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cowslip [cowslip 词源字典]: cowslip: [OE] Old English cūslyppe literally meant ‘cow dung’ (a variant cūsloppe, which survived dialectally into the 20th century as cowslop, suggests that its second element is related to slop and sloppy). The name presumably came from the plant’s growing in pastures where cows commonly graze, and perhaps even from some perceived symbiosis with cow-pats.
[cowslip etymology, cowslip origin, 英语词源]
gosling: gosling: see goose
muesli: muesli: [20] Etymologically, muesli means ‘little pap’. It is a Swiss-German diminutive form of German mus ‘pulp, purée’. Old English had the cognate mōs, which survived into the 16th century in the compound apple-mose ‘dish made from a purée of stewed apples’.
muslin: muslin: [17] Etymologically, muslin is ‘cloth from Mosul’, a city in Iraq where fine cotton fabric was once made. The Arabic form mūslin was adopted into Italian as mussolino, and made its way into English via French mousseline.
quisling: quisling: [20] Vidkun Quisling was a Norwegian politician who from 1933 led the National Union Party, the Norwegian fascist party (Quisling was not his real name – he was born Abraham Lauritz Jonsson). When the Germans invaded Norway in 1940 he gave them active support, urging his fellow Norwegians not to resist them, and in 1942 he was installed by Hitler as a puppet premier. In 1945 he was shot for treason. The earliest recorded use of his name in English as a generic term for a ‘traitor’ comes from April 1940.
slice: slice: [14] Slice comes from Old French esclice ‘splinter’, a derivative of the verb esclicier ‘reduce to splinters, shatter’. This in turn was acquired from Frankish *slītjan, a descendant of prehistoric Germanic *slītan ‘slit’ (source of English slit and possibly of slat and slate). English originally took over the word’s French meaning, but this had died out by the end of the 16th century. The modern sense ‘piece cut from something’ is first recorded in the early 15th century.
=> slit
slick: slick: see sleek
slide: slide: [OE] Slide comes from a prehistoric Germanic *slīd- ‘slide, slip’, which also produced English sled, sledge, sleigh, and slither [OE]. Its ultimate source was the Indo-European base *slei- or *lei-, a prolific source of words for ‘slide’. A version with -dh- on the end lies behind slide, and is also responsible for Greek olisthánein, Lithuanian slysti, Latvian slīdēt, and probably Welsh llithro ‘slide’. A version suffixed -b- produced English slip, and one ending in -g- has spread throughout the Slavic languages, giving Russian skol’zit’, Czech klouznouti, etc, all meaning ‘slide’.
=> sled, sledge, sleigh, slither
slight: slight: [13] The ancestral sense of slight is ‘level, even’. It goes back to a prehistoric Germanic *slekhtaz, a word of unknown origin which had that meaning, but whose descendants have diversified semantically beyond all recognition (German schlecht and Dutch slecht, for instance, now mean ‘bad’, having arrived there by way of ‘level, smooth’ and ‘simple, ordinary’). ‘Smooth’ was the original meaning of English slight (Miles Coverdale, in his 1535 translation of the Bible, recorded how David ‘chose five slight stones out of the river’ to confront Goliath with (1 Samuel 17:40), where the Authorized Version of 1611 has ‘smooth stones’), and it survived dialectally into the 20th century.

By the 14th century, however, it was evolving into ‘slim’, and this eventually became, in the early 16th century, ‘small in amount’. English acquired the adjective from Old Norse sléttr ‘smooth’, and Old Norse was also the original source of a verb slight [13], meaning ‘make level or smooth’. This died out in the 17th century, however, and the modern verb slight ‘disdain, snub’, first recorded at the end of the 16th century, is derived from the adjective, in the sense ‘of little importance’.

