slit

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”). Doublet of slite; also related to slice through French borrowing.

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:

     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

Bulgarian: шлиц (bg) m (šlic), цепка (bg) f (cepka) Chinese: Mandarin: 狭缝 (xiáfèng) Czech: škvíra (cs) f, skulina f, štěrbina (cs) f Dutch: spleet (nl) f, gleuf (nl) f Esperanto: fendo Estonian: pilu Finnish: viilto (fi) French: fente (fr) Galician: fenda f, regaña f German: Nut (de) f, Schlitz (de) m, Spalt (de) m Italian: fessura (it) f Macedonian: про́цеп m (prócep), це́пка f (cépka) Maori: hahae, haenga Occitan: fenda (oc) f, dobertura (oc) f, fendascla f Plautdietsch: Schlerz 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) Ukrainian: щі́лина f (ščílyna), шпари́на f (šparýna)

vulgar, slang: opening of the vagina

Dutch: spleet (nl) f Esperanto: fendo Estonian: pilu Finnish: viiva (fi) French: vulve (fr) Galician: fenda f German: Schlitz (de) m, Schamritze f, Ritze (de) f, Schamspalte f, Spalte (de) f 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 Russian: мокрощёлка (ru) (mokroščólka)

Verb

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

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.
   • 1637, John Milton, “Lycidas”, in Poems of Mr. John Milton, […], London: […] Ruth Raworth for Humphrey Mosely, […], published 1646, OCLC 606951673:

     And slits the thin-spun life.

Translations

cut a narrow opening

Arabic: قَطَعَ‎ (ar) (qaṭaʿa), شَطَبَ‎ (ar) (šaṭaba), شَرَطَ‎ (šaraṭa) Bulgarian: цепя (bg) (cepja), разцепвам (bg) (razcepvam) Czech: rozříznout pf, proříznout pf Dutch: opensnijden (nl) Finnish: viiltää (fi) German: schlitzen (de), aufschlitzen (de), zerschlitzen (de) Italian: fendere (it) Maori: hāpara, hōripi, hōripiripi, hae, hori Turkish: kesmek (tr)

split into strips

Bulgarian: разрязвам (bg) (razrjazvam) Dutch: splijten (nl), opensnijden (nl) Finnish: leikata kahtia (fi) Galician: esgallar (gl), fender, rachar German: trennen (de), auftrennen (de), teilen (de), zerteilen (de) 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.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /stlɪːt/
• Rhymes: -ɪːt

Noun

slit n (genitive singular slits, no plural)

1. wear and tear

Declension

declension of slit

n-s	singular
	indefinite	definite
nominative	slit	slitið
accusative	slit	slitið
dative	sliti	slitinu
genitive	slits	slitsins

See also

• slitna

Anagrams

• list

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Norwegian Bokmål

Verb

slit

1. 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. toil, labour (grueling work)

Declension

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

Derived terms

• slit och släp

Verb

slit

1. imperative of slita.

Anagrams

• list, lits, silt, stil

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Westrobothnian

Etymology

From Old Norse slíta, from Proto-Germanic *slītaną.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /sliːt/, /²ɬliːt/ (example of pronunciation)

  Rhymes: -ìːt

Verb

slit (preterite släit, supine sliti or slittä)

1. (transitive, intransitive) To tear.

Related terms

• slet