sly
English
Alternative forms
- sligh (obsolete)
Etymology
From Middle English sly, sley, sleigh, sleiȝ, from Old Norse slǿgr (“sly, cunning”, literally “capable of hitting or striking”), from Proto-Germanic *slōgiz (“lively, agile, cunning, sly, striking”), from Proto-Indo-European *slak- (“to hit, throw”). Cognate with Icelandic slægur (“crafty, sly”), Norwegian Nynorsk sløg (“sly”). Related to sleight, slay. In all likelihood, however, unrelated with Saterland Frisian slau (“sly, crafty”), Dutch sluw (“sly, cunning”), Low German slu (“sly, cunning”), German schlau (“clever, crafty”).
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /slaɪ/
Audio (RP) (file) - Rhymes: -aɪ
Adjective
sly (comparative slier or slyer, superlative sliest or slyest)
- Artfully cunning; secretly mischievous; wily.
- (having a positive connotation) Dexterous in performing an action, so as to escape notice
- Synonyms: nimble, skillful, cautious, shrewd
- Done with, and marked by, artful and dexterous secrecy; subtle
- a sly trick
- Light or delicate; slight; thin.
Synonyms
- artful
- cunning
- knowing
- sharp
- crafty
- shrewd
- shifty
- sly as a fox
- slim
- wily
- See also Thesaurus:wily
Derived terms
- sly as a fox
- on the sly
- slyboots
- slyness
Translations
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- The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.
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Further reading
- sly in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913
- sly in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911
Adverb
sly
- Slyly.
Anagrams
- Lys, YLS, YLs, lys, syl-
Lower Sorbian
Adjective
sly
- Obsolete spelling of zły (“bad, evil”)
Middle English
Alternative forms
- scle, scley, scliȝ, slegh, sleȝ, slei, sleigh, sleiȝ, sleiȝh, sley, sleygh, sleyh, sligh, sliȝ, slih, slygh, slyȝ, slyȝh, slyh
Etymology
Borrowed from Old Norse slǿgr, from Proto-Germanic *slōgiz.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /sliː(x)/, /sleː(x)/, /slix/
Adjective
sly (plural and weak singular slye, comparative slyer, superlative sliest)
- Judicious, considered, shrewd; having or indicative of great wisdom.
- c. 1395, John Wycliffe, John Purvey [et al.], transl., Bible (Wycliffite Bible (later version), MS Lich 10.), published c. 1410, Matheu 10:35, page 4v, column 1; republished as Wycliffe's translation of the New Testament, Lichfield: Bill Endres, 2010:
- lo I ſende ȝou as ſcheep in þe myddil of wolues / þerfoꝛ be ȝe ſliȝ as ſerpentis .· and ſymple as dowues
- So I'm sending you out like sheep in amongst wolves, so be shrewd like snakes and harmless like doves.
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- Adept, expert, quality; having or indicative of great expertise.
- Sly, artful, wily; employing or being an example of deception.
- (rare) Attractive; having good looks.
- (rare) Unknown or hidden.
Related terms
- sleighly
- sleighte
- slynesse
Descendants
- English: sly
- Scots: slee
References
- “sleigh, adj.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 2019-06-05.
Swedish
Noun
sly n
- very young trees, in particular while growing very densely
Declension
Declension of sly | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Uncountable | ||||
Indefinite | Definite | |||
Nominative | sly | slyet | — | — |
Genitive | slys | slyets | — | — |
Anagrams
- lys, syl, yls