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slate

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary
See also: Slate

English

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WOTD – 7 December 2025

Etymology 1

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Slates (noun etymology 1 sense 1.1) used to tile a roof.
A 19th-century slate (noun etymology 1 sense 2.1) for writing on.
A slate (noun etymology 1 sense 2.3.1) or clapperboard used in film production.
A tablet computer is also called a slate (noun etymology 1 sense 2.2).
Slate (noun etymology 1 sense 4) is a form of fine-grained homogeneous sedimentary rock which cleaves easily into thin layers.

The noun is derived from Middle English sclate, slat, slate (“type of rock; roofing slate; writing slate”),[1] from Old French esclate, a feminine form of esclat (“broken piece, shard”) (modern French éclat),[2] from Old French esclater (“to break, shatter”), from Frankish *slaitijan (“to split, break”), from Proto-Germanic *slaitijaną, the causative of *slītaną (“to cut up, split”); further etymology unknown (see the Proto-Germanic entry for a discussion). Doublet of éclat and slat.

The adjective and verb[3] are derived from the noun.

Pronunciation

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Noun

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slate (countable and uncountable, plural slates)

  1. (countable) A flake or piece of certain types of stone that tend to cleave into thin layers.
    2. A piece of such stone, usually cut into a rectangular shape, used as a tile for flooring, roofing, etc.; (uncountable) such tiles collectively, or the material from which they are made.
      • 1941 March, “Notes and News: The Demand for Slate”, in Railway Magazine, page 141:
        Some of the minor Welsh 2 ft. gauge railways, we hear from Mr. N. F. G. Dalston, are enjoying a miniature boom owing to the demand for slate for the repair of damaged roofs.
      • 1945 May and June, Charles E. Lee, “The Penrhyn Railway and its Locomotives—1”, in Railway Magazine, page 138:
        In 1765 only 80 men were employed, and the annual output of slates did not exceed 1,000 tons, and large-scale quarrying was not begun by Lord Penrhyn until 1782.
      • 2021 December 15, Robin Leleux, “Awards honour the best restoration projects: The Southeastern Commercial Restoration Award: Appledore”, in RAIL, number 946, pages 56–57:
        The necessary works were extensive and included replacing missing and damaged slates and other roof repairs (in order to make the building watertight), pointing and drainpipe replacement, and extensive replacement of rotten floorboarding.
    3. A piece of other material used as a roofing tile.
  2. (countable, by extension)
    2. A generally rectangular piece, originally of certain types of stone and now of other materials, often in a frame, used for writing on with a thin rod of the same or another stone (a slate pencil) or with chalk; a small chalkboard.
      Coordinate terms: blackboard, whiteboard
      • 1918, Norman Lindsay, The Magic Pudding, Sydney: Angus and Robertson, page 12:
        He wrote all down one side of the slate and all up the other, and then remarked--"As there's no time to finish that, The time has come to have our chat."
    4. (computing) Synonym of tablet computer (“a hand-held portable computer in the form of a tablet with a touch screen interface”).
      • 2012, Chris Sells, Brandon Satrom, Don Box, Building Windows 8 Apps with JavaScript:
        Hearing Steve Ballmer and others talk about the availability of Windows 8 on slates, laptops, netbooks, notebooks, and screens from 7 to 70 inches might lead us to believe that Microsoft is attempting to gain market share solely through […]
    5. (film)
      2. Synonym of clapperboard (“a device consisting of a board on which information about a film being recorded is noted, and a hinged piece which is brought down on the board with a clap at the start and end of each take of the film; it is used to synchronize picture and sound during editing”).
        1. A sequentially numbered session of recording a film.
        2. Information about a film recording which is inserted at the start of the recording, or printed on a videotape label etc.
  3. (countable, figurative)
    1. A record, for example, of money owed.
      (of money owed): Synonyms: account, bill, tab
      Put it on my slate—I’ll pay you next week.
    2. (originally and chiefly Canada, US)
      1. A range of things; also, a schedule.
        • 2015 October 29, James Kaplan, Sinatra: The Chairman, Hachette UK, →ISBN:
          The Chairman James Kaplan tended to his busy slate of record and film projects, while Mia, too, actively sought movie work, somewhat to her husband's chagrin.
        • 2017 September 22, Douglass K. Daniel, Anne Bancroft: A Life, University Press of Kentucky, →ISBN:
          If it sounds like an impossibly busy slate, it turned out to be just that.
      2. (film) A collection of films released during a certain period, either from one studio or from a certain film industry (such as Hollywood) as a whole.
        • 1998 July 11, “Sell-Through Survival Guide”, in Billboard, page 55:
          Like many independents that have established a strong if narrow niche, Central Park says it prospers when "A" titles are in short supply, but Pascuzzi much prefers a crowded slate because of trickle-down economics.
        • 2006 October 20, Frank J. Fabozzi, Henry A. Davis, Moorad Choudhry, Introduction to Structured Finance, John Wiley & Sons, →ISBN, page 336:
          MVL Film Finance LLC (MVL) was created to partially finance Marvel Studios' production of a slate of 10 live-action or animated films based on up to 10 of Marvel's comic book characters […]
        • 2018 October 24, Darren Mooney, Christopher Nolan: A Critical Study of the Films, McFarland, →ISBN, page 86:
          This overcrowded blockbuster slate has led to the death of the respectable mid-budget movie, which has arguably migrated to prestige television along with writers, directors and actors.
      3. (chiefly politics) A group or list of candidates for appointment or election to an office; also, a group of candidates or electors with affiliated political views.
        • 2023 May 8, Jonathan Head, “Thailand election: The young radicals shaking up politics”, in BBC News (World)‎[1]:
          Ice is one of a slate of young, idealistic candidates for Move Forward who have joined mainstream politics in the hope that this election allows Thailand to break the cycle of military coups […]
  5. (uncountable, geology) A fine-grained homogeneous sedimentary rock composed of clay or volcanic ash which has been metamorphosed so that it cleaves easily into thin layers.
    • 1945 May and June, Charles E. Lee, “The Penrhyn Railway and its Locomotives—1”, in Railway Magazine, page 138:
      The Penrhyn slate quarry possibly dates back to the sixteenth century, as it appears that in 1580 Sion Tudor asked the Bishop of Bangor for a shipload of slate.
    1. (uncountable) The bluish-grey colour of most slate (etymology 1 sense 4).
      slate:  
      Synonyms: slate blue, slate gray, slate grey
Alternative forms
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Hyponyms
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types of rock
Derived terms
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Translations
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See also
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Adjective

