sloe
See also: slöe and slö
English
Etymology
From Old English slāh, from Proto-Germanic *slaihwō, from Proto-Indo-European *(s)leie- (“bluish”); related to Danish slåen, Dutch slee, German Schlehe and perhaps with Russian сли́ва (slíva, “plum”).
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /sləʊ/
Noun
sloe (plural sloes)
- The small, bitter, wild fruit of the blackthorn (Prunus spinosa).
- 1796, Zoonomia, or, the Laws of Organic Life, by Erasmus Darwin, part II.I.I.III
- There is also a dryness in the mouth from the increased action of the absorbent vessels, when a sloe or a crab-apple are masticated...
- 1872, The Snow Queen by H.C.Andersen, translation by Paull
- The dew-drops fell like water, leaf after leaf dropped from the trees, the sloe-thorn alone still bore fruit, but the sloes were sour, and set the teeth on edge. Oh, how dark and weary the whole world appeared!
- 1899, Resurrection, by Leo Tolstoy, translation by Maude, chapter 12
- Katusha, with her eyes black as sloes, her face radiant with joy, was flying towards him, and they caught hold of each other`s hands.
- 1796, Zoonomia, or, the Laws of Organic Life, by Erasmus Darwin, part II.I.I.III
- The tree Prunus spinosa.
- Any of various other plants of the genus Prunus, as a shrub or small tree, Prunus alleghaniensis, bearing dark-purple fruit.
Derived terms
- sloe gin
- sloe-eyed
Translations
fruit of Prunus spinosa
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tree Prunus spinosa — see blackthorn
tree of the genus Prunus bearing dark-purple fruit
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- 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 Wiktionary:Entry layout#Translations.
Translations to be checked
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Anagrams
- EOLs, ESOL, Elos, LEOs, Leos, OELs, Sole, elos, leos, lose, sole