Dictionary.com
definitions
  • synonyms

slaver1

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

Origin of slaver1

First recorded in 1815–25; slave + -er1

slaver2

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

Origin of slaver2

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

Examples from the Web for slaver

Historical Examples

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

    The Pirate and The Three Cutters

    Frederick Marryat

  • 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

slaver1

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

slaver2

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)
Show More
noun
  1. saliva dribbling from the mouth
  2. informal drivel
Show More
Derived Formsslaverer, noun

Word Origin

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.

Show More

n.

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

Show More
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper