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sliver

 - 4 dictionary results

sliv⋅er

  [sliv-er]
Use sliver in a Sentence
–noun
1. a small, slender, often sharp piece, as of wood or glass, split, broken, or cut off, usually lengthwise or with the grain; splinter.
2. any small, narrow piece or portion: A sliver of sky was visible.
3. a strand of loose, untwisted fibers produced in carding.
–verb (used with object)
4. to split or cut off (a sliver) or to split or cut into slivers: to sliver a log into kindling.
5. to form (textile fibers) into slivers.
–verb (used without object)
6. to split.
Origin:
1325–75; ME slivere (n.), deriv. of sliven to split, OE -slīfan (in tōslīfan to split up

Related forms:
sliv⋅er⋅like, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To sliver
sliv·er   (slĭv'ər)   
n.  

  1. A slender piece cut, split, or broken off; a splinter: slivers of broken glass.

  2. A small narrow piece, portion, or plot: a sliver of land.

  3. also (slī'vər) A continuous strand of loose wool, flax, or cotton, ready for drawing and twisting.

tr. & intr.v.   sliv·ered, sliv·er·ing, sliv·ers
To split or become split into slivers.

[Middle English slivere, from sliven, to split, from Old English slīfan.]
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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Word Origin & History

sliver 
c.1374, from obsolete verb sliven "to split, cleave," from O.E. toslifan "to split, cleave," from P.Gmc. *slifanan.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Encyclopedia

sliver

in yarn production, loose, soft, untwisted ropelike strand of textile fibre having a roughly uniform thickness. It is produced by the carding process, which separates raw fibres to prepare them for spinning

Learn more about sliver with a free trial on Britannica.com.

Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008. Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
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