slean

See also: sleán

English

Noun

slean (plural sleans)

  1. Alternative spelling of slane.

Anagrams

Middle English

Verb

slean

  1. (AB language) alternative form of sleen

Old English

Alternative forms

Etymology

From Proto-West Germanic *slahan.

Cognates

Cognate with Old Frisian slā, Old Saxon slahan (Low German slaan), Dutch slaan, Old High German slahan (German schlagen), Old Norse slá (Danish slå, Swedish slå), Gothic 𐍃𐌻𐌰𐌷𐌰𐌽 (slahan).

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /slæ͜ɑːn/
  • Rhymes: -æ͜ɑːn

Verb

slēan

  1. to hit; strike, punch
    • c. 973, Æthelwold's translation of the Rule of Saint Benedict
      Hē sċeal ġeþenċan þæt hit is āwriten, "Þām dysegan ne mæġ man mid wordum ġestīeran," and eft on ōðerre stōwe, "Sleah þīnne sunu mid ġierde, þonne ālīest þū his sāwle fram dēaðe."
      He should remember that it is written, "A fool cannot be corrected with words," and in another place, "Strike your son with a rod, and you will save his soul from death."
    • c. 990 CE, Matthew 26:67-8, in Benjamin Thorpe, F.S.A., ed. and transl., The Anglo-Saxon Version of the Holy Gospels, London: J.G.F. and J. Rivington; and J.H. Parker, published 1842, page 62:
      Þā spǣtton hīe on his ansīene and bēoton hine mid heora fȳstum. Sume hine slōgon mid heora brādum handum and cwǣdon, "Sæġe ūs, Crist, hwæt is sē þe þē slōg"?
      Then they spat in his face and beat him with their fists. Some of them slapped him (literally, “hit him with their broad hands”) and said, "Tell us, Messiah! Who is it that hit you?"
  2. to kill
  3. to slaughter (an animal)
  4. (of a snake, insect, or arachnid) to bite or sting
    • c. 989–992 CE, Ælfric of Eynsham, “On the Greater Litany”, in Benjamin Thorpe, F.S.A., ed. and transl., The Homilies of the Anglo-Saxon Church, volume I, London: Richard and John E. Taylor, published 1844, page 252:
      Sē þrōwend is ǣtren and slihþ mid þām tæġle tō dēaðe.
      The scorpion is venomous and stings things to death with its tail.
  5. to pitch (a tent)
  6. to mint (coins, money)
  7. to move quickly and suddenly

Usage notes

  • If it is necessary to specify punching rather than another kind of hitting, the phrase mid fȳste (“with the fist”) may be added: Ġif man ōðerne mid fȳste in nasu slihþ, þrī sċillingas ("If someone punches someone else in the nose, three shillings [will be paid as compensation]") (Law of Æthelberht).
  • Considering the phrases þunres sleġe (“clap of thunder”) and līeġetsliht (“lightning strike”), it is likely that lightning and thunder were said to "strike" (slēan), as in Modern English. The derived verb tōslēan was also used for this purpose.

Conjugation

Conjugation of slēan (strong, class VI)
infinitive slēan slēanne
indicative mood present tense past tense
first person singular slēa slōg, slōh
second person singular sliehst slōge
third person singular sliehþ slōg, slōh
plural slēaþ slōgon
subjunctive present tense past tense
singular slēa slōge
plural slēan slōgen
imperative
singular sleah
plural slēaþ
participle present past
slēande (ġe)slæġen

Derived terms

Descendants

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