The noun comes from the verb.
slim: slim: [17] Slim is now quite an upbeat word, but that is a comparatively new departure, for historically it has been neutral if not downright derogatory. It was borrowed from Dutch slim ‘small, inferior’, which went back via Middle Dutch slim ‘slanting, bad’ to a prehistoric Germanic *slimbaz ‘oblique, crooked’ (source also of German schlimm ‘bad’). It may be distantly related to Latvian slīps ‘crooked, steep’.
slime: slime: [OE] Along with its relatives German schleim, Dutch slijm, and Danish slim, slime comes from a prehistoric Germanic slīm-. This probably has connections with English lime ‘calcium’ and Latin līmus ‘mud’.
sling: sling: English has at least two distinct words sling, maybe more – the picture is far from clear. The first to appear was the verb, ‘throw’ [13]. This was probably borrowed from Old Norse slyngva, but as it originally meant specifically ‘throw with a sling’ there is clearly some connection with the noun sling ‘strap for throwing stones’ [13], whose immediate source was perhaps Middle Low German slinge. Sling ‘loop or strap for holding things’ [14] may be the same word, although there is no conclusive proof for this. Sling ‘spirit-based drink’ [18] first came on the scene in America, but its origins are unknown.
slip: slip: There are three separate words slip in English. The verb [13] was probably borrowed from Middle Low German slippen, a product of the prehistoric Germanic base *slip-. This in turn went back to Indo-European *sleib- (source also of English lubricate [17]), a variant of the base which gave English slide. Slippery [16] was based on an earlier and now defunct slipper ‘slippery’, which also goes back to Germanic *slip-.

It may have been coined by the Bible translator Miles Coverdale, who used it in Psalm 34:6: ‘Let their way be dark and slippery’. It is thought that he modelled it on German schlipfferig ‘slippery’, used in the same passage by Martin Luther in his translation of the Bible. Slipper ‘soft shoe’ [15] was originally a shoe ‘slipped’ on to the foot; and someone who is slipshod [16] is etymologically wearing ‘loose shoes’. Slip ‘thinned clay’ [OE] is descended from Old English slypa ‘slime’, and may be related to slop [14].

One of its earlier meanings was ‘dung’, which is fossilized in the second element of cowslip. Slip ‘strip, piece’ [15], as in a ‘slip of paper’, was probably borrowed from Middle Low German or Middle Dutch slippe ‘cut, slit, strip’.
=> lubricate, slide; cowslip, slop
slit: slit: [13] Slit is not recorded in Old English, but it is assumed to have existed, as *slittan (its first cousin slītan ‘slit’ survived into the 20th century in Scottish English as slite). It goes back ultimately to the same Germanic base that produced English slice and possibly also slash, slat and slate.
=> slice
backslide (v.): in the religious sense, 1580s, from back (adj.) + slide (v.). Related: Backslider; backsliding (1550s).
cowslip (n.): Old English cu-slyppe, apparently from cu "cow" (see cow (n.)) + slyppe "slop, slobber, dung" (see slop (n.1)).
dislike (v.): 1540s (implied in disliking), hybrid which ousted native mislike as the opposite of like (v.). Related: Disliked; disliking. English in 16c. also had the excellent dislove "hate, cease to love," but it did not survive.
gosling (n.): mid-14c. (late 13c. as a surname), from Old Norse gæslingr, from gos "goose" (see goose (n.)) + diminutive suffix (see -ling). replaced Old English gesling. Or the modern word might be a Middle English formation from gos "goose." Similar formation in Danish gæsling, Swedish gäsling, German Gänslein.
gun-slinger (n.): 1916, American English, from gun (n.) + agent noun from sling (v.).
landslide (n.): 1856, American English, from land (n.) + slide (n.). Earlier was landslip, still preferred in Britain. Old English used eorðgebyrst in this sense; literally "earth-burst." In the political sense, landslide "lopsided electoral victory" is attested from 1888.
landslip (n.): 1670s, from land (n.) + slip (n.).
mislike (v.): Old English mislician "to be displeasing;" see mis- (1) + like (v.). Sense of "to be displeased with" is attested from 1510s. Related: Misliked; misliking.
muesli (n.): breakfast dish of oats, fruit, milk, 1926, from Swiss-German, from Old High German muos "meal, mush-like food," from Proto-Germanic *mod-sa-, from PIE root *mad- "moist, wet," with derivatives referring to various qualities of food (see mast (n.2)).
