slip
English has three words spelled slip: to glide or slide, with its nouns; a narrow strip or a cutting; and a creamy clay.[1][2][3]
Pronunciation
- IPA: /ˈslɪp/[4]
slip1 glide, slide
Etymology
The verb is Middle English slippen, probably borrowed from Middle Low German slippen (“to glide, slide”), or from an unrecorded Old English word,[1][5][2] cognate with Old High German slīfan and Old Norse sleipr (“slippery”),[1][6] from Proto-Germanic *slīpaną, from PIE Proto-Indo-European *(s)leib- (“slippery”).[1][5] Old English had the related adjective slipor (“slippery”).[5]
Earliest recorded meaning
To get away or escape: before 1325, in the Cursor Mundi;[1] the early 14th century in Etymonline.[5] To slide out of place is from about 1340.[1]
Semantic evolution
Slipping and losing one's footing, and figuratively erring, are 14th-century senses;[2] to cause to slide, to get loose from, and to let go are from the 16th century.[2] Nouns made from the verb include a sloping landing place for boats (mid-15th century), an act of slipping (1590s), and a mistake, especially a small one (1570s).[5] To give someone the slip is from the 1560s.[5] A woman's sleeveless garment easily slipped on is from 1761, originally an outer garment and by 1870 an undergarment.[5]
Timeline
- before 1325 – to escape.[1]
- c. 1340 – to slide out of place.[1]
- mid-15th century – a landing place for boats.[5]
- 1560s – give someone the slip.[5]
- 1570s – a mistake.[5]
- 1761 – a woman's garment.[5]
Modern meaning
Verb
- To slide accidentally and lose one's balance or footing.
- To move smoothly, quietly or stealthily.
- To put on or take off easily or quickly: slip on a sweater.
- To pass gradually or decline: standards slipped.
- To escape or get free from: slip one's mind.
Noun
- An act of slipping.
- A small mistake: a slip of the tongue.
- A woman's sleeveless undergarment.
- A sloping place for landing or building ships; a slipway.
Word family
- slipper
- slippery
- slipshod
- landslip
- slipknot
- slipway
slip2 narrow strip; cutting
Etymology
The strip is Middle English slyp, slippe, probably borrowed from Middle Low German slippe (“cut, slit, lappet”) or Middle Dutch slippe,[1][5][6][7] perhaps related to tōslīfan (“to split”) (see sliver).[1][5]
Earliest recorded meaning
The edge of a garment: 1440, in the Promptorium Parvulorum,[1] the mid-15th century in Etymonline.[5]
Semantic evolution
A narrow piece or strip in general is from 1555,[1] the 1550s in Etymonline.[5] A twig or sprig cut for grafting is from 1495 in the OED and 1530, in Palsgrave, in Barnhart,[8][1] which gave the sense of a slender young person, as in a slip of a girl.[1][3] A narrow piece of paper is by the 1680s, as in pink slip.[5]
Timeline
- 1440 – the edge of a garment.[1]
- 1495 – a cutting from a plant.[8]
- 1555 – a narrow strip.[1]
- 1680s – a slip of paper.[5]
Modern meaning
Noun
- A small piece of paper, especially one for writing on or used as a form.
- A long narrow piece or strip.
- A cutting from a plant for grafting or planting.
- A slender young person: a slip of a girl.
slip3 potter's clay
Etymology
The clay is Middle English slyp, mud, slime,[1] inherited from Old English slyppe (“slime, slippery substance”),[1][2] related to slūpan (“to slip”) (see sleeve).[1]
Earliest recorded meaning
A soft semi-liquid mass: about 1000 in the OED, a sense now obsolete.[8]
Semantic evolution
Mud or slime is from 1440, and potter's clay thinned to a creamy liquid, used for decorating or casting, is first recorded in 1640 with the spelling slip.[1][8] Curdled milk (about 1425) survives in American use.[8][2]
Timeline
Modern meaning
Noun
- Clay thinned with water to a creamy liquid, used for decorating or casting pottery.
Related words
- slime
- sleeve
- sliver
- slop
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
- ^ a b c d e f Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
- ^ a b Cresswell, Julia (2021), Oxford Dictionary of Word Origins, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
- ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
- ^ a b Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
- ^ Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
- ^ a b c d e f g Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press