slice

Pronunciation

• IPA: /slaɪs/^[1]

Etymology

It is, shortened, borrowed from Old French esclice (“splinter, small piece of wood”) (modern éclisse),^[2][3][4][5] from the verb esclicier, to splinter, shatter,^[2][4] from Frankish *slītan, to split, or another Germanic source,^[2][3] related to Old High German slīzan, to tear (see slit).^[2][6][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

A splinter or fragment: probably before 1300, in Kyng Alisaunder.^[2][7][3]

Semantic evolution

Flat utensils such as a fish slice were called slices from the 14th century,^[4] and the sense of a thin, broad piece cut from something is first recorded before 1475, about 1420 in the OED.^[2][7] A portion or share is from 1550,^[7] and slice of life, a translation of French tranche de vie, from 1890.^[7] The verb, to cut into slices, is from before 1475, first of beef;^[2][3] the golf sense, to hit a ball so that it curves off course, is by 1890.^[3]

Timeline

• before 1300 – a splinter.^[2]
• before 1475 – a thin piece; to slice (verb).^[2]
• 1550 – a share.^[7]
• 1886 – a slicing stroke.^[3]
• 1890 – slice of life.^[7]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. A thin, broad piece cut from something: a slice of bread.
2. A portion or share: a slice of the profits.
3. A utensil with a broad, flat blade, used for serving food.
4. (golf, tennis) A stroke that makes the ball curve off to one side.

Verb

1. To cut into slices, or to cut a slice from.
2. To cut through with or as with a knife.
3. To hit a ball with a slice.

Word family

• sliceable
• slicer
• slicingly
• preslice
• fish slice
• slice bar
• slice of life

Related words

• slit
• slate

References

1. ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
3. ^ a b c d e f Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ a b c d Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
5. ^ Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press
6. ^ Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
7. ^ a b c d e f Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press