slur

English

Etymology

From Middle English slore. Compare Old Norse slóðra (“to drag oneself along”). Cognate with Middle Low German sluren (“to trail in mud”). Related to dialect Norwegian sløra (“to be careless, to scamp, dawdle”), Danish sløre (“to wobble, be loose”) (especially for wheels).

Pronunciation

• IPA: /slɜː(r)/, SAMPA: /sl3:r/
• Rhymes: -ɜː(r)

Noun

slur (plural slurs)

1. An insult or slight.

   a racial slur

2. (music) A set of notes that are played legato, without separate articulation.
3. (music) The symbol indicating a legato passage, written as an arc over the slurred notes.
4. (obsolete) A trick or deception.
5. In knitting machines, a device for depressing the sinkers successively by passing over them.

Translations

An insult or slight

Finnish: herja (fi), loukkaus (fi)

Polish: oszczerstwo (pl) n.

A set of notes that are played legato, without separate articulation

The symbol indicating a legato passage, written as an arc over the slurred notes

Dutch: legatoboog (nl) French: liaison d'expression (fr) f., coulé (fr) m., legato (fr) m. German: Bindebogen (de) m. Italian: legatura di portamento (it) f., legatura di frase (it) f., legatura di espressione (it) f.

Russian: легáто (ru) (legato) Scottish Gaelic: ceangal (gd) m. Spanish: legato (es) m., ligadura de expresión (es) f. Swedish: bindebåge (sv)

Verb

slur (third-person singular simple present slurs, present participle slurring, simple past and past participle slurred)

1. To insult or slight.
2. To run together; to articulate poorly.

   He slurs his speech when he is drunk.

3. (music) To play legato or without separate articulation.

Translations

To insult or slight

Finnish: herjata (fi), loukata (fi)

To run together; to articulate poorly

Finnish: sammaltaa (fi), sokeltaa (fi) French: mal articuler (fr) German: undeutlich (de) reden (de)

Macedonian: слева (mk) (sléva) Portuguese: arrastar (pt) Swedish: sluddra (sv)

To play legato or without separate articulation

Macedonian: слева (mk) (sléva)

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