slot

Slot, a narrow opening, comes from Old French esclot, while the old word slot, a bar or bolt, is from Middle Dutch or Middle Low German.^[1][2][3]

Pronunciation

• IPA: /slɒt/ (UK); /slɑt/ (US)^[4]

slot¹ opening

Etymology

It is Middle English, borrowed from Old French esclot (“hoofprint of a deer or horse”),^[1][2][5] a word of uncertain origin, perhaps from Old Norse slóð, a track (see sleuth).^[1][5]

Earliest recorded meaning

The hollow at the base of the throat above the breastbone: about 1300 in the OED;^[6] probably about 1390, in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, in Barnhart.^[2]

Semantic evolution

The anatomical sense, found in romances of wounds and blows, is now rare or dialectal, and its development is obscure; the Middle English Dictionary suggests a resemblance of the notch of the breastbone to a hoofprint.^[1][5] The verb, to stab in the base of the throat, is from about 1400 and obsolete.^[1] A narrow opening into which something can be fitted is from 1523.^[2][6] The opening of a slot machine for a coin is from 1887–88, and the slot machine from 1888.^[1][2] The verb, to cut slots in, is from 1747.^[1][3] A position in a list or a place in a timetable is first recorded in American English in 1942,^[2][1] to fit into a slot figuratively from 1940, and to assign a slot from 1966.^[1]

Timeline

• c. 1300 – the hollow of the throat.^[6]
• 1523 – a narrow opening.^[2]
• 1747 – the verb.^[1]
• 1888 – slot machine.^[2]
• 1942 – a place in a schedule.^[2]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. A narrow opening or groove, such as one for inserting a coin.
2. An assigned place in a sequence or schedule, or a position in an organization.
3. A gap in an aircraft wing that improves the flow of air.

Verb

1. To cut a slot in.
2. To put into or assign to a slot.

Word family

• slotted
• slot machine

slot² bar, bolt

Etymology

It is Middle English, borrowed from Middle Dutch slot (“bolt, lock”) or Middle Low German slot,^[1][3] from Proto-Germanic *slutila-, source also of German Schloss (“bolt, lock, castle”) and Dutch slot,^[1] from *slut-, to close (compare German schliessen), perhaps from PIE Proto-Indo-European *klau- (“hook, peg”).^[1][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

A bar or bolt for securing a door or window: before 1300 in the OED, the early 14th century in Etymonline.^[6][1]

Semantic evolution

A metal rod or wooden crossbar is from 1399, and one of the cross-bars of a harrow from 1799.^[6] A bolt in the mechanism of a lock is from 1890.^[6]

Timeline

• before 1300 – a bolt.^[6]
• 1399 – a bar.^[6]
• 1890 – part of a lock.^[6]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. (dialect) A bar or bolt used to fasten a door or window.

Related words

• sleuth
• slut

Usage notes

A slot is also the track of an animal, especially a deer, from the same Old French esclot,^[7][5] and in Suffolk dialect the print of a hare's foot.^[8]

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
3. ^ a b c d Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
4. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
5. ^ a b c d Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
6. ^ a b c d e f g h i Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
7. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
8. ^ Wright, Joseph, ed. (1898–1905), The English Dialect Dictionary, 6 vols., Oxford: Henry Frowde; via EDD Online 4.0, University of Innsbruck (CC BY 4.0)