slithern.
/ˈslɪðə/, U.S. /ˈslɪðər/ 1. plural. ‘Loose stones lying in great quantities on the side of a rock or hill’ (Jamieson). Scottish.
ΘΚΠ
the world > the earth > structure of the earth > constituent materials > stone > stony material > [noun] > loose stones
scree1709
brasha1722
ratchel1747
stammerers1793
slithers1805
shingle1959
1805 J. Nicol Poems II. 103 (Jam.) Fir'd wi' hope, he onward dashes, Thro' heather, sclithers, bogs, an' rashes.
1884 T. Speedy Sport in Highlands xiii. 220 They will often be seen running among the grey stones or ‘sclithers’.
2. local. (See quots.)
ΘΚΠ
the world > the earth > structure of the earth > constituent materials > stone > stony material > [noun] > gravel or shingle > gravel > type of
flood gravelc1420
river gravel1600
blue metal1699
slither1811
flint-gravel1865
plateau gravel1872
duck-gravel1885
peastone1909
pea gravel1911
1811 J. Farey Gen. View Agric. Derbyshire I. 145 The Slither, or indestructible rubble of Limestone.
1811 J. Farey Gen. View Agric. Derbyshire I. 145 It slips from beneath the feet of an animal which attempts to cross it, whence the name Slither, or sliding gravel.
1829 S. Glover Hist. County of Derby I. 49 Patches of slither are the most barren spots that can be imagined.
3. technical. (See quot.) Also figurative.
ΚΠ
1830 Examiner 419/2 Slither is, we believe, the technical term..[given] to the cuttings and rubbish put in between the outer and the inner soles of shoes.
1830 Examiner 419/2 Even the slither of O'Doherty is inserted, while matter of real importance from O'Connell is omitted.
4.
a. A slipping or sliding. Also transferred and figurative.
ΘΚΠ
the world > movement > progressive motion > specific manner of progressive motion > [noun] > slipping or sliding > an act of
slide1596
slip1596
slither1861
skid1907
1861 A. Trollope Tales of All Countries 67 Then there was a great slither, and an exclamation, and the noise of a fall.
1897 W. Westall Red Eagle xxvi A slither down a slope that would have tried the nerve of a chamois-hunter.
1915 E. Wallace Man who bought London ii. 23 So many people were following closely in that hurried slither to the platform.
1970 Guardian 12 Nov. 12/2 If the whole slither into inflation is not to accelerate..some private employers will have to stand firm.
b. Something smooth and slippery; a smoothly sliding mass; = sliver n.1 1.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > shape > flatness or levelness > smoothness > [noun] > slippery smoothness > slippery surface, part, or object
slide1688
butter slide1843
mudslide1856
slither1919
snow slide1927
the world > relative properties > wholeness > incompleteness > part of whole > [noun] > a separate part > a piece or bit > narrow piece
sliverc1374
lista1398
labelc1425
reeve1726
stripe1785
slip1825
finger1839
striplet1839
slither1919
1919 E. Pound Quia Pauper Amavi 40 If she goes in a gleam of Cos, in a slither of dyed stuff, There is a volume in the matter.
1955 N. Nicholson Lakers xi. 188 Only after rain, when..the rocks are hung with slithers of water like lace curtains against the black slate.
1966 G. Greene Comedians i. v. 153 Little fenced saucers of earth where a few palm-trees grew and slithers of water gleamed between.
1981 Daily Tel. 27 May 15/1 Calvin Klein's newest dress is a slither of silk shaped simply like an overgrown T-shirt.
5. Counterfeit money. slang.
ΚΠ
1929 Daily Express 3 Jan. 9/5 He produced twenty-three counterfeit florins from his trousers pocket, remarking, ‘It's no good searching. That's all the “slither” I have got.’
6. Archery. A minute longitudinal split in a bow (cf. slither v. 6).
ΚΠ
1894 H. Walrond in C. J. Longman et al. Archery (Badminton Libr. of Sports & Pastimes) 301 Damp is also liable to cause ‘slithers’, or the rising of a splinter on the back.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1912; most recently modified version published online March 2019).
slitheradj.
/ˈslɪðə/, U.S. /ˈslɪðər/ Now dialect and rare.
Slippery. Also as adv., smoothly.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > shape > flatness or levelness > smoothness > [adjective] > smooth and slippery > specific on which one may slip
sliddera1000
slidderya1250
slipperc1290
slidingc1325
slithera1340
glintc1475
slippery1535
slippy1548
sliddy1623
slidy1880
skiddy1902
the world > space > shape > flatness or levelness > smoothness > [adverb] > and slippery
slither1892
a1340 R. Rolle Psalter xxxiv. 7 Þe way of þaim be made merknes and skliþer.
a1340 R. Rolle Psalter xxxviii. 1 Lightly it slippis, as we doe when we ga in skliþer way.
1490 Caxton's Blanchardyn & Eglantine (1962) xxiv. 89 The grasse wher vpon he trad was sore weet & slyther.
1892 J. Barlow Bog-land (1893) 54 Whin~ever there's little that ails ye, An' all goes slither as grase.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1912; most recently modified version published online June 2018).
slitherv.
/ˈslɪðə/, U.S. /ˈslɪðər/ 1. figurative.1878 Huxley in Life (1900) I. xxxiii. 502 You go slithering down avalanches of work.
a. intransitive. To slip, slide, glide, esp. on a loose or broken slope or with a clattering noise; †to fall gently. Frequently with down.
