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slat1

[slat]
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noun
  1. a long thin, narrow strip of wood, metal, etc., used as a support for a bed, as one of the horizontal laths of a Venetian blind, etc.
  2. Aeronautics. a control surface along the leading edge of a wing that can be extended forward to create a gap (slot) to improve airflow.
  3. slats, Slang.
    1. the ribs.
    2. the buttocks.
    3. (initial capital letter)a nickname for a tall, slender man.
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verb (used with object), slat·ted, slat·ting.
  1. to furnish or make with slats
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Origin of slat1

1350–1400; Middle English sclat, slatt a slate < Middle French esclat splinter, fragment; see éclat

slat2

[slat]Chiefly British Dialect
verb (used with object), slat·ted, slat·ting.
  1. to throw or dash with force.
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verb (used without object), slat·ted, slat·ting.
  1. to flap violently, as sails.
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noun
  1. a slap; a sharp blow.
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Origin of slat2

First recorded in 1815–25, slat is from the Old Norse word sletta to splash, strike
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for slat

Historical Examples

  • Then she stomped round 'n' slat the dish-rag, but 't wa'n't no use.

    The Village Watch-Tower

    (AKA Kate Douglas Riggs) Kate Douglas Wiggin

  • This shoot is tied to the central wire or slat and is now allowed to fruit.

  • Then she started back for the caves taking the slat of wood with her as a trophy.

    The Beach of Dreams

    H. De Vere Stacpoole

  • Signa asked permission to sleep on the slat lounge outside her door.

    O Pioneers!

    Willa Cather

  • He made the handle from the end of a slat on the bed in the room which I occupied that night.

    No Clue

    James Hay

British Dictionary definitions for slat

slat1

noun
  1. a narrow thin strip of wood or metal, as used in a Venetian blind, etc
  2. a movable or fixed auxiliary aerofoil attached to the leading edge of an aircraft wing to increase lift, esp during landing and takeoff
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verb slats, slatting or slatted
  1. (tr) to provide with slats
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Word Origin

C14: from Old French esclat splinter, from esclater to shatter

slat2

verb slats, slatting or slatted
  1. (tr) to throw violently; fling carelessly
  2. (intr) to flap violently
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noun
  1. a sudden blow
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Word Origin

C13: of Scandinavian origin; related to Old Norse, Icelandic sletta to slap

slat3

noun
  1. Irish a spent salmon
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Word Origin

C19: of uncertain origin
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 slat

n.

late 14c., earlier sclat (c.1300), "a roofing slate, a thin, flat stone," from Old French esclat "split piece, chip, splinter" (Modern French éclat), back-formation from esclater "to break, splinter, burst," probably from Frankish *slaitan "to tear, slit" or some other Germanic source (cf. Old High German slizan, Old English slitan; see slit (v.)). Meaning "long, thin, narrow piece of wood or metal" attested from 1764.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper