slaw

See also: sław

English

White slaw

Etymology

Borrowed (around 1861) from Dutch sla, shortened from salade (“salad, lettuce”).

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /slɔː/

• Audio (UK):

  (file)

• (US) IPA^(key): /slɔ/
• (cot–caught merger, Canada) IPA^(key): /slɑ/
• Rhymes: -ɔː

Noun

slaw (countable and uncountable, plural slaws)

1. (US, Canada) Coleslaw.
   • 1996, Jerry Bledsoe, “Slaw Crazy”, in Lee Harrison Child, editor, Close to Home: Revelations and Reminiscences by North Carolina Authors, page 66:

     Barbecue is always served with slaw in North Carolina and always has been.

   • 2002, Alex Haas, Everyday Low Carb Cooking, page 73:

     My boss, whose daughter was a working chef, told me that I made the best slaws that she had ever tasted. The secret is that slaws deserve as much care in their preparation as any other good meal.

   • 2010, Judy Doherty, Salad Secrets: 100 of the Most Creative, Healthful Recipes, page 103:

     Slaws go well with grilled lean protein items and sandwiches.

Derived terms

• barbecue slaw
• cheese slaw
• kimslaw
• North Carolina slaw
• rainbow slaw
• red slaw
• white slaw

 

Translations

coleslaw

• Bulgarian: зелева салата f (zeleva salata)
• Finnish: coleslaw (fi), kaalisalaatti
• German: Krautsalat (de) m
• Slovak: kapustný šalát m
• Spanish: curtida (es) f (El Salvador)

Anagrams

• Laws, awls, laws

Old English

Alternative forms

• slǣw, slēaw

Etymology

From Proto-West Germanic *slaiw, from Proto-Germanic *slaiwaz (“blunt, dull, faint, weak, slack”), of uncertain origin.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /slɑːw/

Adjective

slāw

1. lazy
2. slow, inert

Declension

Declension of slāw — Strong

Singular	Masculine	Feminine	Neuter
Nominative	slāw	slāw	slāw
Accusative	slāwne	slāwe	slāw
Genitive	slāwes	slāwre	slāwes
Dative	slāwum	slāwre	slāwum
Instrumental	slāwe	slāwre	slāwe
Plural	Masculine	Feminine	Neuter
Nominative	slāwe	slāwa, slāwe	slāw
Accusative	slāwe	slāwa, slāwe	slāw
Genitive	slāwra	slāwra	slāwra
Dative	slāwum	slāwum	slāwum
Instrumental	slāwum	slāwum	slāwum

Declension of slāw — Weak

Singular	Masculine	Feminine	Neuter
Nominative	slāwa	slāwe	slāwe
Accusative	slāwan	slāwan	slāwe
Genitive	slāwan	slāwan	slāwan
Dative	slāwan	slāwan	slāwan
Instrumental	slāwan	slāwan	slāwan
Plural	Masculine	Feminine	Neuter
Nominative	slāwan	slāwan	slāwan
Accusative	slāwan	slāwan	slāwan
Genitive	slāwra, slāwena	slāwra, slāwena	slāwra, slāwena
Dative	slāwum	slāwum	slāwum
Instrumental	slāwum	slāwum	slāwum

Derived terms

• slāwlīċe
• slǣwþ

Descendants

• Middle English: slaw, slow
  • English: slow
  • Geordie English: slaw
  • Scots: slaw

References

• Joseph Bosworth and T. Northcote Toller (1898) “Sláw”, in An Anglo-Saxon Dictionary‎^[1], 2nd edition, Oxford: Oxford University Press.