Dictionary.com
definitions

slaver

1
[sley-ver]
See more synonyms for slaver on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. a dealer in or an owner of slaves.
  2. slave ship.

Origin of slaver

1
First recorded in 1815–25; slave + -er1

slaver

2
[slav-er, sley-ver, slah-]
verb (used without object)
  1. to let saliva run from the mouth; slobber; drool.
  2. to fawn.
verb (used with object)
  1. Archaic. to smear with saliva.
noun
  1. saliva coming from the mouth.
  2. drivel.

Origin of slaver

2
1275–1325; Middle English slaver (noun), slaveren (v.), probably < Scandinavian; compare Icelandic slafra to slobber
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for slaver

fawn, drivel, salivate, dribble, slobber

Examples from the Web for slaver

Historical Examples of slaver

  • At the age of seven he had sailed with Cain in a slaver, and had ever since continued with him.

  • She was a slaver recently captured off Bahia, and ordered to be sold by the Admiralty.

    Luttrell Of Arran

    Charles James Lever

  • In which service, or pretended service, you commanded a slaver?

    Roland Cashel

    Charles James Lever

  • They smelled the blood on his head, and a slaver ran from their jaws.

    The Trail of '98

    Robert W. Service

  • Of all mad creatures, if the learned are right, It is the slaver kills, and not the bite.

    Essay on Man

    Alexander Pope

British Dictionary definitions for slaver

slaver

1
noun
  1. an owner of or dealer in slaves
  2. another name for slave ship

slaver

2
verb (intr)
  1. to dribble saliva
  2. (often foll by over)
    1. to fawn or drool (over someone)
    2. to show great desire (for); lust (after)
noun
  1. saliva dribbling from the mouth
  2. informal drivel
Derived Formsslaverer, noun

Word Origin for slaver

C14: probably of Low Dutch origin; related to slobber
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 slaver
v.

"dribble from the mouth," early 14c., from Old Norse slafra "to slaver," probably imitative (cf. slobber (v.)). Related: Slavered; slavering. The noun is from early 14c.

n.

"ship in the slave trade," 1830, agent noun from slave (v.). Meaning "person in the slave trade" is from 1842.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper