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slash

Pronunciation: /slaʃ/

The English word “slash” has 20 meanings listed here.

noun

  1. A swift, broad cutting stroke, especially one made with an edged weapon or whip.
  2. A wide striking motion made with an implement such as a cricket bat, hockey stick, or lacrosse stick.
  3. A sharp reduction in resources allotted.
  4. A deep cut or laceration, as made by an edged weapon or whip.
  5. A deep taper-pointed incision in a plant.
  6. A slit in an outer garment, usually exposing a lining or inner garment of a contrasting color or design.
  7. A clearing in a forest, particularly one made by logging, fire, or other violent action.
  8. The slash mark: the punctuation mark ⟨/⟩.
  9. Any similar typographical mark, such as the backslash ⟨\⟩.
  10. The conjunctions and or also (during a conversation).
  11. The vulva.
  12. The loose woody debris remaining from a slash; the trimmings left while preparing felled trees for removal.
  13. A wet or swampy place overgrown with bushes
  14. Slash fiction; fan fiction focused on homoerotic pairing of fictional characters.

verb

  1. To cut with a swift broad stroke of an edged weapon.
  2. To produce a similar wound with a savage strike of a whip.
  3. To strike swiftly and laterally with a hockey stick, usually across another player's arms or legs.
  4. To reduce sharply.
  5. To create slashes in a garment.
  6. To criticize cuttingly.

Etymology

Late Middle English, originally a verb of uncertain etymology. Perhaps of imitative origin, or possibly from Old French esclachier (“to break in pieces”), a variant of esclater, which is likely a Germanic borrowing, from Frankish *slaitan (“to slit, tear”). Used in the Wycliffe Bible as slascht (see 1 Kings 5:18) but otherwise unattested until 16th century. Conjunctive use from various…

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Definitions are from Wiktionary, extracted by Kaikki.org, and are available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.