aslope

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aslope

/əˈsləʊp/ UK
/əˈsloʊp/ US

Rhymes with -əʊp

Where it comes from

From Middle English aslop, aslope (“at an angle or slant; aside”); further etymology uncertain, probably either:

* from Old English āslopen (“slipped away”), the past participle of āslūpan (“to slip away”), from ā- (prefix meaning ‘away; from; off; out’) + slūpan (“to glide, slip”) (from Proto-West Germanic *sleupan (“to move stealthily, creep, sneak”), from Proto-Germanic *sleupaną (“to move stealthily, creep, sneak”), probably either from Proto-Indo-European *slewbʰ- (“to glide, slide, slip”) or *slewp- (“to glide, slip”)); or

* from Middle English a- + *slope (adjective). However, the Oxford English Dictionary notes that the adjective slope (now obsolete) is attested later than aslope and is probably an aphetic form of the latter.

The adverb is more common than the adjective.

adjective

archaic, not comparable Slanted, sloping. VVhere Porters Hogſheads roll from Carts aſlope, / Or Brevvers dovvn ſteep Cellars ſtretch the Rope, / VVhere counted Billets are by Carmen toſt; / Stay thy raſh Steps, and vvalk vvithout the Poſt.
Similar: aslant, diagonal, inclined, oblique

adverb

archaic, not comparable Sloping, in a sloping manner; slanted along a slope. But the Flemynges with theyr arbalasters and theyr longe mareys pykes set aslope before them / wounded so theyr horses, that they lay tumbelynge one in the others necke / so that they were the letters^([sic – meaning fetters?]) of the other whiche were on fote, that they myght not exercyse theyr fea
Similar: aslant, aslantwise, athwart, diagonally, obliquely
archaic, figuratively, not comparable Indirectly, obliquely. [N]euertheleſſe he would that point ſhould be leſſe and more finely and cloſely handled, not euen fully playne and directly, but touched a ſlope craftily, as though men ſpared in that point to ſpeake al the truth for feare of his diſpleaſure.
archaic, figuratively, not comparable In an unfavourable or unintended direction. [H]e gan fovvly vvyte / His vvicked fortune, that had turnd aſlope, / And curſed night, that reſt from him ſo goodly ſcope.
Similar: off course

preposition

archaic Diagonally across or over; aslant. [T]he King, […] puts the Belt ouer the necke of the Knight, aſlope his breaſt, placing the Svvord vnder his left Arme: […]
Similar: athwart

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MLA

"aslope." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/aslope. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

aslope. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/aslope

Chicago

"aslope." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/aslope.

BibTeX

@misc{aslope_2026,
  title = {aslope},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/aslope},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}