sloven English · revision 1144

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ˈslʌvən/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It comes from Middle English ''sloveyn'',^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU) probably from a Low German or Dutch source,^(Etymonline) such as Middle Flemish ''sloovin'' “a scold”^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline) or Middle Dutch ''slof'' “careless, negligent”,^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU) from Middle Low German ''sloven'' “to dress carelessly”.^(AHD)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ A person of low character, a knave or rascal (about 1450 in the OED; probably before 1475 in Barnhart, in the sense of an immoral woman).^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The word first appears in the Coventry mystery plays, paired with ''slut'' among insults hurled at the woman taken in adultery.^(Etymonline) The sense of a lazy person is from 1523,^(OED 1989) and that of a person careless of dress or cleanliness, now the main one, from 1530.^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline) From 1771 it also meant one who works in a slipshod way.^(OED 1989)^(RHWU) ''Slovenly'' is recorded before 1515.^(Barnhart 1995)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * about 1450 – a knave or rascal.^(OED 1989)

+ * before 1515 – ''slovenly''.^(Barnhart 1995)

+ * 1523 – a lazy, idle person.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1530 – an untidy or dirty person.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1771 – a careless worker or writer.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A person habitually careless of [[neatness]] or cleanliness, especially in appearance.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+ # A person who works or acts in a careless, [[slipshod]] way.^(AHD)^(RHWU)^(OED 1989)

+

+ ===Adjective===

+ # ''(rare)'' [[slovenly|alt=Slovenly]].^(MW Collegiate)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[slovenly]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[slob]]

+ * [[slattern]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}