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sley

American

[sley] / sleɪ /

Or slay,

noun

the reed of a loom.
the warp count in woven fabrics.
British. the lay of a loom.

verb (used with object)

to draw (warp ends) through the heddle eyes of the harness or through the dents of the reed in accordance with a given plan for weaving a fabric.

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

sleys

plural

Etymology

Origin of sley

before 1050; Middle English sleye, Old English slege weaver's reed; akin to Dutch slag, German Schlag, Old Norse slag, Gothic slahs a blow; see slay

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Swage, swey, vb. sway, waver, also turn, make turn.

From Scandinavian influence on Southern Lowland Scotch by Flom, George Tobias

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023