sloven
[sluhv-uh n]
- a person who is habitually negligent of neatness or cleanliness in dress, appearance, etc.
- a person who works, acts, speaks, etc., in a negligent, slipshod manner.
Show More
Origin of sloven
1400–50; late Middle English sloveyn, perhaps < Middle Dutch slof careless (Dutch slof careless, sloven to toil) + -inne feminine noun suffix
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for sloven
Historical Examples
Having been a coxcomb in his youth, Fox was now degenerating into the sloven.
Beaux and Belles of EnglandMary Robinson
The sloven becomes the bungler, and the bungler is on the high road to failure.
Rural Life and the Rural SchoolJoseph Kennedy
He had seen the sloven tilled decks and the savage-eyed crew.
"Captains Courageous"Rudyard Kipling
As to his being a sloven in dress, is that what they say about him?
The Rose of Old St. LouisMary Dillon
The sloven and the dude are both slaves; but in different ways.
Practical EthicsWilliam DeWitt Hyde
sloven
- a person who is habitually negligent in appearance, hygiene, or work
Show More
Word Origin
C15: probably related to Flemish sloef dirty, Dutch slof negligent
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 sloven
n.
late 15c., "immoral woman," later (16c.) also "rascal, knave" (regardless of gender); probably from a continental Germanic source, cf. Middle Flemish sloovin "a scold," sloef "untidy, shabby," Dutch slof "careless, negligent," Middle Low German sloven "put on clothes carelessly," from Proto-Germanic *slaubjan, from PIE *sleubh- "to slide, slip" (see sleeve). Meaning "person careless of dress or negligent of cleanliness" is from 1520s. Cf. also slut.
Show More
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper