slain

[sleyn]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR slain ON THESAURUS.COM

verb

past participle of slay.

RELATED WORDS

dead

Nearby words

Related formsun·slain, adjective

slay

[sley]

verb (used with object), slew or slayed (especially for def 4); slain; slay·ing.

to kill by violence.

to destroy; extinguish.

sley.

Slang.

to impress strongly; overwhelm, especially by humor: Your jokes slay me.
to make a strong impression with: She really slayed her performance last night.

Obsolete. to strike.

verb (used without object), slew or slayed (especially for def 7); slain; slay·ing.

to kill or murder.

Slang. to strongly impress or overwhelm someone: His whole album slays.

noun

sley.

Origin of slay

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

SYNONYMS FOR slay

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

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR slay ON THESAURUS.COM

Related formsslay·a·ble, adjectiveslay·er, nounun·slay·a·ble, adjective

sley

or slay, sleigh

[sley]

noun, plural sleys.

the reed of a loom.

the warp count in woven fabrics.

British. the lay of a loom.

verb (used with object)

to draw (warp ends) through the heddle eyes of the harness or through the dents of the reed in accordance with a given plan for weaving a fabric.

Origin of sley

before 1050; Middle English sleye, Old English slege weaver's reed; akin to Dutch slag, German Schlag, Old Norse slag, Gothic slahs a blow; see slay

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for slain

Newspapers around Europe have also done so in solidarity with the slain.
Why We Stand With Charlie Hebdo—And You Should Too|John Avlon|January 8, 2015|DAILY BEAST
On Monday, de Blasio called for a temporary halt to protests until after the funerals of the two slain officers.
Trayvon Martin’s Family Rejects ‘Dead Cops’ Marchers|Jacob Siegel|December 24, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The woman and her husband and teenage daughter were all slain.
Hunt for Iraq Vet After Killing Spree|M.L. Nestel|December 16, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The same spiritual sense prompted the bishop to seek justice for the slain activists.
Mexico’s First Lady of Murder Is on the Lam|Michael Daly|October 29, 2014|DAILY BEAST

The actual field, where Richard was unhorsed and slain in a medieval marsh, is more than a mile away to the southwest.
Three Dicks: Cheney, Nixon, Richard III and the Art of Reputation Rehab|Clive Irving|July 27, 2014|DAILY BEAST
An expedition was fitted out, and sent against the Earl of Caithness, who was defeated and slain.
History of Civilization in England, Vol. 3 of 3|Henry Thomas Buckle
And before he could be slain by any other, Arthur cut off his head.
The Mabinogion|Lady Charlotte Guest
Believing this statement, the Kurds wildly flew into the face of the big guns and many thousand were slain.
Modern Persia|Mooshie G. Daniel
The queen-mother found that she could not take these children with her, and so she ordered them all to be slain.
Genghis Khan, Makers of History Series|Jacob Abbott
Nestor, in the chariot of Diomede, goes against Hector, whose charioteer is slain by Diomede.
The Iliad of Homer (1873)|Homer

British Dictionary definitions for slain

slain

verb

the past participle of slay

slay

verb slays, slaying, slew or slain (tr)

archaic, or literary to kill, esp violently

slang to impress (someone) sexually

obsolete to strike

Derived Formsslayer, noun

Word Origin for slay

Old English slēan; related to Old Norse slā, Gothic, Old High German slahan to strike, Old Irish slacaim I beat

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for slain

slain

adj.

early 13c., from Old English (ge)slegen, past participle of slean (see slay (v.)). The noun meaning "those who have been slain" is attested from mid-14c.

slay

Old English slean "to smite, strike, beat," also "to kill with a weapon, slaughter" (class VI strong verb; past tense sloh, slog, past participle slagen), from Proto-Germanic *slahan, from root *slog- "to hit" (cf. Old Norse and Old Frisian sla, Danish slaa, Middle Dutch slaen, Dutch slaan, Old High German slahan, German schlagen, Gothic slahan "to strike"). The Germanic words are from PIE root *slak- "to strike" (cf. Middle Irish past participle slactha "struck," slacc "sword").

Modern German cognate schlagen maintains the original sense of "to strike." Meaning "overwhelm with delight" (mid-14c.) preserves one of the wide range of meanings the word once had, including, in Old English, "stamp (coins); forge (weapons); throw, cast; pitch (a tent), to sting (of a snake); to dash, rush, come quickly; play (the harp); gain by conquest."

slay

"instrument on a weaver's loom to beat up the weft," Old English slæ, slea, slahae, from root meaning "strike" (see slay (v.)), so called from "striking" the web together. Hence the surname Slaymaker "maker of slays."

slain

verb

RELATED CONTENT

RELATED WORDS

Nearby words

slay

verb (used with object), slew or slayed (especially for def 4); slain; slay·ing.

verb (used without object), slew or slayed (especially for def 7); slain; slay·ing.

noun

Origin of slay

sley

or slay, sleigh

noun, plural sleys.

verb (used with object)

Origin of sley

Examples from the Web for slain

slain

verb

slay

verb slays, slaying, slew or slain (tr)

Word Origin for slay

slain

slay

slay