) with a slice.

v.   intr.
  1. To move like a knife: The destroyer sliced through the water.

  2. Sports To hit a ball with a slice.


[Middle English, splinter, from Old French esclice, from esclicier, to splinter, of Germanic origin.]
slice'a·ble adj., slic'er n.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
Word Origin & History

slice  (n.)
c.1300, "a fragment," from O.Fr. esclis "splinter," a back-formation from esclicier "to splinter," from Frank. *slitan "to split" (cf. O.H.G. slizan; see slit). Meaning "piece cut from something" emerged c.1420. Meaning "a slicing stroke" (in golf, tennis) is recorded from 1886. Slice of life (1895) translates Fr. tranche de la vie, a term from Fr. Naturalist literature.

slice  (v.)
c.1420, from from M.Fr. esclicier (see slice (n.)). Sliced bread introduced 1958; greatest thing since ... first attested 1969.
"No matter how thick or how thin you slice it it's still baloney." [Carl Sandburg, "The People, Yes," 1936]
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Idioms & Phrases

slice

In addition to the subsequent idiom beginning with slice, also see greatest thing since sliced bread; no matter how you slice it.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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