See Also: slay(dictionary)
slay(dictionary)

slay (iou)



slay verb1. .
[Old English slean = Old Frisian sla, Old Saxon, Old High German slahan (Dutch slaan, German schlagen), Old Norse sla, Gothic slahan, from Germanic. Cf. SLAUGHTER.]
a. verb trans. Strike, beat. OE-ME.
b. verb intrans. Strike a blow or blows (freq. foll. by on); knock. OE-LME.
c. verb trans. Strike (a spark, fire) from flint etc. OE-E16.
d. verb trans. Throw, cast; bring down heavily. OE-LME.
verb trans. Kill, esp. in a brutal or violent manner; murder, slaughter. Now literary & arch., or joc. exc. N. Amer. OE.
A. S. Neill Henceforward..the wasp that enters this room is to be slain. W. S. Churchill They thirsted to..slay their foes. Billings (Montana) Gazette She was found slain with a hatchet. Sara Maitland George, the Christian saint who slew the dragon.
b. Kill in an accident etc. obsolete exc. dial. OE.
c. Slaughter (an animal) for food etc. arch. exc. N. Amer. OE.
d. Destroy (an animal) as vermin. ME-L16.
e. Put to death as a criminal, execute. ME-M17.
verb intrans. Cause (esp. violent) death, commit murder. Now literary or arch. exc. N. Amer. OE.
P. A. Rollins Inhuman brutes who would slay for personal gain.
verb trans. Theology. Bring to spiritual death; destroy (the soul) by sinning. ME-E17.
verb trans. Destroy, extinguish, put an end to, (esp. something bad). arch. ME.
Pall Mall Gazette In the very act of slaying the Bill.
a. verb trans. Blight (vegetation). Long obsolete exc. Scot. ME-L16.
b. verb intrans. Of grain: become affected by smut, blight, etc. Now dial. M17.
verb trans. Overcome with affliction or distress. LME-M16.
verb trans. Overcome with delight or love; impress or amuse greatly, convulse with laughter. colloq. L16.
R. Chandler A hoodlum with sentiment...That slays me. D. Francis 'Oh God, Dolly, you slay me,' said Chico, laughing warmly. Guardian Weekly 'Who could meet Margaret..without being completely slain by her personality and intellectual brilliance?'
slayable adjective (literary or arch., rare) able to be (justly) slain L19.
slayer noun (chiefly arch. or joc. exc. N. Amer.) LME.
slaying noun (chiefly arch. or joc. exc. N. Amer.) the action of the verb; an instance of this; (a) killing, (a) murder, (a) homicide: LME.