sly
Definition from Wiktionary, the free dictionary
Contents |
English [edit]
Part or all of this entry has been imported from the 1913 edition of Webster’s Dictionary, which is now free of copyright and hence in the public domain. The imported definitions may be significantly out of date, and any more recent senses may be completely missing.
Alternative forms [edit]
- sligh (obsolete)
Etymology [edit]
From Middle English sly, sley, from Old Norse slǣgr, slœgr (“sly, cunning”, literally “capable of hitting or striking”), from Proto-Germanic *slōgiz (“lively, agile, cunning, sly, striking”), from Proto-Indo-European *slak- (“to hit, throw”). Cognate with Icelandic slægur (“crafty, sly”), Norwegian Nynorsk sløg (“sly”), German schlau (“clever, crafty”). Related to sleight, slay.
Pronunciation [edit]
Adjective [edit]
sly (comparative slier or slyer, superlative sliest or slyest)
- Artfully cunning; secretly mischievous; wily.
- Dexterous in performing an action, so as to escape notice; nimble; skillful; cautious; shrewd; knowing; — in a good sense.
- Done with, and marked by, artful and dexterous secrecy; subtle; as, a sly trick.
- Light or delicate; slight; thin.
Synonyms [edit]
- See also Wikisaurus:wily
Derived terms [edit]
Terms derived from sly
Translations [edit]
artfully cunning; secretly mischievous; wily
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dexterous in performing an action, so as to escape notice; nimble
done with, and marked by, artful and dexterous secrecy
light or delicate; slight; thin
- The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Help:How to check translations.
Translations to be checked
External links [edit]
- sly in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913
- sly in The Century Dictionary, The Century Co., New York, 1911
Adverb [edit]
sly
Anagrams [edit]
Swedish [edit]
Noun [edit]
sly n
- very young trees, in particular while growing very densely
