Etymologically
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slight

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Pronunciation

  • IPA: /slaɪt/[1]

Etymology

It is Middle English sleght, slight, originally northern, probably borrowed from Old Norse sléttr (“level, smooth, soft”),[2][3][4] or developed from Old English -sliht, level, in eorþslihtes, level with the ground,[5][2] from Proto-Germanic *slihtaz,[2][5] cognate with Old Saxon sliht, Dutch slecht (“bad”), German schlecht (“bad”) and Gothic 𐍃𐌻𐌰𐌹𐌷𐍄𐍃 (slaihts, “smooth”).[3][5] MWU derives it from Middle Dutch slecht, smooth, simple.[6] It is related to slick.[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

Smooth, sleek or glossy: before 1300 in the OED, about 1300 in Etymonline; the sense is obsolete except in dialect.[7][2]

Semantic evolution

Etymonline traces the development from smooth to slim or slender, of light texture, and so weak, insubstantial or trifling (early 14th century).[2] Small in amount is from the 1520s.[2] German schlecht went further, from smooth and plain to bad, and the English word also meant humble in the 15th–17th centuries.[2][5] The verb, to make smooth, is from about 1300; to raze a fortification was a 17th-century sense, and to treat with indifference is from the 1590s.[2] The noun, a deliberate snub, is from 1701.[7][2]

Timeline

  • before 1300 – smooth, sleek.[7]
  • early 14th century – slender; trifling.[2]
  • 1520s – small in amount.[2]
  • 1590s – the verb, to treat with indifference.[2]
  • 1701 – the noun, a snub.[7][2]

Modern meaning

Adjective

  1. Small in degree; minor: a slight delay.
  2. Slim and delicate in build.
  3. Of little importance or substance; trivial.

Verb

  1. To insult by treating with disrespect or indifference; to snub.

Noun

  1. An insult caused by a failure to show respect.

Word family

  • slightness
  • slightly
  • slighter
  • overslight
  • slighting
  • slick
  • sleek
  • slim
  • slime

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  3. ^ a b Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  4. ^ Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  5. ^ a b c d e Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  6. ^ Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  7. ^ a b c d Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press