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slate (comparative more slate, superlative most slate)

  1. Having the bluish-grey colour of slate (noun etymology 1 sense 4).
    Hyponyms: slate black, slate blue, slate brown, slate gray, slate grey
Derived terms
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Translations
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Verb

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slate (third-person singular simple present slates, present participle slating, simple past and past participle slated)

  1. (transitive)
    1. To cover (a building, or part of a building such as a floor or roof) with slates (noun etymology 1 sense 1.1).
      The old church ledgers show that the roof was slated in 1775.
    2. To write (something) on a writing slate (noun etymology 1 sense 2.1).
      1. (chiefly US, figurative) To appoint or designate (someone or something); also, to nominate or propose (someone or something); specifically (politics), to nominate or propose (a candidate) for an office.
      2. (chiefly US, figurative) To expect (something) with a (strong) degree of certainty; to anticipate, to predict.
        The next version of our software is slated to be the best release ever.
      3. (chiefly US, figurative) To plan or schedule (something).
        The election was slated for November 2nd.
        • 2019 October, Tony Miles, Philip Sherratt, “EMR kicks off new era”, in Modern Railways, page 58:
          The Cleethorpes to Barton-on-Humber branch had been slated to transfer from Northern into the East Midlands franchise, but this move is still awaiting a DfT decision.
    3. (film) To provide synchronization information about (a scene, take, etc., of a film recording) using a slate (noun etymology 1 sense 2.3.1).
      • 2013, Rick Smith, Kim Miller, Shoot to Sell: Make Money Producing Special Interest Videos:
        Why You Want to Slate your Shots
    4. (leatherworking) To scrape (an animal hide) with a slater (“blade originally made of slate”) to remove hairs.
  2. (intransitive)
    1. To cover a building, or part of a building with slates (noun etymology 1 sense 1.1).
    2. (film) To provide a film recording with synchronization information, especially using a slate (noun etymology 1 sense 2.3.1).
Derived terms
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Translations
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Etymology 2

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The verb is probably derived from slate (“flake or piece of certain types of stone that tend to cleave into thin layers; fine-grained homogeneous sedimentary rock which cleaves easily into thin layers”, noun) (etymology 1; possibly alluding to the sharpness of such rock).[4] The noun is derived from the verb.[5]

Pronunciation

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Verb

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slate (third-person singular simple present slates, present participle slating, simple past and past participle slated) (transitive)

