sleight n.

late 12c., sleigh, "skillful, clever, dexterous, wise, prudent," from Old Norse sloegr "cunning, crafty, sly," from Proto-Germanic *slogis (source also of Low German slu "cunning, sly," German schlau), probably from *slak- "to strike, hit" (see slay (v.)), with an original notion of "able to hit." Compare German verschlagen "cunning, crafty, sly," schlagfertig "quick-witted," literally "strike-ready," from schlagen "to strike," but the exact relation is uncertain.

The meaning "insidious, crafty, meanly artful" is from c. 1200. That of "playfully artful, knowing" is from 1764. In Middle English sly words could mean "wise words" or "deceptive language." A non-pejorative use of the word lingered in northern English dialect until 20c. On the sly "in secret" is recorded from 1812. Sly-boots "a seeming Silly, but subtil Fellow" is in the 1700 "Dictionary of the Canting Crew."