Muslim: 1610s (n.), 1777 (adj.), from Arabic muslim "one who submits" (to the faith), from root of aslama "he resigned." Related to Islam.
muslin (n.): c. 1600, "delicately woven cotton fabric," from French mousseline (17c.), from Italian mussolina, from Mussolo, Italian name of Mosul, city in northern Mesopotamia (modern Iraq) where muslin was made. Like many fabric names, it has changed meaning over the years, in this case from luxurious to commonplace. In 13c. French, mosulin meant "cloth of silk and gold." The meaning "everyday cotton fabric for shirts, bedding, etc." is first attested 1872 in American English.
nursling (n.): also nurseling, "object of a nurse's care," 1550s, from nurse (v.) + -ling.
quisling (n.): 1940, from Vidkun Quisling (1887-1945), Norwegian fascist politician who headed the puppet government during the German occupation of Norway in World War II; shot for treason after German defeat. First used in London Times of April 15, 1940, in a Swedish context.
Riesling (n.): 1833, from German Riesling (15c.), the name of the grape, of uncertain origin.
slice (n.): c. 1300, "a fragment," from Old French escliz "splinter, fragment" (Modern French éclisse), a back-formation from esclicier "to splinter, shatter, smash," from Frankish *slitan "to split" or some other Germanic source (compare Old High German slihhan; see slit (v.)). Meaning "piece cut from something" emerged early 15c. Meaning "a slicing stroke" (in golf, tennis) is recorded from 1886. Slice of life (1895) translates French tranche de la vie, a term from French Naturalist literature.
slice (v.): late 15c., from Middle French esclicier, from Old French escliz (see slice (n.)). Golfing sense is from 1890. Related: Sliced; slicing. Sliced bread introduced 1958; greatest thing since ... first attested 1969.
No matter how thick or how thin you slice it it's still baloney. [Carl Sandburg, "The People, Yes," 1936]
slicer (n.): 1520s, agent noun from slice (v.).
slick (v.): Old English -slician (in nigslicod "newly made sleek"), from Proto-Germanic *slikojan, from base *slikaz (cognates: Old Norse slikr "smooth," Old High German slihhan "to glide," German schleichen "to creep, crawl, sneak," Dutch slijk "mud, mire"), from PIE *sleig- "to smooth, glide, be muddy," from root *(s)lei- "slimy" (see slime (n.)). Related: Slicked; slicking.
slick (n.): 1620s, a kind of cosmetic, from slick (v.). Meaning "smooth place on the surface of water caused by oil, etc." is attested from 1849. Meaning "a swindler, clever person" is attested from 1959.
slick (adj.): early 14c., "smooth, glossy, sleek" (of skin or hair); sense of "clever in deception" is first recorded 1590s; that of "first-class, excellent" is from 1833. Related: Slickly; slickness.
slicker (n.): 1851, "tool for smoothing leather," from slick (v.). Meaning "waterproof raincoat" is from 1884; sense of "clever and crafty person" is from 1900.
slid: past tense and past participle of slide (v.).
slide (v.): Old English slidan (intransitive, past tense slad, past participle sliden) "to glide, slip, fall, fall down;" figuratively "fail, lapse morally, err; be transitory or unstable," from Proto-Germanic *slidan "to slip, slide" (cognates: Old High German slito, German Schlitten "sleigh, sled"), from PIE root *sleidh- "to slide, slip" (cognates: Lithuanian slystu "to glide, slide," Old Church Slavonic sledu "track," Greek olisthos "slipperiness," olisthanein "to slip," Middle Irish sloet "slide").