  1. To scold (someone) harshly; to chastise, to excoriate, to lambaste.
    • 1881, E[liza] Lynn Linton, “‘Other Eyes’”, in “My Love!” […], volume II, London: Chatto and Windus, […], →OCLC, pages 305–306:
      "I'm awfully sorry if I gave it to her too hot; she deserved it; but i did not want to be a brute." / "But you were," said Pattie with grave regret. / "If I was, Val slated me hard enough. So we may cry quits over that!" said Gip, her gleam of repentance passing into space and her naughty passions once more triumphant.
    2. (chiefly UK) To criticize or critique (an author or a work) harshly; to castigate.
      Synonyms: see Thesaurus:criticize
      The play was slated by the critics.
      • 1870, Ouida [pseudonym; Maria Louise Ramé], “Romances of the Row”, in Puck: His Vicissitudes, Adventures, Observations, Conclusions, Friendships, and Philosophies. […], volume II, London: Chapman and Hall, […], →OCLC, pages 6–7:
        It makes me mad to hear that wretched Mouse, when he wants to slate a very good novel, declare that there is no romance in real life.
  2. (military slang) To treat (an enemy) harshly.
    • 1885, Charles W[illiam] Wilson, “[Gubat to Omdurman]”, in From Korti to Khartum: A Journal of the Desert March from Korti to Gubat, and of the Ascent of the Nile in General Gordon’s Steamers, Edinburgh; London: William Blackwood and Sons, →OCLC, page 163:
      Now we shall get "slated," I thought, if there is any one there: a few good shots might have picked off every one on deck.
  3. (originally and chiefly Ireland, slang) To beat or thrash (someone) harshly.
    • 1857, Charles Kingsley, “The Broad Stone of Honour”, in Two Years Ago, volume III, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire: Macmillan and Co., →OCLC, page 140:
      "Does John Barker live here?" asks Thurnall, putting his head in cautiously for fear of drunken Irishmen, who might be seized with the national impulse to "slate" him.
  4. (UK, obsolete) To knock the hat of (someone) forward over their eyes as a joke.
    • 1825, Bernard Blackmantle [pseudonym; Charles Molloy Westmacott], “The Life, Death, Burial, and Resurrection Company”, in The English Spy: An Original Work, Characteristic, Satirical, and Humorous. […], volume II, London: Sherwood, Gilbert, and Piper, […], published 1826, →OCLC, pages 135–136:
      Another point of amusement is flying a tile or slating a man, as the phrases of the Stock Exchange describe it. […] One who was foremost in slating his brothers, or kicking about a new castor, had himself just sported a new hat, but, […] he would leave his new tile at the counting-house, and proceed to the Stock Exchange in an old one kept for the purpose: this becoming known to some of the wags, members of the house, they despatched a note and obtained the new hat, which no sooner made its appearance in the house than it was thrown up for general sport; […]
Derived terms
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Translations
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Noun

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slate (plural slates)

  1. (dated) Synonym of slating (“a harsh criticism”).
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Etymology 3

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From Middle English slaiten, slat, slate (“to set (a dog) on an animal”),[6] from Old Norse *sleita,[7] possibly related to Proto-Germanic *slītaną (“to tear apart”), further etymology unknown.

Pronunciation

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Verb

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slate (third-person singular simple present slates, present participle slating, simple past and past participle slated) (transitive, Northern England, Scotland)

  1. To set (one or more dogs) on a person or animal; to sic.
  2. To set one or more dogs on (a person or animal).
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Etymology 4

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Possibly borrowed from Scots slait, slate (“dirty, slovenly, or objectionable person”),[8] further etymology unknown.[9]

Pronunciation

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Noun

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slate (plural slates)

  1. (Scotland, derogatory, archaic or obsolete, rare) A dirty or slovenly person.
    • [1718, Allan Ramsay, “Christ’s-Kirk on the Green, in Three Cantos”, in Poems, 5th edition, Edinburgh: Printed for the author […] [and sold by T. Jauncy […]], published 1722, →OCLC, canto II, page 104:
      Had aff [hold off], quoth ſhe, ye filthy Slate, / Ye ſtink o' Leeks, O figh!
      Probably written in Scots.]

References

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  1. ^ “sclāte, n.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.
  2. ^ “slate, n.1”, in OED Online Paid subscription required⁠, Oxford: Oxford University Press, September 2025; “slate, n.”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.
  3. ^ “slate, v.1”, in OED Online Paid subscription required⁠, Oxford: Oxford University Press, June 2025; “slate, v.”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.
  4. ^ “slate, v.2”, in OED Online Paid subscription required⁠, Oxford: Oxford University Press, September 2024; “slate, v.”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.
  5. ^ “slate, n.3”, in OED Online Paid subscription required⁠, Oxford: Oxford University Press, July 2023.
  6. ^ “slaiten, v.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.
  7. ^ “slate, v.3”, in OED Online Paid subscription required⁠, Oxford: Oxford University Press, June 2025.
  8. ^ “slait, n.1”, in The Dictionary of the Scots Language, Edinburgh: Scottish Language Dictionaries, 2004–present, →OCLC, reproduced from W[illiam] Grant and D[avid] D. Murison, editors, The Scottish National Dictionary, Edinburgh: Scottish National Dictionary Association, 1931–1976, →OCLC.
  9. ^ “slate, n.4”, in OED Online Paid subscription required⁠, Oxford: Oxford University Press, July 2023.

Further reading

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Anagrams

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