slippery adj.

"having a surface so smooth as to cause sliding," c. 1500, slipperie, with -y (2) + Middle English sliper (adj.) "not affording firm footing or hold," from Old English slipor "slippery, having a smooth surface" (see slip (v.)).

The metaphoric sense of "deceitful, untrustworthy, that cannot be depended upon or trusted" is from 1550s. Alternative slippy is attested from 1540s. Related: Slipperily; slipperiness. Middle English also had slipperness, slipornysse, (early 15c., in medical writing, "looseness of the bowels"), directly from sliper. Scott (1821) has slippiness.

In a figurative sense, slippery slope "course beginning with a small step but leading to disaster or destruction" is attested by 1844. Slippery slope as a figure of peril, or a difficult path up, is by 1825.

The slippery elm (1748) of eastern North America (also moose or red elm) is so called for its mucilaginous inner bark, used officinally as a demulcent.

"Stand back ! if you would not bring certain destruction on her and yourself. Do you not see that the chasm is opening wider?" exclaimed Rupert Wyvill, returning almost ere Rosalind had missed him, pushing Edred aside as he spoke, who, half maddened at the sight of his cousin's risk, was on the point of leaping down from the brow of the cliff on the crumbling, slippery slope—an act which would have ensured the destruction of all. [Miss Ellen Pickering, "Who Shall be Heir?" 1840]

词汇	slippery
词源	slippery adj. "having a surface so smooth as to cause sliding," c. 1500, slipperie, with -y (2) + Middle English sliper (adj.) "not affording firm footing or hold," from Old English slipor "slippery, having a smooth surface" (see slip (v.)). The metaphoric sense of "deceitful, untrustworthy, that cannot be depended upon or trusted" is from 1550s. Alternative slippy is attested from 1540s. Related: Slipperily; slipperiness. Middle English also had slipperness, slipornysse, (early 15c., in medical writing, "looseness of the bowels"), directly from sliper. Scott (1821) has slippiness. In a figurative sense, slippery slope "course beginning with a small step but leading to disaster or destruction" is attested by 1844. Slippery slope as a figure of peril, or a difficult path up, is by 1825. The slippery elm (1748) of eastern North America (also moose or red elm) is so called for its mucilaginous inner bark, used officinally as a demulcent. "Stand back ! if you would not bring certain destruction on her and yourself. Do you not see that the chasm is opening wider?" exclaimed Rupert Wyvill, returning almost ere Rosalind had missed him, pushing Edred aside as he spoke, who, half maddened at the sight of his cousin's risk, was on the point of leaping down from the brow of the cliff on the crumbling, slippery slope—an act which would have ensured the destruction of all. [Miss Ellen Pickering, "Who Shall be Heir?" 1840] Entries linking to slippery -y 2 adjective suffix, "full of or characterized by," from Old English -ig, from Proto-Germanic -iga- (source also of Dutch, Danish, German -ig, Gothic -egs), from PIE -(i)ko-, adjectival suffix, cognate with elements in Greek -ikos, Latin -icus (see -ic). Originally added to nouns in Old English; used from 13c. with verbs, and by 15c. even with other adjectives (for example crispy). Adjectives such as hugy, vasty* are artificial words that exist for the sake of poetical metrics. slip v. early 14c., slippen, "to escape, to move softly and quickly," from an unrecorded Old English word or cognate Middle Low German slippen "to glide, slide," from Proto-Germanic slipan (source also of Old High German slifan, Middle Dutch slippen, German schleifen "to glide, slide"). This is probably from PIE sleib-"slip, slide," from root (s)lei- "slimy, sticky, slippery" (see slime (n.)). The verb is not found in Old English, which did have related adjective slipor "slippery, having a smooth surface." Related: Slipped; slipping. It is attested from mid-14c. in the sense of "lose one's footing, slide suddenly and unawares," also "slide out of place," also "fall into error or fault." The meaning "pass unguarded or untaken" is from mid-15c. That of "slide, glide, pass smoothly and easily" is from 1520s. The transitive sense of "cause to move with a sliding motion" is from 1510s; the meaning "insert surreptitiously, put or place secretly" is from 1680s. The meaning "let loose, release from restraint" (1580s), is probably from the noun sense of "leash for a (hunting) dog that can be easily released" (1570s). To slip on* "put on (clothing, etc.) loosely or in haste" is from 1580s; to slip off "take off noiselessly or hastily" is from 1590s. To slip up "make a mistake, err inadvertently" is from 1855; to slip through the net "evade detection" is by 1829 (for slip through the cracks see crack (n.)). To let (something) slip originally (1520s) was a reference to hounds on a leash; figurative use for "allow to escape through carelessness" is by 1540s. updated on January 11, 2023
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slippery adj.

Entries linking to slippery