slater

¹ American  

[sley-ter] / ˈsleɪ tər /

noun

1. a person who lays slates, as for roofing.

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Slater ² American  

[sley-ter] / ˈsleɪ tər /

noun

1. Samuel, 1768–1835, U.S. industrialist, born in England.

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slater British  

/ ˈsleɪtə /

noun

1. a person trained in laying roof slates

2. dialect a woodlouse See also sea slater

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Etymology

Origin of slater

First recorded in 1375–1425, slater is from the late Middle English word sclater. See slate ¹, -er ¹

Example Sentences

Louise recounts a slater called John McWilliam, who fled to Stranraer after being accused of witchcraft for a second time, before going on trial in Edinburgh.

From BBC • Oct. 30, 2025

He promised an updated list, but more than six month slater, it has yet to appear.

From BBC • May 26, 2025

Inwardly they made a vow that none who belonged to them should ever become a slater.

From The German Classics of the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries, Volume 09 Friedrich Hebbel and Otto Ludwig by Various

A slater had given it to him for fifteen francs.

From Bouvard and Pécuchet A Tragi-comic Novel of Bourgeois Life by Flaubert, Gustave

Among the workmen he found his old friend the slater, whose acquaintance he had made on the roof.

From Jean Christophe: in Paris The Market-Place, Antoinette, the House by Cannan, Gilbert