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slaver1

[sley-ver]
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noun
  1. a dealer in or an owner of slaves.
  2. slave ship.
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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.
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verb (used with object)
  1. Archaic. to smear with saliva.
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noun
  1. saliva coming from the mouth.
  2. drivel.
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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

Related Words

fawn, drivel, salivate, dribble, slobber

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
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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)
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noun
  1. saliva dribbling from the mouth
  2. informal drivel
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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.

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n.

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

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper