slope English · revision 14981

+ {{infobox|confidence=probable|formation=derivation|attested=1502}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: UK /sləʊp/, US /sloʊp/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is a shortening of [[aslope]], on the incline,^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986) probably from an Old English past participle [[m|ang|*āslopen]], from [[m|ang|āslūpan|t=to slip away]],^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) from [[m|ang|ā-|t=away]] and [[m|ang|slūpan|t=to slip]] (see [[sleeve]]).^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) Hoad calls aslope of uncertain origin.^(Hoad 1986)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ As an adjective, slanting: 1502 in Barnhart, about 1500 in Etymonline.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The verb, to go in an oblique direction, is from 1591,^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(MWU 2024) and the noun, an inclination or slant, from 1611, in Cotgrave's dictionary.^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline) A stretch of rising or falling ground is from the 1620s,^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) the sense in ''ski slope''.^(Etymonline) The derogatory American slang use for an East Asian person, from the shape of the eyes, is attested from 1948.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1502 – slope (adjective).^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1591 – to slope (verb).^(Barnhart 1988)^(MWU 2024)

+ * 1611 – an inclination.^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989)

+ * 1626 – a slope of ground.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1889 – slope in mathematics.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1948 – the slur.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A surface or stretch of ground that rises or falls; an incline.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # The degree of inclination from the horizontal.^(AHD)

+ # In mathematics, the ratio of the vertical change to the horizontal change along a line.^(OED 1989)^(AHD)

+

+ ===Verb===

+ # To lie or move at a slant; to rise or fall at an angle.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # Slope off: to leave furtively.^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[sloper]]

+ * [[slopingly]]

+ * [[slopingness]]

+ * [[downslope]]

+ * [[upslope]]

+ * [[hillslope]]

+ * [[slippery slope]]

+ * [[bunny slope]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[aslope]]

+ * [[slip]]

+ * [[sleeve]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ Slope in the sense of to make off or decamp is 19th-century slang, originally American, and perhaps a special use of the same verb.^(Hoad 1986) In Dorset, Somerset and Devon dialect another slope meant to rot with damp, of fruit or vegetables.^(Wright 1898)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}