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Slay

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slay¹

  • /sleɪ/

Sounds like sleigh, sley · Rhymes with -eɪ

Where it comes from

From Middle English sleen, slen, from Old English slēan (“to hit, punch, strike; to kill”), from Proto-West Germanic *slahan, from Proto-Germanic *slahaną (“to hit, strike; to kill”), from Proto-Indo-European *slak- (“to hit, strike, throw”).

Cognates

Cognate with Alemannic German schlaa (“to beat, hit”), Central Franconian schlage, schlon, schloon (“to beat, hit, strike”), Dutch and Low German slaan (“to beat, hit, strike”), German schlagen, schlahen, schlahn (“to beat, hit, strike”), Luxembourgish schloen (“to beat, defeat, hit”), Danish, Norwegian Bokmål, Norwegian Nynorsk, and Swedish slå (“to beat, hit, strike”), Faroese sláa (“to beat, strike”), Icelandic slá (“to hit, strike”), Gothic 𐍃𐌻𐌰𐌷𐌰𐌽 (slahan, “to hit, smite, strike”). Related to slaughter, onslaught.

verb slays · slaying · slew · slayed · slain

  1. literary, transitive To kill; to murder. The knight slew the dragon.
  2. literary, transitive To eradicate or stamp out. You must slay these thoughts.
  3. broadly, excessive, informal, transitive To defeat; to overcome (in a competition or contest). The Yankees were actually slayed by two former Yankees because Rich Gossage pitched one scoreless inning in relief of Eckersley to notch his first victory.
  4. slang, transitive To delight or overwhelm, especially with laughter. Ha ha! You slay me!
  5. ambitransitive To amaze, stun, or otherwise incapacitate by excellence; to excel at something. Your outfit slays!
  6. slang To have sex with.

adjective more slay · most slay

  1. That slays (in any sense).

noun slays

  1. Something excellent, amazing, or fashionable. Equally effervescent was EmRata [Emily Ratajkowski] in 2001 Versace; meanwhile Zendaya, clothed in a 1996 John Galliano for Givenchy gown that could rival Queen Victoria’s regal mourning robes, was a slay for the ages.

interjection

  1. Used to express approval or amazement. Despite its dismal performance at the box office, Jennifer’s Body has become a cult favourite – particularly amongst queer women. The horror-comedy stars Megan Fox as a cheerleader who becomes possessed by a succubus – a demon who seduces men, kills them and devours their flesh etc. Slay!

slay²

Where it comes from

See sley

noun slays

  1. alternative Alternative form of sley

Slay³

proper noun Slays

  1. A surname.

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