slit

English

Etymology

From Old English slītan, from Proto-Germanic *slītaną (“to tear apart”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)leyd- (“to tear, rend (cut apart), split apart”). Possibly cognate with Latin laed- (“to strike, hurt, injure”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈslɪt/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɪt

Noun

slit (plural slits)

1. A narrow cut or opening; a slot.
   • 1963, Margery Allingham, chapter 17, in The China Governess‎^[1]:

     The face which emerged was not reassuring. It was blunt and grey, the nose springing thick and flat from high on the frontal bone of the forehead, whilst his eyes were narrow slits of dark in a tight bandage of tissue. […].

2. (vulgar, slang) The opening of the vagina.
3. (vulgar, slang, derogatory) A woman, usually a sexually loose woman; a prostitute.

Derived terms

• slit drum

Translations

narrow cut or opening; a slot

• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 狭缝 (xiáfèng)

• Czech: škvíra f, skulina f, štěrbina (cs) f
• Dutch: spleet (nl) f, gleuf (nl) f
• Esperanto: fendo
• Estonian: pilu
• Finnish: viilto (fi)
• French: fente (fr)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• German: Nut (de) f, Schlitz (de) m, Spalt (de) m
• Italian: fessura (it) f
• Maori: hahae, haenga
• Occitan: fenda (oc) f, dobertura f, fendascla f
• Portuguese: greta (pt), ranhura (pt)
• Russian: щель (ru) (ščelʹ), разрез (ru) (razrez)
• Spanish: ranura (es) f, abertura (es) f, rendija (es) f, fisura (es)

vulgar, slang: opening of the vagina

• Dutch: spleet (nl) f
• Esperanto: fendo
• Estonian: pilu
• Finnish: viiva (fi)
• French: vulve (fr)
• German: Schlitz (de) m, Schamritze f, Ritze (de) f, Schamspalte f, Spalte (de) f
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Portuguese: racha (pt)
• Russian: щёлка (ru) (ščólka)
• Spanish: raja (es), rayita f
• Volapük: kunudaslitod f

vulgar, slang: a derogatory name for a woman, usually a sexually loose woman; a prostitute

• Dutch: slet (nl) f
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Russian: мокрощёлка (ru) (mokroščólka)

Verb

slit (third-person singular simple present slits, present participle slitting, simple past slit, past participle slit or slitten) ("slitten" is obsolete)

1. To cut a narrow opening.

   He slit the bag open and the rice began pouring out.

2. To split into strips by lengthwise cuts.
3. (transitive) To cut; to sever; to divide.
   • (Can we date this quote by John Milton and provide title, author’s full name, and other details?)

     And slits the thin-spun life.

Translations

cut a narrow opening

• Dutch: opensnijden (nl)
• Finnish: viiltää (fi)
• German: schlitzen (de), aufschlitzen (de), zerschlitzen (de)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Italian: fendere (it)
• Maori: hāpara, hōripi, hōripiripi, hae, hori
• Turkish: kesmek (tr)

split into strips

• Dutch: splijten (nl), opensnijden (nl)
• Finnish: leikata kahtia
• Galician: esgallar (gl), fender, rachar
• German: trennen (de), auftrennen, teilen (de), zerteilen (de)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Hebrew: חתך (he) (khatákh), פיצל (pitsél)
• Indonesian: mengiris (id)
• Japanese: 切る (ja) (きる, kiru)
• Portuguese: fender (pt), rachar (pt)

Adjective

slit (not comparable)

1. Having a cut narrow opening

Anagrams

• &lits, List, list, lits, silt, tils

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Icelandic

Etymology

From *Old Norse slit.

Noun

slit n (genitive singular slits, no plural)

1. wear and tear

Anagrams

• list

See also

• slitna

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Norwegian Bokmål

Verb

slit

1. (deprecated template usage) imperative of slite

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Norwegian Nynorsk

Verb

slit

1. inflection of slita:
   1. present
   2. imperative

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Swedish

Noun

slit n

1. (hard) work, labour

Declension

Declension of slit
	Uncountable
	Indefinite	Definite
Nominative	slit	slitet	—	—
Genitive	slits	slitets	—	—

Verb

slit

1. (deprecated template usage) imperative of slita.

Anagrams

• list, lits, stil

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Westrobothnian

Etymology

From , from .

Pronunciation

• Template:gmq-bot-pronu-note

Verb

1. To tear.