ΘΚΠ
the world > movement > progressive motion > specific manner of progressive motion > move progressively in specific manner [verb (intransitive)] > slip or slide
slidderc897
slidea950
slitherc1200
slep?a1400
slithec1450
slivec1450
rutsel1481
slip1530
slipper1585
glibber1598
slur1617
glide1674
slather1809
scoot1838
sluther1854
slade1895
the world > movement > motion in a certain direction > downward motion > falling > fall [verb (intransitive)] > gently
slitherc1200
c1200 Trin. Coll. Hom. 99 Þis is þe holi manne þe ure drihten sende alse snow sleðrende.
a1340 [see slithering n. and adj. at Derivatives]. c1475 Mankind (Folg.) (1969) 112 Yf ȝe sey þat I lye, I xall make yow to slyther.
1788 W. Marshall Provincialisms E. Yorks. in Rural Econ. Yorks. II. 353 To Slither, to slide, as down a rope, a ladder, or the side of a hill.
1825– in many dial. glossaries.
1861 Dodson in Peaks, Passes, & Glac. I. 199 He slithered down the polished surface of the gully, like a tree down a timber shoot.
1880 19th Cent. Sept. 455 The way they [Colorado horses] will climb up places, and slither down places.., is marvellous.
1897 R. S. S. Baden-Powell Matabele Campaign xiv. 362 On these [smooth rocks] the men with their nailed boots slithered and clattered to an awful extent.
b. transitive. To make or cause to slide.
ΘΚΠ
the world > movement > progressive motion > specific manner of progressive motion > move or cause to move progressively in specific manner [verb (transitive)] > cause to slip or slide
slip1513
slither1892
1892 Daily News 1 Oct. 2/1 It is many a long day since Meg and Margery took a hand each and slithered him down hill.
1897 Pall Mall Mag. Mar. 307 She slithered her feet along the ground.
c. To make (one's way) by slipping or sliding.
ΘΚΠ
the world > movement > progressive motion > specific manner of progressive motion > move or cause to move progressively in specific manner [verb (transitive)] > cause to slip or slide > make (way) by slipping
slither1888
1888 F. Cowper Caedwalla 223 Quite safely the man slithered his way over the mud.
2. intransitive. To walk in a sliding manner; to slip along or away.
ΘΚΠ
the world > movement > progressive motion > specific manner of progressive motion > move progressively in specific manner [verb (intransitive)] > slip or slide > move in slipping or sliding manner > specifically of animates
slither1848
1848 A. H. Clough Bothie of Toper-na-Fuosich iv. 176 The streets of the dissolute city, Where dressy girls slithering-by upon pavements give sign for accosting.
1857 C. Kingsley Two Years Ago III. 183 Gay girls slithered past him, looked round at him, but in vain.
1894 H. Caine Manxman 36 Philip slithered softly through the dairy door.
3. Of reptiles: To creep, crawl, glide.
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > reptiles > [verb (intransitive)] > move
snikec897
slidea1300
glidec1315
slither1839
1839 F. A. Kemble Jrnl. Resid. Georgian Plantation (1863) 262 How horrid it [a snake] did look, slithering over the road.
1883 Fortn. Rev. Apr. 563 Feeling an unpleasantly cold something slithering down my right leg.
1888 J. Inglis Tent Life Tigerland 29 An odious, repulsive-looking Säp go (a species of iguana) slithered noiselessly through a gap.
4. Of things: To move in a slipping or sliding manner.
ΘΚΠ
the world > movement > progressive motion > specific manner of progressive motion > move progressively in specific manner [verb (intransitive)] > slip or slide > move in slipping or sliding manner
slather1809
slither1869
1869 Routledge's Every Boy's Ann. 600 The rope had ‘slithered’ through his hands.
1869 Echo 9 Mar. The blades slither on the water, which at times made the boat roll.
5. intransitive. To hurry (away), hasten. slang.
ΚΠ
a1889 in A. Barrère & C. G. Leland Dict. Slang s.v. Slither, you and your brother, or they'll nab you both.
6. Archery. To suffer a minute longitudinal split (cf. slither n. 6).
ΚΠ
1894 H. Walrond in C. J. Longman et al. Archery (Badminton Libr. of Sports & Pastimes) 297 Hickory is the best wood there is for a back..; it gives the required elasticity, and is not liable to ‘slither’, as the lifting of the grain is termed.
Derivatives
ˈslithering n. and adj.
ΘΚΠ
the world > movement > progressive motion > specific manner of progressive motion > [noun] > slipping or sliding
sliddering?c1225
slidingc1325
slitheringa1340
slipping1676
the mind > language > speech > manner of speaking > [adjective] > inarticulate indistinct > of speech
thicka1398
clipped1483
unlanguaged1677
slurred1746
slithering1840
slurring1848
mushmouth1902
mushmouthed1909
slurry1937
side-of-the-mouth1939
the world > movement > progressive motion > specific manner of progressive motion > [adjective] > slipping or sliding
slithinga1300
slidingc1374
slipping1435
labent1727
slithering1864
a1340 R. Rolle Psalter cxiv. 8 In þe sensualite ȝit we fele sklythirynge [v.r. scliteryng] and lust.
c1360 Early Compl. Eng. Prose Psalter lv. 13 (Egerton) Þou toke mi saul dede fra, Mi fete fra sliþeringe als-swa.
1840 M. Edgeworth Let. 30 Dec. (1971) 573 Not one name when introduced had I been able to make out from Mrs. Hollands slithering pronunciation.
1864 J. C. Atkinson Stanton Grange 219 His [a viper's] quiet, slithering gait.
1885 A. Brassey In Trades 241 We continued to descend with a rapidity of ‘slithering’ and sliding, which might have considerably alarmed a timid Amazon.
1897 Outing 29 596/1 His wheel shot past me with a slithering, vertiginous pace.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1912; most recently modified version published online March 2019).
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n.1805
adj.a1340
v.c1200