sledge [OE] The sledge that is a vehicle used on snow and ice came in the late 16th century from Dutch and is related to sled [ME], sleigh [E17th], slide [OE], and slither [ME]. Sleigh is also Dutch, and was originally adopted in North America. As a name for what we would now more usually call a sledgehammer [LME], the other sledge is recorded in Old English and goes back to a root meaning ‘to strike’ and related to slay. In the 1970s Australian cricketers started sledging, or making offensive or needling remarks to opposing batsmen in an attempt to break their concentration. The idea behind the term is the crudity and lack of subtlety involved in using a sledge or sledgehammer.