Meaning "slip, lose one's footing" is from early 13c. Transitive sense from 1530s. Phrase let (something) slide "let it take its own course" is in Chaucer (late 14c.). Sliding scale in reference to payments, etc., is from 1842.
slide (n.): 1560s, from slide (v.). As a smooth inclined surface down which something can be slid, from 1680s; the playground slide is from 1890. Meaning "collapse of a hillside, landslide" is from 1660s. As a working part of a musical instrument from 1800 (as in slide-trombone, 1891). Meaning "rapid downturn" is from 1884. Meaning "picture prepared for use with a projector" is from 1819 (in reference to magic lanterns). Baseball sense is from 1886. Slide-guitar is from 1968.
slide-rule (n.): also slide rule, mathematical calculating tool, 1838, from slide (v.) + rule (n.). So called for its method of operation. Earlier sliding-rule (1660s).
slider (n.): 1520s, "skater," agent noun from slide (v.). As a type of terrapin, from 1877; as a type of baseball pitch, 1936.
slight (adj.): early 14c., "flat, smooth; hairless," probably from a Scandinavian source akin to Old Norse slettr "smooth, sleek," from Proto-Germanic *slikhtaz (cognates: Old Saxon slicht; Low German slicht "smooth, plain common;" Old English -sliht "level," attested in eorðslihtes "level with the ground;" Old Frisian sliucht "smooth, slight," Middle Dutch sleht "even, plain," Old High German sleht, Gothic slaihts "smooth"), probably from a collateral form of PIE *sleig- "to smooth, glide, be muddy," from root *(s)lei- "slimy" (see slime (n.)).

Sense evolution probably is from "smooth" (c. 1300), to "slim, slender; of light texture," hence "not good or strong; insubstantial, trifling, inferior, insignificant" (early 14c.). Meaning "small in amount" is from 1520s. Sense of German cognate schlecht developed from "smooth, plain, simple" to "bad, mean, base," and as it did it was replaced in the original senses by schlicht, a back-formation from schlichten "to smooth, to plane," a derivative of schlecht in the old sense [Klein].
slight (v.): c. 1300, "make plain or smooth," from slight (adj.) Meaning "treat with indifference" (1590s) is from the adjective in sense of "having little worth." Related: Slighted; slighting.
slight (n.): 1550s, "small amount or weight," from slight (v.). Meaning "act of intentional neglect or ignoring out of displeasure or contempt" is from 1701, probably via 17c. phrase make a slight of (1610s).
slightly (adv.): 1520s, "slenderly;" 1590s, "in a small degree," from slight (adj.) + -ly (2).
slim (adj.): 1650s, "thin, slight, slender," from Dutch slim "bad, sly, clever," from Middle Dutch slim "bad, crooked," from Proto-Germanic *slembaz "oblique, crooked" (cognates: Middle High German slimp "slanting, awry," German schlimm "bad, cunning, unwell"). In English 17c. also sometimes with a sense "sly, cunning, crafty." Related: Slimly; slimness. With obsolete extended adjectival forms Slimsy "flimsy, unsubstantial" (1845); slimikin "small and slender" (1745). Slim Jim attested from 1887 in sense of "very thin person;" from 1902 as a type of slender cigar; from 1975 as a brand of meat snack.
slim (v.): 1808, "to scamp one's work, do carelessly or superficially," from slim (adj.). Meaning "to make slim" (a garment, etc.) is from 1862; meaning "reduce (one's) weight" is from 1930. Related: Slimmed; slimming.
slime (n.): Old English slim "slime," from Proto-Germanic *slimaz (cognates: Old Norse slim, Old Frisian slym, Dutch slijm "slime, phlegm," German Schleim "slime"), probably related to Old English lim "birdlime; sticky substance," from PIE root *(s)lei- "slimy, sticky, slippery" (cognates: Sanskrit linati "sticks, stays, adheres to; slips into, disappears;" Russian slimak "snail;" Old Church Slavonic slina "spittle;" Old Irish sligim "to smear," leinam "I follow," literally "I stick to;" Welsh llyfn "smooth;" Greek leimax "snail," limne "marsh, pool, lake," alinein "to anoint, besmear;" Latin limus "slime, mud, mire," linere "to daub, besmear, rub out, erase"). As an insult to a person from mid-15c. Slime-mold is from 1880.
slime (v.): "to cover with slime," 1620s, from slime (n.). Related: Slimed; sliming.
slimming (adj.): "producing an appearance of thinness," 1925, present participle adjective from slim (v.).
slimnastics (n.): 1967 (with an isolated use from 1959), from slim (adj.) + ending abstracted from gymnastics.