slege

Norwegian Nynorsk

Verb

slege

1. past participle of slå

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Old English

Etymology

From Proto-West Germanic *slagi, from Proto-Germanic *slagiz.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈsle.je/

Noun

sleġe m

1. hit: strike, blow, punch
   • early 11th century, anonymous gloss of Ælfric's Latin Colloquy (c. 995) (edited into idiomatic prose)

     Mē is lēofre þæt iċ fisċ ġefō þe iċ ofslēan mæġ þonne fisċ þe nā mē selfne ānne, ac ēac mīne ġefēran mid āne sleġe mæġ besenċan oþþe ofslēan.

     I'd rather catch a fish I can kill than a fish that can sink or kill not only me, but also my fishing partners in one blow. [Speaking of a whale.]

2. killing, murder
   • late 9th century, translation of Orosius' History Against the Pagans

     Hēo þā (sēo cwēn Dameris) mid miċelre gnornunge ymb þæs cyninges sleġe (hire suna) þenċende wæs, hū hēo hit ġewrecan meahte.

     Meanwhile, Queen Tomyris was grieving over the king (her son's) murder, plotting her revenge.

3. slaughter (of an animal)
   • c. 996, Ælfric, "The Nativity of the Lord"

     Hē is ġelǣded tō sleġe swā swā sċēap.

     He's led like a sheep to the slaughter.

Declension

Declension of sleġe (strong i-stem)

Case	Singular	Plural
nominative	sleġe	sleġas
accusative	sleġe	sleġas
genitive	sleġes	sleġa
dative	sleġe	sleġum

Related terms

• slaga
• slēan
• sleċġ
• sleġel
• sliht

Derived terms

• brōþorsleġe (“fratricide”)
• dēaþsleġe (“death blow”)
• dolgsleġe (“a wounding blow”)
• hearpsleġe (“a striking of the harp”)
• mansleġe (“murder”)
• mynetsleġe (“a minting”)
• sārsleġe (“a painful blow”)

Descendants

• Middle English: slay, sleye, slaye
  • English: sley