Etymologically
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slot

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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.

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)